FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HealthBridge US to Participate in CMS & HL7 FHIR® Connectathon 2026 Focused on Advancing Healthcare Interoperability
Los Angeles, CA – May 8, 2026 — HealthBridge US announces its participation in the 7th annual Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health Level Seven International (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) Connectathon, scheduled for July 14–16, 2026. The event will be held virtually and is currently open for registration.
The CMS & HL7 FHIR Connectathon brings together healthcare interoperability stakeholders, including developers, implementers, payers, providers, and federal agencies, for collaborative testing and evaluation of FHIR-based Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), implementation guides, and emerging digital health data exchange standards.
According to CMS, the 2026 Connectathon will focus on real-world testing of interoperability use cases such as electronic prior authorization, patient access APIs, payer-to-payer data exchange, and digital quality measurement workflows. The event is designed to support ongoing implementation of CMS interoperability policies and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI) rules.
Registration for the event is open through June 30, 2026, via the Whova event platform. Participants are able to select specific tracks aligned with CMS interoperability initiatives and implementation priorities.
Additional information provided by CMS indicates that the Connectathon will serve as a collaborative environment for testing FHIR implementations, refining API functionality, and identifying operational challenges in advance of broader regulatory deployment across the healthcare ecosystem. CMS has encouraged participation from both technical implementers and healthcare organizations to evaluate system readiness and contribute to interoperability alignment efforts. (cms.gov)
HealthBridge US Participation
HealthBridge US will participate in the 2026 CMS & HL7 FHIR Connectathon to engage in interoperability testing activities and observe evolving implementation frameworks related to CMS-aligned FHIR APIs and healthcare data exchange standards.
Participation will focus on evaluating how interoperability requirements are being operationalized across payer, provider, and technology platforms, particularly in relation to federal initiatives governing electronic health data access and exchange.
HealthBridge US will also monitor developments related to CMS interoperability rules and HL7 FHIR implementation guides to better understand how emerging standards may affect healthcare operations, regulatory compliance, and system integration workflows across Medicare and value-based care environments.
Interoperability and FHIR Implementation Context
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is a healthcare data exchange standard developed by HL7 International designed to enable structured, secure, and standardized exchange of electronic health information across systems.
CMS has increasingly adopted FHIR-based APIs as part of its broader interoperability strategy, including requirements for patient access, provider directory data exchange, and prior authorization automation.
The Connectathon provides a structured environment for testing these APIs in simulated and real-world scenarios, allowing participants to validate technical performance, identify implementation gaps, and refine system interoperability before production deployment.
CMS INTEROPERABILITY PRIORITIES ADDRESSED AT THE EVENT
The 2026 Connectathon will include testing and evaluation of several CMS-aligned interoperability use cases, including:
Electronic Prior Authorization workflows using FHIR APIs
Patient Access API functionality and data retrieval processes
Payer-to-payer data exchange for continuity of care
Provider directory and coverage data interoperability
Digital quality measurement and reporting frameworks
These use cases align with CMS’s broader regulatory framework aimed at improving transparency, reducing administrative burden, and increasing real-time access to healthcare data for patients and providers.
ONC HTI RULE ALIGNMENT
The Connectathon will also support implementation discussions related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI) rules.
These rules establish updated requirements for certified health IT systems, including data exchange standards, API capabilities, and information blocking provisions designed to improve interoperability across the U.S. healthcare system.
Participants will have the opportunity to evaluate how HTI requirements intersect with CMS interoperability mandates and how these frameworks are being implemented in real-world systems.
HealthBridge US Focus Areas During Participation
During the Connectathon, HealthBridge US will focus on several key areas relevant to healthcare operations and policy implementation, including:
FHIR API Implementation Readiness
Assessment of how healthcare organizations and technology vendors are implementing CMS-aligned FHIR APIs in production environments and identifying operational considerations for scaling interoperability infrastructure.
Prior Authorization Automation Workflows
Evaluation of electronic prior authorization processes and their integration into payer-provider workflows using standardized FHIR-based APIs.
Data Exchange Consistency Across Systems
Observation of how structured data is exchanged between payer, provider, and patient-facing systems, with emphasis on interoperability consistency and data completeness.
Regulatory Implementation Impact
Analysis of how CMS interoperability policies are being translated into operational systems and identifying areas where additional alignment or clarification may be required.
Industry Participation and Collaboration
CMS has encouraged participation from a broad range of healthcare stakeholders, including developers, analysts, technology vendors, payers, and providers, to ensure diverse perspectives are represented in interoperability testing and implementation discussions.
The Connectathon is structured to facilitate direct collaboration between federal agencies and industry participants in a controlled testing environment designed to improve system performance and readiness for regulatory deployment.
Event Registration Information
CMS has stated that participants should select relevant tracks through the official Connectathon Confluence page and register via the designated event platform.
Additional References
ABOUT HEALTHBRIDGE US
HealthBridge US is a healthcare consulting organization focused on healthcare interoperability, regulatory compliance, Medicare policy implementation, and operational optimization across payer and provider systems. The organization supports stakeholders in adapting to evolving federal healthcare data exchange and digital health infrastructure requirements.
