Everyone by now has heard the term FHIR, which stands for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. Well, the implementation has been anything but fast. When FHIR first hit, the best application was to use it with mobile devices to narrowly scope the data that was being exchanged. The use cases were few and far between, mainly due to access to the data. The CCD was still the best way to exchange data, as the electronic medical records vendors only allowed data exchange through that mechanism. This, of course, is still based on the model of a full record. So, is the world really on FHIR? The journey to widespread adoption continues, with challenges and opportunities shaping the future of healthcare interoperability.
Before 2005 when electronic records were fast becoming the requirement for larger practices, the doctors never really wanted to see the whole record. The problem with paper is flipping and flipping to find the detail needed. When electronic records were implemented, it gave them the same thing, except in this case it was another little icon the doctor had to click to see the data. Then we decided to turn the page (pun intended), and we start trying to consume these external data points discreetly. But oh my, have you ever seen a CCD, nonetheless try to integrate it at a symantec layer.
So here we are today on FHIR. With FHIR, getting the discreet element for consumption is so much easier, because all that was asked for was that specific data point, not two years of a patient’s history or even a whole view of the last encounter. This data can also be delivered via a standard REST based API. For those newbies, that’s the easier web service.
The FHIR standard will open the market up for those kids still in their parent’s basement that are creating some really innovative and very needed, niche applications. We are an app based society, and applications that are focused on providing a narrower view of a patient’s record at the point of care is now more in reach than ever.
Going back to our original question, is the world really on FHIR? Not yet, but it is coming. The standard is starting to mature, and that means more use cases are now ready to be developed using FHIR. Are you ready for FHIR? Are you already behind in meeting the standards of yesterday just to find out there is a new one, like FHIR? How do you keep pace with an ever-changing landscape in the world of Integration? The answer is Vorro’s BridgeGate platform.
BridgGate provides the ability to meet everyone where they are in the technology evolution. For additional information download our 5 misconceptions to Data Integrations.
Other Useful Resources
customer data integration
healthcare data interoperability
