A recently published US study has highlighted the growing number of medical apps connecting to electronic health records: up from 600 to 734 in the 12 months to December 2020. This trend supports US Federal Government priority to improve the use of data held in electronic records (21st Century Cures Act of 2016). Better data use is more likely if an app is embedded within the EHR. However, this review also identified a low proportion of apps – just 22% – compatible with the FHIR standard. Furthermore, a recent study highlighted the finding that more that 80% of US paediatricians are working with EHRs that lack optimal functionality.
The leading growth chart application, GrowthXP, is compatible with FHIR-compliant EHRs so enabling an increasing number of clinics to easily integrate this application into their daily use.
References: Barker W. and Johnson C. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Volume 28, Issue 11, November 2021, Pages 2379–2384; Temple MW. et al. J.Ped.Vol 206,2019: 164-171.e2