Ways to connect an EMR
The mechanisms for getting patients from a hospital EMR into Awell, what each one requires from the hospital, and how to choose between them.
A hospital electronic medical record (EMR) system connects to Awell Care through a custom web service, a Health Level Seven (HL7) A19 query, Scheduling Information Unsolicited (SIU) messages, or the Awell API. All of them tie care flow creation and updates to existing clinical practice, so nobody has to key patients in by hand.
A patient must exist in Awell before a care flow can start for them, so these mechanisms are mostly about getting the patient in.
Choosing a mechanism
| Mechanism | Direction | The hospital provides | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webservice | Pull | A custom web service Awell queries by patient ID | The hospital can expose a service and wants Awell to ask on demand |
| HL7 A19 query | Pull | An existing QRY A19 implementation | The hospital already answers A19 queries |
| SIU messages | Pull | A location Awell collects SIU messages from | Care flows should follow appointments |
| Awell API | Push | Buttons or links in the EMR that call Awell | The hospital's system can call out, and a human triggers it |
The pull options need a virtual private network, or VPN, between Awell and the hospital; the push option doesn't.
Webservice import
A clinician in Awell Care requests a patient by hospital patient ID or visit number. Awell calls the hospital's web service over VPN and gets the demographics back. The clinician reviews them, picks a physician, and saves the patient.
The hospital must implement a custom web service that Awell can query by patient ID and that returns the patient's details.
HL7 A19 query import
The flow is the same, but the pull uses an HL7 QRY A19 query rather than a custom service.
Awell needs an example of a QRY A19 already in use at the hospital, so the query matches what their system expects.
SIU message import
The hospital collects the care flows to start into SIU messages in a local location. Once a day Awell collects those messages and reads the basics, such as hospital patient ID and physician ID. It then queries the hospital over VPN for the demographics, creates the patient, and starts the right care flow for the right physician.
This is the most automated option, because no clinician has to do anything. See Patient creation with SIU messages for the detail.
Awell API push
When something happens in the hospital, such as a consultation or a discharge, their system calls Awell to create or update a patient.
The hospital installs one or more buttons or links in the EMR for care team members to click. See Patients in the API reference.
Clinical accounts can be provisioned through the API
Alongside patient import, clinicians need accounts in Awell Care. They can be provisioned through Awell's API rather than created by hand. See Administer & secure.
Next steps
Next: EMR integration terminology if any of the acronyms above were new.
How Awell connects to other systems
How Awell exchanges data with healthcare systems using HL7 and FHIR through an integration engine, and the storage constraint that shapes every integration.
EMR integration terminology
The vocabulary used in Awell's EMR integrations, from HL7 and Mirth to ADT, SIU and ORU messages, with what each is used for.