We have the API evangelist from one of the most significant APIs out there today at #APIStrat in Nashville next week. Mark Scrimshire (@ekivemark), Blue Button Innovator and Developer Evangelist from NewWave Telecoms and Technologies will be on the main stage next Tuesday, September 25th 2018. Mark will be bringing his experience helping stand up the Blue Button API with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and sharing the stories from the trenches while delivering this critical piece of health API infrastructure within the United States.
I consider the Blue Button API to be one of the most significant APIs out there right now for several key factors:
- API Reach - An API that has potential to reach 44 million Medicare beneficiaries, which is 15 percent of the U.S. population–that is a pretty significant audience to reach when it comes to the overall API conversation.
- Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) - The Blue Button API supports Hl7 / FHIR, pushing the specification forward in the overall healthcare API interoperability discussion, making it extremely relevant to APIStrat and the OpenAPI Initiative (OAI).
- Government API Blueprint - The way in which the Blue Button API team at CMS and USDS is delivering the API is providing a potential blueprint that other federal and stage level agencies can follow when rolling out their own Medicare related APIs, but also any other critical infrastructure that this country depends on.
This is why I am always happy to support the Blue Button API team in any way I can, and I am very stoked to have them at APIStrat in Nashville next week. I’ve spent a lot of time working with, and studying what the Blue Button API team is up to, 
and I spoke at their developer conference hosted at the White House last month. They have some serious wisdom to share when it comes to delivering public APIs at this scale, making the keynote with Mark something you will not want to miss.
You can check out the schedule for APIStrat next week on the website. There are also still tickets available if you want to join in the conversation going on there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. APIStrat is operated by the OpenAPI Initiative (OA), making it the place where you will be having high level API conversation like this one. When it comes to APIs, and industry changing API specifications like FHIR, APIStrat is the place to be. I’ll see you all in Nashville next week, and I look forward to talking APIs with all y’all in the halls, and around town for APIStrat 2018.
