Turning Fetched Records into Care Actions
Brendan Keeler, Senior PM at Zus Health, on building infrastructure for digital health
The key shift is that raw record retrieval is turning into a commodity, and the winning layer is moving up the stack to workflow and shared context. FHIR APIs, TEFCA aligned networks, and easier access through platforms like Particle Health and Health Gorilla mean more companies can fetch records. Zus is positioned around what happens after the pull, unifying data into a usable patient profile and embedding it into care team workflows and apps.
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The market breaks into three buckets. Consumer pull tools like Human API, OneRecord, and 1up let a patient log into a portal and export records. Integration layers like Redox and Lyniate help software vendors connect once and deploy across many hospitals. Network overlay players like Particle Health, Health Gorilla, and Kno2 make old exchange rails easier to use through modern APIs.
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Particle Health and Health Gorilla are closest to the table stakes layer. Particle emphasizes broad record retrieval through a simple API. Health Gorilla combines record access with TEFCA and QHIN connectivity, ADT alerts, and lab ordering. Both make outside data easier to get, but that is different from building the operating layer where care teams review, clean up, and act on that data inside daily workflows.
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Zus fits where digital health providers need more than connectivity. Its product bundles an aggregated patient record, enrichment and normalization, embedded components, APIs, and direct EHR integrations, then adds data sharing across organizations on the platform. In practice, that makes Zus look less like a pure pipe and more like a lightweight health data and workflow system for virtual first care builders.
The next phase of interoperability will reward companies that turn fetched records into coordinated care actions. As access keeps getting easier, standalone retrieval vendors will add workflow and intelligence, while Zus will keep moving toward a shared operating system for digital health providers, and eventually a broader platform that traditional providers may need to plug into to keep up.