Implementing HL7 FHIR

Abstract

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), created by HL7 more than a decade ago, has become a global standard for exchanging data. Communities of interest have organized under the HL7 FHIR Accelerator Program to develop implementation guides and applications for patient care, health payment systems, public health, patient engagement, clinical and basic research, and social determinants of health. Despite efforts to coordinate the creation of applications in an ever-increasing diversity of use cases, there have been challenges to ensure semantic interoperability, security, privacy, consistent interpretation of the specifications, and the workforce capacity across the industry. In response to these challenges, HL7 created the Standards Implementation Division with the aims of developing a unique ecosystem for continuous testing and discovery, building a global education and certification program, and facilitating advancement across the diverse FHIR implementation communi