In the realm of healthcare, seamless data exchange is critical — not just for compliance with regulations but also for improving patient care. While HL7 FHIR APIs are becoming the gold standard for interoperability, many legacy and even modern web-based EHR systems still lack comprehensive APIs. This is where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can bridge the gap.
It's important for the Healthcare interoperability devs to be aware of current advancements in the interoperability space and hence I thought to bring this post to you.
In this post, we’ll explore how RPA can be used in healthcare interoperability, particularly for automating interactions with web-based systems that don’t expose APIs. We’ll demonstrate a proof of concept using TypeScript and Puppeteer that calculates a cancer risk score for a patient via a web form and extracts the result automatically. We will use https://ccrisktool.cancer.gov/calculator.html as a demo site, it has a form that one needs to fill and it calculates your cancer risk score based on inputs. This site has a form structure complex enough to demonstrate different kind of fields for RPA and simple enough for the purpose of this demo.
Why Use RPA in Healthcare Interoperability?
RPA involves software robots that mimic human interactions with a user interface. In healthcare, RPA can:
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Automate data entry from FHIR servers into web-based EHRs.
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Extract lab results, risk scores, or notes from legacy systems.
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Bridge non-API workflows between systems.
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Reduce clerical burden on clinical staff.
This is particularly useful when dealing with external systems that offer valuable tools but no APIs — like online risk calculators, insurance portals, or registry forms.
Use Case: Automating a Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
Imagine you want to integrate an online cancer risk calculator with your interoperable workflow. Instead of waiting for an official API, we can use Puppeteer build a backend automation that will expose this workflow as a RESTful API
POST a RESTful API request to our server
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Server in background will launch the risk calculator webpage https://ccrisktool.cancer.gov/calculator.html
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Fill out a form based on request data received on our RESTful API
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Submit the form.
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Scrape and store the result (e.g., a 5-year risk score).
Return the result as a JSON to the RESTful API call
The proof of concept shown here is for educational purposes only. Automating interactions with third-party websites using RPA should never be done without the explicit approval of the site owner or developer. Unauthorized automation may violate the site’s terms of service, privacy obligations, or applicable laws. Always seek proper permissions, ensure compliance with healthcare data protection regulations (e.g., HIPAA), and use such approaches responsibly in production environments. I used this website for the demo purpose and I don't encourage people using this site unnecessarily to play around.
