A Look At Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources -- What Does This Mean

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) according to the HL7 website

leverages existing logical and theoretical models to provide a consistent, easy to implement, and rigorous mechanism for exchanging data between healthcare applications. FHIR was developed by Health Level Seven International (HL7). According to Tech Target -- FHIR frameworks are built around the concept of resources -- basic units of interoperability and modular components that can be assembled into working systems to solve clinical, administrative and infrastructure issues. FHIR has resources for administrative concepts such as patients, providers, organizations and devices as well as a variety of clinical concepts including problems, medications, diagnostics, care plans and financial concerns. I wanted to discuss FHIR because Healthcare Informatics did an article where they interviewed Wayne Kubick who is the CTO of Health Level Seven International. During the interview Kubick was asked 5 questions and one of the questions was if he could talk about developments and a timeline for FHIR? Kubick responded with "It has been recognized that as the specification adapts and evolves, there needs to be a point where we establish a more solid foundation. The plans for next year are not exactly a normative edition. It will be a new, balloted release that will have normative content". Kubick continues discussing normative and non-normative releases and Kubick finishes off by saying that "The most important message is that a solid, core foundation will be in place. The reality is that, even without that, people have been putting lots of production applications into use throughout the health industry." For more from the HL7 CTO Wayne Kubick on healthcare and FHIR click on the picture below to read the article.