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Human API (now part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions) is a consumer-mediated health data aggregation and normalization platform that enables patients and study participants to authorize retrieval of their longitudinal electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory results, and pharmacy histories through a unified developer API. In clinical informatics and decentralized clinical trials, organizations selecting a health data infrastructure platform must distinguish between four specialized aggregator architectures: consumer-mediated patient portal aggregators (Human API), Health Information Network [HIN] query gateways (Particle Health and Zus Health), Remote Patient Monitoring [RPM] and wearable telemetry hubs (Validic), and claims-based value-based care intelligence platforms (CareJourney).
What Is Human API? Consumer-Mediated EHR, Lab, and Pharmacy Aggregation
Historically, retrieving a patient’s medical records for clinical trial eligibility screening, patient registries, or life insurance medical underwriting required faxing paper HIPAA release forms to dozens of hospitals and waiting weeks for scanned PDFs. Human API replaces manual chart chasing with a digital, consumer-permissioned data pipeline:
- Patient-Authorized OAuth 2.0 / SMART on FHIR Onboarding: Leveraging the ONC 21st Century Cures Act patient-access mandate (45 CFR § 170.315(g)(10)), Human API embeds a consumer-facing web/mobile widget where an individual searches for their health systems, clinics, national diagnostic laboratories (such as Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp), and pharmacies, and authenticates using their patient portal credentials (via SMART on FHIR) or signs a digital HIPAA Authorization.
- Clinical Normalization Engine: Raw records retrieved across disparate portals arrive as heterogeneous HL7 C-CDA XML files, HL7 FHIR R4 bundles, proprietary portal payloads, or unstructured clinical PDFs. Human API parses, deduplicates, and codifies these records into normalized JSON endpoints and US Core-aligned clinical objects mapped to SNOMED CT, ICD-10-CM, RxNorm, and LOINC codes.
- Primary Enterprise Use Cases: Human API is deployed primarily in two regulated verticals: (1) Life sciences & clinical research (verifying inclusion/exclusion criteria, capturing real-world data [RWD] medical histories, and tracking long-term post-trial outcomes with participant consent), and (2) Accelerated life and disability insurance underwriting (replacing invasive paramedical exams and Attending Physician Statements [APS] with automated EHR risk scoring under LexisNexis Risk Solutions).
Types of Health Data APIs Compared: Human API vs. Validic vs. Particle Health vs. Zus Health vs. CareJourney
Because “health data API” encompasses fundamentally different data sources, legal exchange purposes (Patient Right of Access vs. HIPAA Treatment/Payment/Operations [TPO]), and device streams, technical teams compare the five major platforms by their core data modality:
| Platform | Primary Data Modality & Network Source | Authorization & Legal Exchange Basis | Best-Fit Clinical & Research Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human API (LexisNexis Risk Solutions) |
Patient portals (FHIR/C-CDA), national labs, pharmacy networks, and digital HIPAA retrieval | Consumer-mediated consent (Patient Right of Access / OAuth 2.0 + HIPAA Authorization) | Clinical trial recruitment/RWD cohorts and life/disability insurance medical underwriting |
| Validic ( Validic Impact / Inform) |
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Bluetooth/cellular home medical devices & consumer wearables | Patient device pairing + HIPAA BAA integration with hospital EHRs (Epic, Oracle Health, MEDITECH) | Continuous home biometric streaming (BP, glucometers, CGMs, pulse oximetry, scales) into EHR flowsheets |
| Particle Health | Nationwide Health Information Networks (Carequality, CommonWell, eHealth Exchange) | Directory demographic match under HIPAA Treatment (or authorized permitted purposes) | Point-of-care longitudinal chart retrieval (C-CDA flattened to JSON & FHIR R4) for virtual/specialty providers |
| Zus Health | Shared operational clinical data layer (ZAP — Zus Aggregated Profile) + HIN/PBM/lab feeds | HIPAA Covered Entity / Business Associate Treatment & Operations | Digital health builders embedding a read/write FHIR-native longitudinal chart into clinician apps |
| CareJourney (acquired by Arcadia) |
100% Medicare FFS (CMS VRDC), Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and commercial claims cohorts | CMS Qualified Entity / Innovator Research & payer/ACO analytics licensing | Value-based care network adequacy, ACO cost/quality benchmarking, and HCC risk stratification |
Deep Dive into the Companion Platforms
- Validic and Validic RPM: Whereas EHR aggregators retrieve episodic clinic notes and lab panels, Validic specializes in high-frequency, patient-generated health data (PGHD) from more than 500 home medical devices and consumer wearables. Validic’s middleware (
Validic Inform) normalizes continuous data streams from Bluetooth and cellular blood pressure cuffs, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), spirometers, thermometers, and smart scales into standardized JSON and HL7 FHIRObservationresources, whileValidic Impactembeds remote patient monitoring workflows and CPT 99453/99454/99457 billing trackers directly inside Epic Hyperspace, Oracle Health, and MEDITECH Expanse. - Particle Health API: Acts as a single RESTful developer gateway to nationwide query-based Health Information Networks (Carequality and CommonWell). When a clinician schedules a new patient, the Particle Health API executes a demographic record-locator query across tens of thousands of connected hospitals and clinics, retrieves external C-CDA XML summaries, and parses, deduplicates, and converts them into clean HL7 FHIR R4 resources and condition-specific clinical snapshots (such as oncology, cardiology, or diabetes summaries).
- CareJourney (Arcadia): Rather than operating as a point-of-care API for individual patient chart pulls, CareJourney provides population-level claims and provider performance analytics across Medicare Fee-For-Service, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid cohorts to help Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), health systems, and life sciences researchers evaluate care continuum leakage, cost-of-care episodes, and provider referral patterns.
How Is Human API Used in Clinical Research and Healthcare?
In decentralized clinical trials (DCTs), real-world evidence registries, and post-approval safety studies, clinical research sponsors frequently combine Human API and Validic within a unified participant data architecture:
- Retrospective & Prospective EHR Tokenization (Human API): Upon signing an IRB-approved eConsent and HIPAA Authorization, the trial participant links their health system portals via Human API. The sponsor receives longitudinal ICD-10/SNOMED problem histories, prior oncology regimens, hospitalizations, and LOINC lab panels continuously throughout the multi-year follow-up window—even if the participant visits an out-of-network emergency department that is not an investigative trial site.
- Continuous Wearable & Home Biosensor Endpoints (Validic): In parallel, the participant’s home biometric sensors stream daily vital signs and activity metrics through Validic into the study’s Electronic Data Capture (EDC) or clinical data lake.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Human API?
Human API (part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions) is a consumer-mediated health data aggregation platform that allows individuals to authorize and share their longitudinal electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory test results, and pharmacy histories from thousands of U.S. healthcare providers, converting heterogeneous C-CDA, FHIR, and PDF records into normalized JSON and FHIR APIs.
How is Human API used in clinical research and healthcare, and how does it differ from Validic and Particle Health?
In clinical research and underwriting, Human API uses consumer-permissioned portal and HIPAA-authorized workflows to aggregate longitudinal EHR, lab, and pharmacy records for trial eligibility screening and real-world data (RWD) studies. By contrast, Particle Health queries nationwide Health Information Networks (Carequality/CommonWell) for point-of-care clinical treatment workflows, while Validic specializes in streaming continuous Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) data from connected home medical devices and wearables into hospital EHRs.
