What is FHIR?

What is FHIR?

FHIR (pronounced "fire") stands for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. It's a modern standard developed by HL7 (Health Level Seven International) for exchanging healthcare information electronically between different computer systems.

Why FHIR Matters

Healthcare data has traditionally been trapped in silos—different systems using different formats, making it difficult to share patient information. FHIR breaks down these walls by providing:

• Modern web technologies: Built on RESTful APIs and JSON
• Modular design: Resources can be used independently or together
• Developer-friendly: Easy to implement with common web development skills
• Extensible: Can be customized for specific needs

Key Components

Resources

FHIR organizes health data into resources—discrete units of information that represent real-world healthcare concepts:

| Resource | Description | |----------|-------------| | Patient | Demographic and administrative information | | Observation | Measurements, assertions, and findings | | Condition | Health concerns, diagnoses, and symptoms | | Medication | Medications and substances | | Procedure | Actions performed on a patient |

API

FHIR provides a RESTful API for accessing and manipulating resources:

GET /Patient/123                    # Get a specific patient
POST /Patient                       # Create a new patient
PUT /Patient/123                    # Update a patient
GET /Observation?patient=123        # Get observations for a patient

FHIR vs Legacy Standards

| Feature | FHIR | HL7 v2 | |---------|------|--------| | Technology | REST + JSON/XML | Pipes + delimiters | | Complexity | Lower | Higher | | Documentation | Extensive | Limited | | Community | Active, growing | Established | | Flexibility | High | Limited |

Who Uses FHIR?

• EHR Vendors: Epic, Cerner, Allscripts
• Health Systems: Major hospitals and health networks
• App Developers: Creating healthcare applications
• Public Health Agencies: CDC, WHO for data exchange
• Patients: Accessing their own health data

Getting Started

To work with FHIR, you can:

1. Explore the official documentation at HL7.org
2. Try a public test server like FHIR Server
3. Use Postman or similar tools to test API calls
4. Join the FHIR community on chat.hl7.org

Summary

FHIR represents a paradigm shift in healthcare interoperability—making it easier than ever for systems to share health data securely and effectively. Whether you're a developer building healthcare apps or a healthcare professional seeking to understand data standards, FHIR is an essential technology in modern healthcare IT.