EHR integration reference

ModMed Ortho Integration: API and EMA Web Automation for Ortho-Specific Workflows

ModMed Ortho (EMA Ortho plus Practice Management) is the dominant cloud EHR for US orthopedic groups in the 3 to 50 physician range. MedReception AI integrates through a hybrid stack: ModMed FHIR R4 for structured reads and writes, plus headless EMA web automation for booking surfaces, visit-type mapping, and imaging coordination that the public API does not expose. This page documents what we read, what we write, and how the ortho-specific workflows are wired.

FHIR R4 plus EMA Web Automation

US Ortho Footprint

3,800

ModMed Ortho practices nationwide

Visit Types Supported

EMA visit-types mapped per practice

Integration Surface

100%

FHIR R4 plus EMA web full coverage

Surgical Coord Time Saved

4 days

Average surgical-scheduling cycle cut

Product overview

What ModMed Ortho Actually Is

ModMed Ortho is the orthopedic specialty edition of the EMA cloud EHR paired with ModMed Practice Management. It is the most common EHR in mid-sized US orthopedic groups, with deep penetration into joint, sports, spine, hand, foot and ankle, and trauma subspecialties. MedReception integrates with both EMA (clinical) and PM (scheduling, billing, demographics) so the AI receptionist can book, intake, order imaging, and coordinate surgical scheduling without staff intervention.

EMA Ortho (Clinical)

Adaptive Learning Engine, ortho-tuned templates
Joint, sports, spine, hand, foot and ankle, trauma protocols
Cast clinic and injection workflow templates
Imaging order entry with DICOM-aware routing
Surgical scheduling worksheet and op-note templates

ModMed PM (Operational)

Multi-location, multi-provider schedule grid
Visit-type to template binding per provider per location
Workers-comp and MVA chart flags and adjuster fields
Referral capture for second-opinion routing
Claims, eligibility, and patient statement workflows

Practice Size Sweet Spot

3 to 50 physician orthopedic groups
Often 2 to 12 locations under one tax ID
Embedded imaging (x-ray suite, sometimes MRI or CT)
Dedicated surgical-scheduling coordinators
High workers-comp and MVA mix

Why Hybrid Integration is Required

FHIR R4 covers patients, appointments, encounters, orders
EMA web exposes ortho visit-type matrices not in FHIR
Cast clinic and injection slots live in PM templates only
Surgical-scheduling worksheet has no public API
Imaging vendor routing is configured in EMA web UI

Integration architecture

ModMed FHIR R4 API plus EMA Web Automation

MedReception runs a dual-channel integration: FHIR R4 over OAuth 2.0 for structured data and EMA headless browser automation for the surfaces FHIR cannot reach. Both channels share a tenant-scoped credential vault and emit unified events into the call pathway, so the AI receptionist sees one consistent view of the practice.

Channel 1: FHIR R4

OAuth 2.0 SMART on FHIR system app
Patient, Appointment, Encounter, ServiceRequest
Practitioner, Location, Schedule, Slot
Coverage and EligibilityRequest for insurance
Webhook subscriptions for live event delivery

Channel 2: EMA Web Automation

Playwright headless on hardened ECS Fargate
Per-tenant session keeper with auto-relogin
Visit-type matrix scrape per provider per location
Cast clinic and injection slot enumeration
Surgical-scheduling worksheet read and write

Shared Plane

Tenant credential vault in AWS Secrets Manager
Event bus normalizes FHIR and web events
Conflict resolution: FHIR is source of truth for IDs
EMA web is source of truth for slot availability
Audit trail of every read and write per call

Read surface

What We Read From ModMed Ortho

On every inbound call the AI receptionist hydrates context from ModMed before the second ring is answered. This is what gets pulled and where it comes from.

Provider Schedule by Location and Visit Type

Open slots per provider per location for next 90 days
Visit-type filter applied at slot enumeration
Provider block-out, vacation, and OR-day awareness
Location-specific room and resource constraints
Source: EMA web matrix plus FHIR Slot reconciliation

Imaging Order Status

Pending, in-progress, completed imaging per patient
Modality (x-ray, MRI, CT, ultrasound) and body part
Authorization status on MRI and CT
Result availability and report finalization timestamp
Source: FHIR ServiceRequest and DiagnosticReport

Surgical Scheduling Visibility

Cases on the surgical-scheduling worksheet
Pre-op clearance status (cardiac, anesthesia, PT)
Authorization status and pre-cert deadlines
Block time held vs released per surgeon per facility
Source: EMA web worksheet scrape

Workers-Comp and MVA Chart Flags

WC vs MVA vs commercial classification
Adjuster name, phone, claim number, employer
Attorney contact when on file
Open vs closed claim status
Source: ModMed PM custom fields via EMA web

Write surface

What We Write Into ModMed Ortho

Every write is scoped to the tenant credential, audited, and reversible. We never modify clinical content. We write scheduling, intake, order requests, and referral capture.

Appointment Booking with EMA Visit-Type

FHIR Appointment.create with visit-type extension
EMA visit-type code mapped from caller intent
Location, provider, room, and resource bound at write
Confirmation written back to call session and to SMS
Cancellation and reschedule supported same channel

Intake Form Push

Branded intake link sent via SMS post-booking
DL, insurance card, and signed forms captured
Documents written to ModMed patient chart
WC and MVA conditional forms triggered by chart flag
Source: medreception-intake plus ModMed DocumentReference

Imaging Order Requests

X-ray order request for same-day cast clinic visits
MRI and CT order requests routed to surgeon review
Body part, laterality, and indication captured
Authorization queue entry created when required
Source: FHIR ServiceRequest with ortho order set

Referral Capture for Second Opinions

Referring provider, NPI, and fax captured at call
Outside imaging and records request initiated
Patient routed to correct subspecialty surgeon
Second-opinion visit-type and longer slot reserved
Source: FHIR ServiceRequest plus EMA referral fields

Ortho-specific configuration

Visit-Type Mapping, Cast Clinic, and Surgical Handoff Rules

Every ortho practice has a unique visit-type matrix and templated workflow. The MedReception engine reads the practice configuration at onboarding, maps it to a canonical ortho intent ontology, and writes back using the exact EMA visit-type codes the practice uses.

Joint vs Sports vs Trauma Visit-Type Mapping

Joint reconstruction: hip, knee, shoulder routing
Sports medicine: ACL, meniscus, labrum, rotator cuff
Trauma and fracture: same-day or next-day priority
Subspecialty-aware slot length and provider match
23 EMA visit-types supported per practice on average

EMA Cast Clinic Templates

Cast change, cast removal, splint conversion slots
Tech-led vs provider-led visit routing
Same-day x-ray bundling when cast involves alignment check
Recurring follow-up cadence per fracture protocol
Walk-in window enforcement per location

Surgical-Scheduling Coordinator Handoff

Post-decision surgical leads queued to coordinator
Pre-op clearance checklist pre-populated
Authorization documents requested from caller upfront
Block time held tentatively, coordinator confirms
4-day average cut in surgical-scheduling cycle time

Imaging vendor coordination

DICOM-Aware Booking and Modality Routing

Ortho practices live and die by imaging coordination. The AI receptionist routes x-ray, MRI, and CT requests to the right vendor, the right modality, and the right slot, with awareness of in-house capability vs outside referral.

X-Ray Routing

In-house x-ray suite bundled with visit slot when practice has imaging. Same-day request, DICOM auto-pushed to EMA viewer.

Bundled with cast clinic and fracture follow-up

MRI Routing

Routed to in-house MRI when available, otherwise preferred outside vendor by insurance. Authorization queued automatically.

Pre-cert request fires at order creation

CT Routing

Trauma and complex fracture CTs routed to highest-priority outside vendor. Results pulled back via FHIR DiagnosticReport.

Surgeon notified on report finalization

Live in production

See the ModMed Ortho Hub

The hub page collects every ModMed Ortho workflow, dashboard, and feature in one place, including analytics, surgical scheduling, and cast clinic playbooks.

ModMed Ortho Hub

Ortho-specific AI

AI Receptionist Built for ModMed Ortho

See the ortho-specific AI receptionist that runs on top of this integration, with subspecialty triage and surgical-coordination handoff.

ModMed Ortho AI Receptionist

Related integration pages