Redox Reflections: Inside the June 2025 CMS Interoperability Event

The June installment of Redox “Connections” was written by Redox CEO Trip Hofer.

By now, if you work or operate in the world of data interoperability, you either attended or have read about the recent CMS data interoperability gathering in Washington, D.C. This was followed by the submission of thousands of pages, by hundreds of vendors, responding to the Health Technology Ecosystem Request for Information (RFI). Many organizations have posted incredibly interesting and informed observations about these events. So at the very least, the recent meetings and RFI sponsored by the Federal government have provoked meaningful conversations specific to the current and future of healthcare data and interoperability.

I have often said to the Redox team and in public forums that there is no such thing as a singular data interoperability partner; there are simply too many data interoperability use cases for one company to adequately and appropriately support them all. If you’re going to work effectively within data interoperability, you must acknowledge and make room for other data interoperability partners.

With that partnership view in mind, I thought it helpful to link to some of the interesting written observations that have been published by others (i.e., not Redox) in the data interoperability ecosystem. I did take the liberty of including a brief summary of what I believe are the salient points, but only to hopefully entice you to click through and read the entire piece.

My one disclaimer: The risk of putting forth a set of articles is that some are left out. In no way is my intent to offend. I recognize there are many amazing posts and articles that are not included below. But just like the events in DC, my hope here is to provoke thought and continue inspired dialogue. So without further ado:

I thought I would start with an overview of what actually happened during the Washington DC event. I found this set of notes from Ron Urwongse, Defacto Health, to be particularly helpful. With this context in mind, let’s then shift to reactions and RFI submissions.

Health API Guy - If you are going to post anything about data interoperability, you have to include Brendan Keeler's blog. Starting with his introductory remarks (I love the picture), Brendan identifies three proactive initiatives coming out of the CMS event:

First, we must establish digital identity as our foundation—Know Your Business, Know Your Provider, Know Your Customer. Every soldier in this healthcare army must be verified, from the grandest hospital to the humblest patient.
Second, we must build digital networks to replace our antiquated communication lines. No more shall we rely on telegraph-like faxes and exhausting telephone calls. TEFCA or other networks must become our railways, connecting every outpost.
Third, we must liberate patient data from its current bondage. Patients deserve full command over their medical records, able to direct their information wherever duty calls.

Brendan also constantly posts interesting insights on X and Linkedin. I’d recommend starting with this tweet and his recent Linkedin post on HTD Health’s RFI.

b.well's Blog on the CMS RFI and Event - When I started at Redox a few years back, I attended a small conference where I had the pleasure of seeing Kristen Valdes, CEO of b.well, give her general observations on the state of data interoperability. After that talk, I actively sought her out. I have since met and spoken to Kristen multiple times, and she absolutely does not disappoint when it comes to proactive thinking about the future of data and data interoperability. Kristen was also one of the few who spoke at the Washington, D.C. event

The b.well article provided here is actually written by Jill DeGraf, SVP of Privacy, Regulatory Affairs, and Compliance at b.well. In it, she defines the four “big moves” that CMS should immediately address.

Enforce the rules we already have, especially for EHRs, Providers, and HIEs
Cure “Portalitis” with Digital ID and Trusted Access
Move certification off the EHR and onto the APIs that power real care
Expand standards and access across the ecosystem

Kno2's CMS RFI Response - I have come to know the Kno2 team, and Therasa Bell specifically, over the last year. While there are so many impressive leaders in this space, Therasa has been passionate about accurate patient information and true healthcare data interoperability for decades. When you talk to Therasa, you quickly realize you are speaking to someone who knows way more than most and has a unique drive to impact and effect real change. The Kno2 submission reflects Therasa’s breadth and depth within data interoperability. The key recommendations include:

Mandate TEFCA as a condition for Medicare/Medicaid participation (phased 2026–2028).
Technology-agnostic integration: allow both certified and non-certified systems to connect via QHINs.
Universal patient data access: include full health records from all providers (not just MDs).

Kyna Fong (Elation's Founder / CEO) - Kyna spoke on the same panel at the Washington, D.C. event as Kristen (b.well), Therasa (Kno2), and Brendan (HTD Health). In this brief post, Kyna notes three key reflections:

Primary Care = Interoperability Catalyst. The root issue in health tech is incentive misalignment, not technology. CMS should use its payment power to reward primary care for coordination, prevention, and system integration, driving true market demand for data exchange.
Shift certification to real-world outcomes. Move away from checklist-style certifications, and instead, focus on end-to-end utility and outcome-based interoperability that benefits clinicians in real settings.
AI is redefining standards. The FHIR versus proprietary API debate is becoming less relevant. AI will soon act as a universal translator, structuring unstandardized data and minimizing reliance on rigid formats, making rich, frictionless data exchange the new goal.

Specific to Kyna’s third reflection, as a Redox partner Elation has taken a unique approach to integrations: their API ecosystem has made them significantly easier to integrate with long before FHIR APIs became a requirement for ONC Certified EHRs. Many organizations make their platforms inherently difficult to connect to for a variety of reasons, including cost, complexity, lack of documentation, and broken APIs. Elation has taken steps to make their system more accessible and open to data exchange.

Josh Mandel's AI Aggregator for CMS Comments - Josh is the Chief Architect for Health at Microsoft Azure. He was gracious enough to pull together this dashboard that shows comments to the CMS RFI. If you have the time and inclination to read what basically every data interoperability partner has expressed, this is a great place to start. Thanks to Josh for pulling it together.

Bringing it home: How Redox is responding

As these diverse perspectives show, the future of data interoperability isn’t just being debated right now. It’s being designed, in real-time, by an ecosystem that’s increasingly collaborative, thoughtful, and bold. As I said in the beginning, at Redox we’ve long believed that no single player can solve this challenge alone. There is no such thing as a single data interoperability partner.

That’s why we’ve been rethinking our platform from the ground up not just to meet the moment, but to accelerate what's next. I look forward to sharing more soon about how we’re building a more open and modular Redox platform. Our focus is on enabling a range of interoperability use cases, supporting the incredibly broad ecosystem of builders, and giving organizations the control and composability they need to act fast.

Watch this space! The future of healthcare data isn’t on the horizon anymore. It’s here. And we’re building the platform and connections to power it.