b.well’s FHIR-based infrastructure, semantic interoperability capabilities, and consumer-centered user experience align with CMS’s vision for modern healthcare data exchange
BALTIMORE, July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — b.well Connected Health, a FHIR®-based digital health platform unifying healthcare data and services into seamless consumer experiences, today announced their pledge to become a CMS‑Aligned Network under the newly launched CMS Interoperability Framework, meeting federal standards for secure, standards-based health data exchange. The announcement follows the White House unveiling of this voluntary, national strategy to modernize data sharing across the healthcare ecosystem. The framework calls on private-sector organizations to support patient-directed access, adopt FHIR API-based exchange, and power consumer-facing tools that put consumers and providers first. This milestone aligns with b.well’s belief that interoperability must be built from the ground up with consumers, not legacy systems, at the center.
b.well is among the first companies in the industry with production-ready interoperability live today. Its modern, FHIR-based platform integrates data from more than 1.8 million provider connections, 300+ payer connections, TEFCA, Health Information Networks (HINs) and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), labs, and pharmacies daily, optimized for patient access and value-based care.
“This new CMS framework validates everything we have built for and believed in for over a decade,” said Kristen Valdes, CEO and Founder of b.well. “True interoperability cannot be achieved through regulatory compliance alone. It requires open standards, consumer empowerment, and a modernized architecture. Since our inception, we have believed that data belongs to patients, that interoperability requires semantic understanding beyond just data exchange, and that consumer-grade experiences are achievable in healthcare when we stop competing on data and start competing on the value offered on top of the data.”
The CMS Digital Health Ecosystem initiative represents a voluntary collaboration between government and private sector organizations committed to modernizing healthcare data exchange. By supporting open standards, secure data sharing, and consumer empowerment, the framework creates the foundation for healthcare experiences that match the digital sophistication Americans expect in every other aspect of their lives.
b.well’s production environment already supports the CMS-Aligned Network requirements across all five key areas:
- Patient Access & Empowerment: Any application connects through standardized FHIR APIs with OAuth2/OpenID Connect authentication. Clinical data mandated by US Core V3 flows through standard interfaces, with comprehensive audit logging and patient-controlled consent management through FHIR Consent resources.
- Provider Access & Delegation: Chart notes, clinical documents, appointment data, and care quality metrics are immediately accessible. The platform supports encounter-based queries and provides the delegated access models that enable modern care coordination.
- Data Availability & Standards Compliance: All data formats convert automatically to FHIR. The company’s AI-powered record locator enables demographic-based patient matching across the network’s comprehensive national provider directory containing over 8 million healthcare providers.
- Network Connectivity & Transparency: b.well maintains a multi-tiered data connectivity strategy through integrations with TEFCA, HINs, HIEs, Medicare Blue Button 2.0 (CARIN IG), the VA, proprietary pharmacy and laboratory networks, and the most robust set of Patient Access APIs on both providers and payers.
- Identity, Security & Trust: HITRUST certification provides enterprise-grade security, while IAL2-compliant identity verification, powered by CLEAR, enables the passwordless authentication that consumers expect.
The CMS framework will also lead to the eradication of what Valdes terms “portalitis,” the frustrating experience that forces patients to navigate dozens of disconnected login portals to access their own health information. “If you can board a plane with just facial recognition, you should be able to access your health data just as easily,” Valdes noted. “CMS is encouraging an ecosystem where companies compete on delivering consumer value, not controlling access to data. This means reducing friction while increasing security for permissions-based access for patients as well as their caregivers.”
b.well’s participation in the CMS-Aligned Network will enable healthcare organizations to offer:
- Medical record access through facial recognition without usernames or passwords
- Instant health data sharing with providers using QR codes and SMART Health Links
- Granular control over data access with real-time revocation capabilities
- Automatic digital visit summaries and care plans
- Personalized, context-aware AI-powered guidance to patients by securely accessing and interpreting their medical history in real time
- Enterprise-grade security infrastructure proven in banking and e-commerce
b.well will also demonstrate two of CMS’s three showcase objectives/use cases before year-end, with capabilities already deployed across leading healthcare organizations:
- Kill the Clipboard: Patients can access complete longitudinal health records instantly, sharing them with providers at the point of care through QR codes and SMART Health Links. Visit summaries and updated records transfer immediately post-encounter, eliminating administrative burden while enhancing care continuity.
- Conversational AI Assistants: Context-aware AI agents access and interpret consumer health data in real time, guiding patients through critical care decisions with secure, personalized support that understands their complete clinical history.
b.well invites healthcare systems, payers, EHR vendors, application developers, and other stakeholders to apply to join the b.well network. Organizations can begin onboarding today through the company’s developer portal, with additional capabilities launching throughout 2025, including facial recognition identity for providers, automatic app onboarding through OAuth Dynamic Client Registration, and encounter-linked clinical data queries.
Valdes concluded, “This is healthcare’s pivotal moment. The infrastructure for connected, consumer-first healthcare is here to deliver access, ease, and control to consumers, whenever and wherever they need it.”
Learn more about the b.well network at [email protected].
About b.well
b.well Connected Health is solving healthcare’s fragmentation problem. b.well’s scalable, FHIR-based platform unifies all healthcare data, solutions, and services in one place — empowering healthcare organizations to offer their consumers personalized and relevant experiences. b.well enables the creation of longitudinal health records so healthcare consumers can receive proactive health insights, and conveniently shop and access care for themselves and their loved ones. b.well’s Connected Health Platform integrates within existing digital systems, enhancing technology investments and ensuring consumers are the heart of every interaction. Learn more at icanbwell.com.
