Clinical AI with EHR Integrations: SMART on FHIR Guide

Glass brings clinical AI into supported EHR workflows using SMART on FHIR. We use authorized chart context to pull patient data into Glass so clinicians can draft notes, generate differentials, build assessment-and-plan output, and ask cited clinical questions in one workflow.

The important framing is clinical AI with EHR integrations, not a generic "API integration." If you are embedding Glass into your own software product, start with /developer-api. If you are evaluating Glass inside an EHR workflow, this page is the right starting point.

What we mean by EHR integration

For Glass, EHR integration means chart-context clinical AI. The EHR remains the system of record. SMART on FHIR authorizes access to the patient context needed for the clinician's session, and Glass uses that context to support ambient scribing plus clinical decision support.

That is why we do not describe this as a generic API connector story. The point is not to bolt a chatbot beside the chart. The point is to make the chart context useful for real clinical work: documentation, differential diagnosis, assessment-and-plan drafting, chart summarization, and cited Q&A.

How SMART on FHIR fits into the workflow

SMART App Launch is the standards-based launch and authorization pattern most teams use to connect applications with FHIR-based data systems. In practice, that gives Glass a clean way to work from the chart the clinician is already using instead of asking the clinician to restate the case manually.

The workflow is straightforward:

The EHR authorizes the integration through SMART on FHIR.
Glass pulls the patient context needed for the session.
Glass uses that context to support ambient documentation and clinical reasoning.
The clinician reviews the output inside the workflow they are already running.

The practical value is not technical elegance for its own sake. It is that the same patient context can support both documentation and clinical reasoning during the encounter.

What Glass pulls from the EHR

Glass can securely incorporate the following chart context into the workflow:

demographics
past medical history and problem lists
medications
surgical history
laboratory values
vital signs
imaging studies
functional status
social history
allergies
preventive care
encounter data

That matters because a clinical AI workflow is much stronger when it starts from the actual chart instead of a blank text box.

What clinicians can do once the chart context is in Glass

Once the patient context is in Glass, the workflow can support the same clinical jobs Glass Health supports across its product pages:

ambient note drafting from the encounter conversation
chart summarization
differential diagnosis with next-step support
assessment-and-plan drafting
cited clinical Q&A grounded in medical literature and guidelines

This is the core product distinction. Glass is not just listening and transcribing. It is using chart context plus encounter context to support both documentation and clinical reasoning.

Supported EHR workflows

Our current EHR workflow pages cover:

Across our supported Max workflows, we also support Elation clinical workflows.

If your team uses another SMART-on-FHIR-capable EHR, contact us to review fit, available chart context, and rollout scope for that environment.

Security, HIPAA, and BAA review

Glass is designed to support HIPAA-compliant use of PHI in AI-powered clinical decision support. For Developer API deployments, API settings let teams review and accept a click-through BAA before sending production PHI through the Developer API (/api-documentation). EHR-connected deployments should confirm the exact BAA path and implementation scope directly with Glass.

For EHR-connected deployments, the right diligence sequence is simple:

confirm the SMART on FHIR setup and authorized data scope
confirm the BAA and PHI handling path
test the review workflow your clinicians will actually use
validate the exact pilot scope before broader rollout

The BAA is necessary, but it is not the whole implementation story. You still need the right workflow, the right chart context, and the right review path.

How to scope a pilot well

The fastest way to evaluate Glass inside an EHR is to keep the pilot narrow and concrete.

Start with one clinician cohort and one real workflow. Define which outputs matter most. For some teams that will be ambient notes and chart summaries. For others it will be differential support, cited Q&A, or assessment-and-plan drafts. Then confirm the SMART on FHIR prerequisites, the exact patient-context fields needed, and the review process clinicians will follow before the output is finalized.

If your organization needs a deeper product-embedding conversation, pair this page with /developer-api. If the main question is clinician workflow fit, pair this page with /ambient-cds and the EHR workflow pages linked above.

FAQ

How does Glass connect to an EHR?

We use SMART on FHIR to authorize chart-context access from supported EHR workflows. That lets Glass pull the patient information needed for the clinical session and use it for documentation plus CDS inside the Glass workflow.

What chart data does Glass pull into the workflow?

Glass can bring demographics, problem lists, medications, surgical history, labs, vitals, imaging, functional status, social history, allergies, preventive care, and encounter data into the workflow.

Is this an API integration?

For Glass, the better description is clinical AI with EHR integrations. The point is not just that data can move between systems. The point is that SMART on FHIR brings the chart context into Glass so clinicians can use ambient scribing and CDS in one workflow.

Does Glass require a BAA for PHI workflows?

Yes. For Developer API deployments, API settings let teams review and accept a click-through BAA before sending production PHI through the Developer API. For EHR-connected deployments, confirm the exact BAA and implementation scope during contracting.

Which EHR workflows does Glass support today?

Glass supports Epic, eClinicalWorks, athenahealth, and Elation workflows. Non-Epic workflows, including Elation, should be confirmed directly with Glass during setup.

Can Glass work outside the EHR too?

Yes. Glass Health's Ambient CDS page describes browser-based use as well as EHR-connected workflow support. That is useful for teams that want flexibility across clinics, remote work, or phased deployment.

What should a team validate in a pilot?

Validate the SMART on FHIR setup, the chart-context fields you need, the clinician review flow, the note and CDS outputs that matter most, and the BAA/security path for the exact deployment.

What if my EHR is not listed on this page?

If your team uses another SMART-on-FHIR-capable EHR, contact us to review fit and rollout scope directly. Glass supports Epic, eClinicalWorks, athenahealth, and Elation workflows today, but SMART on FHIR compatibility is still the right starting point for broader evaluation.