Are there real projects waiting to be done today? If the answer is no, then you have lived in a basement for a year. Oh wait- yeah, right.
Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource, or FHIR, has become a hot topic lately, pun intended. Most recently, the Chesapeake Regional Information System (CRISP)is deploying a solution with a partner to satisfy requirements included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Patient Access Mandate, which has a July 1, 2021 deadline for compliance. Other Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) are also deploying FHIR-based solutions, as more and more Electronic Health Records (EHR) applications are certifying application programming interfaces (APIs) based on the requirements of the CMS access rule.
If you run a quick internet search, you’ll see that other provider-to-payer projects using FHIR are in the works. There are now hundreds of third-party applications associated with any given EHR Developer Program. Many of these applications are using FHIR to communicate and exchange data with the EHR.
Care Transition and Care Coordination are the two most impactful areas that the industry should be focusing on. Even within a single organization, there are still many opportunities to streamline the sharing of data across systems and practices. Today, moving a patient from a hospital to a skilled nursing facility is still a use case that has proven difficult, but has yet to really be addressed. Then, coordinating that care with the patient, family, and other providers is another use case that needs attention.
If you are struggling to communicate with your trading partners, no matter the use case, there are solutions that are readily available to help you minimize effort and get started quickly with FHIR and other standards. Integration is a commodity these days, but that does not mean you have to settle for subpar solutions.
Begin by focusing your efforts on something that is doable. As the saying goes, don’t try to boil the ocean. Start with a small project to get your feet wet. ADT feeds, which, in many cases are basically demographic information, are typically the easiest type of projects to complete.
At Vorro we are positioning our clients to leverage the FHIR standards. This is the future of data exchange, and we are prepared to meet this need in the market today. Don’t wait to start – those deadlines are looming- but don’t worry, we won’t let you struggle. Call us at (866) 739-0300 Ext 209 or visit and lets get started today! #INTEGRATE NOW!
