Insights from Sara Zywicki, Chief Product Officer at b.well Connected Health
At b.well, our journey in health records access and portability has always been about empowering consumers with their health data. As part of this commitment, we’ve joined the CMS initiative to ‘Kill the Clipboard,’ pledging to eliminate redundant paperwork and enhance digital data access at the point of care. We’ve built the largest network of consumer-mediated data connections, retrieving information from disparate healthcare sources to create actionable, longitudinal health records. This foundation allows us to address the longstanding pain points in health records management and sharing.
In October 2025, b.well conducted a healthcare consumer survey. Over 225 respondents confirmed these pain points are both widespread and intensifying. Nearly 2 out of 3 patients report frustration with writing down the same information on forms at every doctor’s visit, and this frustration progressively increases among frequent healthcare users who need seamless coordination most.
Bridging the Gap in Health Records Management
Our mission has been to make health data accessible and transparent, putting the patient first. We’ve designed our architecture to support a consent management framework that facilitates access and sharing across distributed care delivery networks. Our consumer experience platform enables patients to easily access and share their health information, delivering personalized support anytime and anywhere.
Our network does three critical things:
- Aggregates data from disparate healthcare sources
- Creates a comprehensive, longitudinal health record
- Empowers patients with a consent-driven, transparent system that allows them to access and share their information easily
Accessing and aggregating data is just the beginning. We refine this data to power analytics, AI-driven insights, and accelerate business processes. This approach not only improves operational efficiency but also allows us to quickly adapt to additional data sources, such as social determinants of health, wearables, and patient-reported outcomes.
Personal Healthcare Journeys and Why This Matters
I’ve personally witnessed the cost of fragmented health data watching my father manage my mother’s dementia progression. He had to reconstruct her medical history, symptoms observed, functional status changes and fall episodes time and time again at ER visits, doctor’s appointments and with new caregivers. I watched him exhaust himself not just providing care, but serving as the sole keeper and translator of her health story.
Over 1 in 4 of our survey participants feel their doctors don’t always have access to their full health history. This percentage increases among patients with 10+ annual visits, exactly the population managing complex conditions like my father. Over 50% are frustrated with verbally repeating their health history to new doctors. One survey respondent captured the frustration perfectly “I hate repeating my history or correcting the provider with what is in my chart. I think some of the questions are too repetitive at the beginning of an appointment.”
Our research shows patients are managing an average of 3-5 disconnected digital health systems. Another survey responder shared, “Easier access is always best. Be great if you could have the same portal for all doctors and people in your home for even easier access.” The problem isn’t digital adoption, it’s digital fragmentation. Patients don’t need another app; they need their existing tools to work together seamlessly.
Entering the Healthcare Delivery System
For the first time, b.well is stepping into the intersection of healthcare delivery. We’re bringing our interoperability assets to enhance continuity of care, improve treatment decisions, and reduce claim denials. Our patient-facing app and digital insurance card make it easy for patients to share their health information, aligning with the market’s push for portable health records and perfectly meeting patient demands. When we asked about the value of easily sharing health history with new doctors, 85% rated it valuable or extremely valuable.
The Kill the Clipboard capabilities are a natural expansion of our roadmap, and the timing is perfect. The call to action from CMS and the market’s demand for easy health records portability aligns with our vision.
The Trust Factor with Health Records Management
Patients are becoming more and more digitally savvy. They just need transparency and control. Our research reveals this isn’t technophobia—it’s informed caution. Nearly 70% disagree that digital systems are too complicated, and 73% disagree that digital records are less reliable than paper.
This is where b.well’s consent-driven architecture becomes critical. Patients don’t want to micromanage every data point, they want comprehensive security from trusted partners. Our framework delivers exactly that: the transparency patients demand with the seamless experience they expect.
At b.well, we’ve always believed that healthcare should work for patients, not against them. By killing the clipboard and embracing digital, patient-mediated health information, we’re creating a future where your health story is clear, accessible, and truly yours.
We’ll be at HLTH 2025 in Las Vegas, discussing these topics in our session, “Inside the CMS Conversational AI Assistant Pledge,” and at our booth. Stop by for engaging discussions and live demonstrations on AI-powered consumer experiences.
Book a time with us in advance for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Watch8!
