Kaiser Permanente Invites Software Developers To Build Apps

Health care giant Kaiser Permanente took small steps today allowing developers to access code to public information residing on its website, through an application programming interface (API). Kaiser Permanente, which boasts more than 9 million members, is the first hospital system to do so—which makes it significant. “We’re looking for people to develop apps that offer value to our members” says Philip Fasano, Kaiser Permanente’s chief information officer. He made the announcement at Health Datapalooza, a conference that brings together the government, companies, and non-profits to encourage the release of data and innovation in the health care industry.  

Still, Fasano stressed that because of privacy issues, patient data from electronic health records—even stripped of identity, is off limits. “This is new territory for this industry. We have particular responsibility to our members; we need to be thoughtful about opening capabilities,” he says.