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AdvancedMD is a cloud-based ambulatory healthcare software platform that unifies Electronic Health Records (EHR), practice management (PM), medical billing, and patient engagement tools within a single hosted environment. Certified under the ONC Health IT Certification Program, AdvancedMD supports clinical data interoperability through two distinct integration tiers: a standards-based, read-only HL7 FHIR Release 4 (R4) API for patient and population access under 45 CFR § 170.315(g)(10), and proprietary Connect APIs (REST and XML-RPC) for bidirectional transactional workflows.
What Is AdvancedMD and How Is the Cloud EHR Platform Structured?
Operated by AdvancedMD, Inc. (headquartered in South Jordan, Utah) and hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure, the platform is architected specifically for independent ambulatory medical practices, multi-specialty clinics, mental health providers, and medical billing services. Rather than operating separate local databases for clinical charting and billing, AdvancedMD structures its core suite around three interconnected cloud modules that share a common patient demographic and encounter index (for a broader taxonomy distinction, see EHR vs. EMR):
- AdvancedMD Practice Management (PM) & Revenue Cycle Management (RCM): Centralizes multi-provider appointment scheduling, real-time insurance eligibility verification, claim scrubbing, electronic remittance advice (ERA) posting, and financial reporting.
- AdvancedMD EHR: Provides customizable clinical charting templates, clinical decision support, electronic prescribing (including EPCS), computerized provider order entry (CPOE), bidirectional laboratory and radiology interfaces, and mobile clinician access.
- Patient Engagement & Telehealth: Integrates an online patient portal, digital intake forms, automated appointment reminders, credit-card processing, and HIPAA-compliant telemedicine video visits directly into the clinical chart.
How Third-Party Applications Authenticate and Exchange Data with the AdvancedMD API
Informatics teams and software developers building an AdvancedMD integration must select between two separate API pathways depending on whether their workflow requires regulatory read-only clinical extraction or bidirectional practice management and EHR write-back:
- Registering on the Regulatory FHIR Developer Portal (
fhir.advancedmd.com): Developers building SMART on FHIR applications register an account on the public AdvancedMD FHIR portal, create a client application profile, configure redirect URIs, and select granular OAuth 2.0 scopes for sandbox testing or production deployment. - Executing SMART App Launch (3-Legged OAuth 2.0): For single-patient and practitioner-facing apps, the client initiates an OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Grant flow against AdvancedMD’s authorization server using SMART App Launch v2.2 parameters (such as
launch/patient,openid,fhirUser,offline_access, oronline_access). - Requesting Granular US Core Resource Scopes: After the patient or authorized clinician authenticates and grants consent, AdvancedMD issues a bearer access token scoped to permitted read operations (
patient/*.readoruser/*.read). - Querying Read-Only FHIR R4 Endpoints: The application issues HTTP
GETrequests against the practice’s FHIR R4 endpoint to retrieve structured resources conforming to the US Core FHIR Implementation Guide. - Executing Bulk Data Exports (
$export) for Population and Research Cohorts: For population health analytics or clinical registry extraction, authorized backend services invoke the FHIR Bulk Data Access API (Group/[id]/$exportorPatient/$export) to retrieve newline-delimited JSON (NDJSON) files across a defined patient group. - Integrating via Proprietary Connect APIs (REST and XML-RPC) for Write-Back: When an external system needs full CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) capabilities—such as creating patient records, scheduling appointments, posting billing charges, or uploading clinical documents—the integrator must enroll in the AdvancedMD Partner Program, sign a Certified API Developer Agreement, and authenticate against the proprietary REST or XML-RPC Connect API endpoints (or configure ODBC database access for reporting).
What FHIR R4 Capabilities Does AdvancedMD Provide for Patient and Population Access?
To satisfy the ONC 2015 Edition Cures Update certification criterion at 45 CFR § 170.315(g)(10) (Standardized API for Patient and Population Services), the AdvancedMD FHIR API implements HL7 FHIR Release 4 (R4, v4.0.1) aligned with US Core v6.1.0 and United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI v3).
Core clinical and administrative FHIR R4 resources exposed by AdvancedMD include Patient, AllergyIntolerance, CarePlan, CareTeam, Condition, Coverage, Device, DiagnosticReport, DocumentReference, Encounter, Goal, Immunization, Location, Medication, MedicationDispense, MedicationRequest, Observation, Organization, Practitioner, PractitionerRole, Procedure, Provenance, QuestionnaireResponse, RelatedPerson, ServiceRequest, and Specimen. These standardized endpoints also underpin compliance with federal information blocking rules and exceptions and national exchange frameworks such as TEFCA and QHIN participation.
Strengths and Limits for Clinical Informatics and Research Teams
- Strengths: Unified cloud PM and EHR data model across multi-site ambulatory groups; standards-compliant HL7 FHIR R4 Single and Bulk Data APIs supporting USCDI v3 and SMART App Launch v2.2; availability of both modern REST/FHIR interfaces and ODBC reporting access.
- Limits: The public regulatory FHIR R4 API (`fhir.advancedmd.com`) is strictly read-only (`GET` only) and does not support 2-legged system-to-system OAuth on the single-patient tier or clinical write-back (`POST`/`PUT`/`DELETE`). Any application that writes appointments, demographics, or clinical notes into AdvancedMD requires a commercial partner agreement and proprietary Connect API integration.
Alternatives to AdvancedMD
Ambulatory clinics and clinical research sites evaluating EHR and practice management platforms typically compare AdvancedMD against other ONC-certified cloud EHRs and enterprise hospital systems (such as those covered in Epic vs. Oracle Health (Cerner)):
| Platform | Primary Target Setting | Core Architecture | Interoperability & API Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdvancedMD | Independent ambulatory practices, multi-specialty clinics, and billing services | AWS-hosted cloud PM, EHR, RCM, and patient engagement suite | ONC (g)(10) read-only FHIR R4 (Single & Bulk API) + proprietary REST/XML-RPC Connect APIs & ODBC |
| athenahealth (athenaOne) | Ambulatory medical groups and outpatient health systems | Multi-tenant cloud EHR, revenue cycle, and patient engagement network | ONC (g)(10) FHIR R4 APIs + proprietary REST APIs via the athenahealth Marketplace program |
| eClinicalWorks (eCW) | Ambulatory practices, FQHCs, and multi-specialty clinics | Cloud EHR and practice management with Healow patient portal | FHIR R4 APIs (`fhir.eclinicalworks.com`) for patient/population access + HL7 v2 / partner integration interfaces |
| Epic Systems | Academic medical centers, inpatient hospitals, and large integrated health networks | Enterprise inpatient/ambulatory EHR (Hyperspace / Chronicles) with MyChart | FHIR R4 (`open.epic.com`), SMART on FHIR, Bulk FHIR, and HL7 v2 / Care Everywhere interoperability |
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the AdvancedMD cloud EHR and practice management platform structured?
AdvancedMD is structured as an integrated, AWS-hosted cloud suite combining three core operational modules—Practice Management and Revenue Cycle Management (scheduling, eligibility, claims, and billing), Electronic Health Records (clinical charting, e-prescribing, orders, and lab interfaces), and Patient Engagement (patient portal, digital intake, and telehealth)—sharing a common patient record.
How do third-party applications authenticate and exchange data with the AdvancedMD API?
Applications using AdvancedMD’s regulatory FHIR R4 API authenticate via SMART App Launch v2.2 and 3-legged OAuth 2.0 (Authorization Code Grant) to obtain scoped bearer tokens for read-only GET requests or Bulk FHIR exports. Applications requiring read/write CRUD access to scheduling, demographics, or billing must enroll in the AdvancedMD partner program and use the proprietary REST or XML-RPC Connect APIs.
What FHIR R4 capabilities does AdvancedMD provide for patient and population access?
Under ONC 45 CFR § 170.315(g)(10) certification, AdvancedMD provides both a FHIR R4 Single API and a FHIR R4 Bulk Data Access API supporting US Core v6.1.0 and USCDI v3 clinical resources (including Patient, Condition, Observation, MedicationRequest, DiagnosticReport, DocumentReference, Encounter, and Provenance) for read-only patient and population data extraction.
Sources
- AdvancedMD — FHIR R4 Developer Portal & ONC (g)(10) Standardized API Documentation (https://fhir.advancedmd.com/)
- HL7 International — US Core Implementation Guide (FHIR R4) & SMART App Launch Framework (https://hl7.org/fhir/us/core/)
