Interoperability, Explained.

Modern health tech teams often build their first EMR integration on FHIR.

Almost every healthcare conference in 2026 has the same opening keynote: AI is going to transform everything. And they’re not wrong. But there’s a problem that isn’t always given as much attention as it deserves.

Individual Access Services (a consumer’s ability to request their own health data from a digital health app) is one of the biggest shifts in healthcare interoperability in years. It’s also one of the most challenging and controversial.

Dallas, Texas – March 5th, 2026– Zen Healthcare IT, a leader in healthcare interoperability solutions, has earned its third consecutive HITRUST r2 Certification, now aligned with the HITRUST CSF v11 framework.

Zen Healthcare IT announced that its National Network Gateway,Stargate now natively supports Individual Access Services (IAS) under TEFCA, includingIAL2 identity vetting via ID.me and CLEAR.

The CMS ACCESS ModelWhat Health Technology Leaders Need to Know

CMS just announced the biggest Medicare opportunity for digital health in a decade. Here’s what it means for you.

If you’re busy and haven’t been tracking what CMS is saying and doing about health tech lately, your 2026 strategy could be built on assumptions that are about to become obsolete.

In late September, our Zen experts had the privilege of attending Civitas 2025 in Anaheim and CommonWell Fall Summit in Indianapolis. These gatherings brought together leaders across the healthcare ecosystem to exchange ideas, share priorities, and discuss the future of interoperability.

Last week’s White House meeting on healthcare interoperability couldn’t have come at a better time. As I sat in on the urgent Commonwealth members call that followed, one thing became crystal clear: the healthcare industry is at a critical inflection point, and some of our well-intentioned policy changes are creating barriers we never anticipated.

I want to warn you that September could be rocky for Carequality participants. The scope of changes happening could impact network-based data exchange due to potential unintended consequences. Being aware and prepared is the key!

Nationwide interoperability just got a whole lot easier.

We are excited to announce that Zen Healthcare IT (“Zen”), a leader in healthcare interoperability, is now a CommonWell Alliance Service Adopter. This designation highlights Zen’s commitment to offer healthcare organizations a robust interoperability platform with “plug and play” access to all the leading data exchange networks, empowering healthcare providers to exchange critical patient data across the healthcare community, wherever that data might reside.

April 10, 2025 — Dallas, TX— Zen Healthcare IT, a leading provider of healthcare integration and interoperability solutions, announced today that it has joined the Open Integration Engine (OIE) Project. By aligning with this open-source initiative, Zen Healthcare IT commits to supporting a community-driven effort to advance healthcare interoperability through shared development and innovation.

Healthcare startups face a tough but common challenge: integrating with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems – quickly, securely, and at scale. It’s a complex and highly regulated process that often slows progress. But smooth integration is essential for launching products, exchanging health data, and creating real value for both providers and patients.

ViVE2025 brought together some of the brightest minds in healthcare IT, and we were thrilled to be part of the conversation! Key topics included leveraging national networks to optimize the value of innovative Health Tech and the ongoing cost and time associated with direct integrations.

As healthcare continues to digitize, the need for secure, efficient data exchange continues to be very important. Yet, many healthcare providers still struggle with fragmented systems and trust issues in data sharing. How can we ensure reliable and scalable nationwide health information exchange?

In a recentHealthcare IT Newsfeature, Zen Healthcare IT’s President & Cofounder, Marilee Benson, discussed the future of healthcare interoperability. Marilee emphasizes the critical role of simplifying data exchange to enhance both patient experience and health outcomes. And with AI’s growing influence in healthcare, interoperability becomes even more essential for delivering accurate, data-driven care.

Zen is thrilled to announce a new partnership with our friends at C3HIE, a Health Information Exchange serving healthcare organizations in Texas.

On 8/16/24, Epic and Carequality made dual announcements that on the surface may seem fairly innocuous, but they actually made a huge statement about the future of nationwide data exchange.

Healthcare providers often struggle to access comprehensive patient information, leading to inefficiencies and potential gaps in care. How can providers ensure they have the data they need to deliver the best possible care to their patients? Join us in celebratingCentralis Health’spartnership with Zen Healthcare IT which is transforming healthcare connectivity, enabling providers to access a broader range of patient data and improve continuity of care. Together we are making a real difference for Centralis Health’s providers and their patients.

Healthcare providers and digital health companies face challenges in adopting APIs and integrating with EHR systems. Despite the potential benefits of APIs in improving patient care and expanding EHR capabilities, barriers such as high fees, lack of standardized data, and EHR fragmentation persist. Can the ONC (Office of the National Coordinator) help drive greater API adoption and overcome these obstacles?

Last month’s HIMSS conference in Orlando felt more energized – seemingly a return to “pre-Covid” attendance levels and vendor participation.

Introduction

eHealth Exchange is launching an excitingincentive programto boost public health data sharing across the nation. They arewaiving annual fees for three yearsfor qualifying organizations  who sign up to participate in the public health initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity offering significant savings to participating HIEs and public health agencies.

Join a team of Zen experts, featuring: Derek Wayland (Zen VP of IT and Security), Ron Wilson (Zen VP of Engineering Services), and Brian Kirsanov (Zen Manager of Client Solutions); as they discuss how to keep your Mirth Connect up to date and secure following the announcement of a critical Mirth Connect security vulnerability announced by NextGen Healthcare.

As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on a year of exciting breakthroughs in accelerating healthcare data exchange.

The CA DxF allows Participants to provide access to, or exchange information through, any health information exchange network, health information organization, or technology that adheres to the DSA and Policies and Procedures. This includes the potential to use (or continue to use) national data exchange networks such as eHealth Exchange or Carequality, and soon, TEFCA.  Zen provides direct access to these nationwide data exchange networks via ourStargate Gateway,and will support access to TEFCA designated QHINs as needed by our clients.The California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) has just made a groundbreaking announcement, designating nine entities as Qualified Health Information Organizations (QHIOs) under the new Data Exchange Framework (DxF). This exciting development is set to revolutionize the state’s healthcare system by bridging the gaps in data exchange infrastructure.

It’s hard to believe, but we havereachedthe last quarter of the year. We hope that your 2023 interoperability focused projects are making excellent progress.  In addition to making sure we are helping clients achieve their immediate goals, we are also closely monitoring events at a national level. The big one is that the TEFCA rollout continues to move ahead, with candidate QHINs busy with QHIN onboarding testing.

In part two of our TEFCA Readiness series, we explore why TEFCA’s new requirements might make you worry, and how you can ensure you are prepared for TEFCA moving forward. If you haven’t already, be sure toread part oneof this series to get caught up on the current state of TEFCA and our opinions on the future state of nationwide healthcare exchange.

The TEFCA roll out continues to roll on. If you have not taken some time recently to understand what changes TEFCA and the QHINs are bringing to nationwide data exchange, here is an opportunity to catch up.

There is a lot of activity at the ONC right now with a continued focus on rule making designed to promote the sharing of healthcare data (reducing information blocking). ONC’s new proposed rule HTI-1 has a fairly broad reach and touches on Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing Proposed Rule (HTI-1 Proposed Rule.) It aims to implement key provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act, with a specific emphasis on health IT certification and information blocking.

Zen Healthcare IT (“Zen”) a leading provider of healthcare data interoperability solutions, is pleased to announce that itsStargate IHE Gateway, a key component of Zen’sGeminiIntegration as a Service Platform, has received theeHealth Exchange Validated Productdesignation.This is a significant accomplishment for Zen, demonstrating Zen’s commitment to providing fast and easy access to one of the largest healthcare exchange networks in the United States.

We believe unlocking healthcare data is critical in the effort to improve health outcomes. Our mission is to make it easier for organizations and healthcare vendors to exchange data by providing a reliable, scalable, healthcare interoperability platform.Zen has a stellar reputationfor its subject matter expertise in interoperability, is a Carequality Implementer, and has connected many clients to eHealth Exchange.The Stargate IHE Gateway accelerates your access to eHealth Exchange and Carequality, unlocking 600,000+ providers, 4,200+ hospitals, 70+ HIEs, and 5 Federal Partners.*Simply use ourStargateAPIsto fast track integration efforts. Stargate APIs are designed to provide flexible integration options, as different clients need different data flows and business logic.

HIMSS is back!I am not sure if it was the venue in Chicago or we just felt the effects of the larger attendance, but HIMSS 2023 felt like the “old days”.

On February 13th, 2023, the first round of prospective QHIN applicants accepted to begin certification efforts was announced. Is this the beginning of the end for existing national networks such aseHealth Exchange, Carequality, and theCommonwell Alliance? Or is this going to create even more momentum?

TheHIMSS23 conferencein Chicago is just around the corner! We will be there – will you? If you are attending, I suggest a visit to theInteroperability Showcaseto see real world demonstrations of interoperability in action. It’s definitely where we’ll be spending most of our time. We always learn something interesting during the data sharing use case demonstrations and panel discussions.

On February 13th, 2023, the first round of QHIN applicants accepted to begin QHIN certification efforts will be announced. Is this the beginning of the end for existing national networks such as eHealth Exchange, Carequality and the Commonwell Alliance? Or is this going to create even more momentum?

Carequality, eHealth Exchange, and The Sequoia Project (TEFCA RCE) all held their annual meetings in mid-December. Our President has returned with a number of important highlights and updates for 2023 that you should be aware of. Let’s just saythere’s a lot going on in terms of nationwide data exchange!

We have some exciting news to share with you. Zen SSL Extension isnow availableviaeCommerce. Gone are the days of waiting weeks to address your need forSSL / TLSsupport inMirth Connect Open Source.With our new eCommerce offering, you can nowEasily Manage SSL / TLS Certificates in Mirth® Connect.

Zen Healthcare ITis honored to have been named the top interoperability and integration advisor for 2023. Award-winning interoperability advisory services, robust integration technology, and unmatched client support all contribute to Zen Healthcare IT’s promise to provide the best possible technical advice and interoperability services to our clients.“We are overjoyed about this acknowledgment because this has been our primary mission since day one!” says Marilee Benson President of Zen Healthcare IT. “When we deliver an excellent client experience, we make interoperability easier. And that is our number one focus every single day – simplify healthcare interoperability for our clients.”

Did you know that just one national network exchanges over 360 million clinical documents per month? Connecting to national networks likeeHealth Exchange,Commonwell Alliance,andCarequalityis by far the most popular topic of conversation with our clients and prospects. And with TEFCA moving ahead rapidly there has never been a better time to be sure you understand the existing national networks for trusted healthcaredata exchange.

Congratulations to our client and close colleagues over atCRISPShared Services for being the first HIE to state their intent to participate with the eHealth Exchange planned Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN). QHINs are an important part of the ONC’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). With CRISP’s participation, eHealth Exchange’s QHIN would gain five statewide health information exchanges. You can read the full press releasehere.

Mark J. Segal, PhD., Principal, Digital Health Policy Advisors,has authored an excellent blog post for our friends atExecutives for Health Innovation. If you are tracking regulatory compliance related toHITECHand21st Century CURES, Mark’sSummer of Interoperabilityblog postis a must-read.

Now that our Gemini Integration Platform has officially received HITRUST CSF r2 Certification we wanted to share some helpful tips for anyone looking to enhance their own cybersecurity efforts. Ourlatest security blogwas very well received, so we decided to put the valuable information into a video format so that these critical tips and policies can make a significant impact on even more organizations’ cybersecurity efforts.

Zen Healthcare IT is incredibly proud to announce that ourGemini Integration-as-a-Service Platformand HIE 3rd Party hosting services are HITRUST CSF Risk-based, 2-year certified! This includes Gemini modules such as ourStargate IHE GatewayandGravity FHIR Aggregator. While we already had excellent security protocols in place prior to starting our journey to certification, we still gained a lot by going through this process.

Zen is excited to announce that Zen President and Co-Founder Marilee Benson will be co-presenting on ‘The Intersection of Technology and Patient Access’ Panel at theAsembia’s Specialty Pharmacy Summitin Las Vegas May 2nd-5th!  Thank you to to our friends atAsembiafor inviting us to  participate in this important panel discussing how National Network connectivity can improve pharmacist and patient access to important data.

For the past year, we have been working through ourHITRUST CSF certificationprocess and it has helped us super-charge our company’s policies and procedures when it comes to cybersecurity. Now that our Gemini Integration Platform has received HITRUST CSF r2 certification, we would like to share our thoughts for those we speak with each week who are just starting out their journey.

Zen Healthcare IT is packing up our sandals and heading out to Orlando, Florida forHIMSS22. TheInteroperability Showcasehas always been such a delight for us. It’s not often that we get to connect with the broader healthcare interoperability community face-to-face. With all of the data sharing use case demonstrations and panel discussions, we always learn something new and gain unique perspectives from the top minds in the space.

In our latest Mirth Connect Tutorial Series video we do an overview and demonstration of how to set up and effectively utilize the Data Pruner in Mirth Connect. We walk you through how to set it up at both the global and channel level and by the end of the tutorial you will be able to inform your company’s infrastructure and compliance teams on how the Data Pruner can be beneficial to your company by increasing channel speed and performance.

To start the new year off we decided to get back to our Mirth Connect Tutorial video series and recently launched a new video on an important Mirth Connect feature for speeding up channel maintenance and deployments, the Configuration Map.

Zen engineers have been working with Mirth Connect, the most popular open-source interface engine in the world, since its release in 2006. Like many interface engineers, we spend a lot of time focusing on interface design and deployment. But as many of you have learned, that is just the beginning.

The Zen Healthcare IT team has worked with multiple counties across the country to solve complex interoperability challenges. The obstacles can be daunting, but the benefits are huge!

It’s my birthday month, so I always enter October with a sense of “there is so much to do – and so little time left to do it”.  That seems to also be a common theme for many of our discussions with clients and prospects. It is exciting to see so many organizations finally moving aggressively to fill interoperability gaps and we are enjoying diving into so many interesting discussions.  Many of these discussions are driving our ongoing solution development efforts.  In addition, they are driving a need for Zen to expand our team.  I am pleased to announce two new Zen team members:

HL7(Health Level Seven)standards are widely used in healthcare to facilitate the exchange of electronic health information between different systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory systems, radiology information systems, and other healthcare information technology (IT) systems. We applaud their mission to “empower global health data interoperability” and their vision to realize “a world in which everyone can securely access and use the right health data when and where they need it.”(1)

At HIMSS 21, one of the most frequently discussed topics we heard on the show floor was focused around ‘Digital Front Door Solutions’. Turns out ‘digital front door’ isn’t just a cute catchphrase, healthcare organizations are starting to truly understand the value of understanding a patient’s journey, and making sure they have a digital presence that aligns with new trends as patients begin the process of gathering information and getting treatment.

eHealth Exchange just made a very exciting announcement: In order to accelerate interoperability of data across the eHealth Exchange network, they are offering up to three $100,000 milestone-driven grants, plus waived annual fees, to companies working on innovative ways to increase health information exchange via the eHealth Exchange network.

Zen Healthcare IT’s team has many creative and interesting discussions with our clients and potential clients about integration platforms and healthcare integrations. Most of these detailed and meaningful discussions are about how to effectively scale healthcare interoperability solutions for the long term, in a cost-effective manner.