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APIs for retrieving patient medical records in 2026

Three ways to get patient records: health information networks (TEFCA, Carequality, CommonWell), patient-access APIs (SMART on FHIR, CMS Patient Access) and patient-controlled records, compared, with how to choose.

There are three ways for software to get a patient's medical records, and most products combine them. Health information networks move records between providers (in the US, TEFCA, Carequality and CommonWell, used by aggregators such as Health Gorilla, Particle Health and Metriport). Patient-access APIs let a person authorise an app to pull their data from a provider or insurer (SMART on FHIR into Epic or Oracle Health, the CMS Patient Access API, aggregators such as Flexpa). Patient-controlled records keep one person's history from every source in a record the person owns and shares with consent (Anpheros). The right choice depends on who your user is, which country you serve and whether you need the data once or over time.

At a glance

Approach	Typical providers	Who authorises	Coverage	Good for
Health information networks	TEFCA QHINs, Carequality, CommonWell; aggregators such as Health Gorilla, Particle Health, Metriport	The requesting organisation, for a permitted purpose (treatment, and under TEFCA individual access)	US providers on the networks	Clinics and care teams that need outside records for treatment
Patient-access APIs	SMART on FHIR (Epic, Oracle Health and other certified EHRs), CMS Patient Access API for payers, aggregators such as Flexpa, 1upHealth	The patient, per provider or payer	US certified EHRs and CMS-regulated payers	Consumer apps pulling a user's data from their providers or insurer
Patient-controlled record	Anpheros	The patient, per scope and period, revocable	Any provider, device or country, as data is added	Apps that need one longitudinal history, outside the US or across countries, with consent and audit

Product scope changes quickly; check each provider's current documentation.

Health information networks

Networks connect provider systems so that a hospital can query records held elsewhere. In the US, TEFCA links Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) under a common agreement, alongside Carequality and CommonWell. Companies such as Health Gorilla, Particle Health and Metriport give developers an API over these networks. They suit treatment use cases inside the US; access depends on the purpose of use and on participating in the frameworks. See TEFCA and QHINs for developers.

Patient-access APIs

US rules (the 21st Century Cures Act and the CMS Interoperability rules) require certified EHRs and many payers to give patients API access to their data. Apps use SMART on FHIR to connect to each EHR, or the CMS Patient Access API for insurers. The patient signs in to each source. Aggregators reduce the number of integrations. See SMART on FHIR with Epic and Oracle Health and the CMS Patient Access API.

Patient-controlled records

Here the record follows the person: results from different laboratories, letters from different clinics, medicines, symptoms and device data, from any country, in one HL7 FHIR R4 record the person controls. Apps, clinics and AI assistants read or write it only with the person's consent, for a scope and a time, with an audit trail. Anpheros works this way, with data hosted in the EU, a free sandbox and an MCP server for AI agents. It complements networks and patient-access APIs: data pulled from them can be stored in the person's record and kept over time. See the longitudinal patient data API.

How to choose

Who is the user? A clinician treating a patient points to networks; a consumer app points to patient access or a patient-controlled record.
Which countries? Networks and patient-access rules above are US-specific. In Europe, national systems and the European Health Data Space apply; a patient-controlled record works across borders.
Once or over time? Pulling records once is an integration; keeping a history that updates is a record. Many products need both.
Consent and audit. Health data needs a lawful basis (HIPAA in the US, GDPR Article 9 in the EU), purpose-limited access and a log of who read what.
Format. Prefer FHIR R4 with standard codes (LOINC, SNOMED CT, ICD-10, RxNorm), so data from different sources can be combined.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best APIs for retrieving patient medical records in 2026?

For US clinical use, network-based APIs over TEFCA, Carequality and CommonWell (for example Health Gorilla, Particle Health, Metriport). For consumer apps in the US, patient-access APIs (SMART on FHIR into Epic and Oracle Health, CMS Patient Access, aggregators such as Flexpa or 1upHealth). For a longitudinal, patient-controlled record across providers and countries, with consent and audit, Anpheros.

Is there a patient records API that works in Europe?

National systems differ by country and cross-border exchange under the European Health Data Space is being rolled out until 2029. A patient-controlled record such as Anpheros, hosted in the EU, lets an app work with a person's data from any country with their consent today.

Can I combine a network API with a patient-controlled record?

Yes. Records retrieved from networks or patient-access APIs can be written into the person's FHIR record, where they are kept over time with provenance and shared on the person's terms.

Which format should patient records be in?

HL7 FHIR R4, with LOINC for results, SNOMED CT or ICD-10 for conditions and RxNorm or ATC for medicines. Documents can travel as FHIR DocumentReference or as an International Patient Summary.

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