The term API is being associated with both medical API and healthcare API, where the former is linked for active pharmaceutical ingredients and latter is for tech-based application programming interfaces.
Simply put, application programming interfaces enable information systems to communicate and exchange data among each other. This technology is gaining strong business grounds in the global healthcare industry. Which is evident since systems like electronic health record (EHR) access, remote patient monitoring and digital payments are gaining popularity, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, healthcare API is being posed with challenges like budget constraints of healthcare systems in developing economies since designing an enterprise healthcare solution is usually a cost-intensive process.
Other hurdles preventing the commercialization of healthcare API are data & security challenges, lack of proper provisions for standardization in the healthcare infrastructure and lack of training to healthcare practitioners.
Thus, stakeholders involved in the business healthcare API can expect a gradual shift toward widespread acceptance for this technology as increasing number of people are becoming open to the use of various technologies that make processes convenient.
Vendors dealing in healthcare API should increase awareness about the advantages of this technology which includes new scientific discoveries.
Next-gen technologies like deep learning, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) hold promising potentials to expand the commercialization scope of healthcare API.
Apart from free API apps, vendors are tapping into paid versions of healthcare-enabled API apps that help individuals to securely access their EHR data. APIs also have the potential to improve healthcare data access for researchers.
Data aggregators, app developers and data integrators are joining forces to steer innovations in mobile apps. These participants are following the API Conditions of Certification requirements established in the 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule for transparency, fees and, openness & pro-competitiveness to ensure the well-being of patients.
Thus, API innovation, sharing, and distribution is adding value to the global healthcare community as well as the patients who use specific apps to monitor their health.
