Most independent practices assume they're stuck with whatever their EHR ships with - the default scribe, the default CRM, the default everything. Brendan Keeler says that's no longer true.
Known to many as the "Health API Guy," Brendan leads the interoperability practice at HTD Health and has seen the EHR world from nearly every angle - 5.5 years inside Epic, plus stints at Redox, Zus Health, and Flexpa. He joins Jakub Grajcar to explain why independent practices have more power over their technology than they realize.
We dig into:
π Brendan's #1 tip - lean on interoperability to get big-system efficiencies without giving up your independence
βοΈ Why the 21st Century Cures Act means your EHR can't just block the software you want to use
ποΈ How practices are winning against Epic, PointClickCare, and Henry Schein in court - and what it means for you
π§© Point solutions vs. the EHR bundle - why the specialist tool is usually better, and how to force integration
π€ Copilots vs. agents - the two kinds of AI, and why scribes took off first
πΊοΈ How to actually choose AI: map your workflows, find the bottleneck, then know your own buying priorities
π Why the AI front desk is the next wave after the scribe - lower clinical risk, faster efficiency gains
Resources mentioned:
π€ Guest: Brendan Keeler
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-keelerNewsletter - Health API Guy:
https://healthapiguy.substack.comX:
https://x.com/healthapiguyπ’ Companies & Tools
HTD Health:
https://htdhealth.comHealth information exchange on-ramps: Particle Health, Health Gorilla, Zus Health
Independent-practice-focused HIE tools: Connective Health, Abstractive Health
ποΈ Regulation & bodies mentioned
21st Century Cures Act (information blocking)
Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)
Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
π Book
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
βοΈ Court cases referenced
Information blocking suits against Epic, PointClickCare, and Henry Schein
π₯ See how Talkie.ai works - AI medical receptionist demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOiJ3ITTrLY&list=PLLjcCBHYN2KoBqm-Dx-8lIwWLuU-CHXSg