Webelight Solutions Blog: Insights on IT, Innovation, and Digital Trends

Improve Healthcare Interoperability & Data Sharing with FHIR

JAN 01, 2025

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What if healthcare data could flow seamlessly between systems without the usual roadblocks? As the need for efficient data exchange grows, you must have noticed a change in how other healthcare providers, developers, and vendors approach the situation. In the midst of this problem, FHIR has emerged as one of the most promising protocols for connecting disparate health systems. The reason behind its rise is its ability to facilitate quick, on-demand information sharing. But what is FHIR, and will it change how you facilitate healthcare data exchange? Let's explore this innovative standard!

 

What is FHIR, and why is it important?

 

FHIR, or Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, is a modern data standard developed by HL7 International to improve healthcare data handling across different systems. It follows a more internet-friendly approach to data handling, making it easier for developers to create applications that can function across various platforms. 

Just as we can access a web page via a URL on any device, FHIR creates a similar experience for healthcare data. Each piece of data in FHIR is called a "resource," and each resource has a unique identifier—kind of like a web address for healthcare information. Different healthcare applications can access and retrieve data, regardless of their underlying electronic health record (EHR) system, with FHIR.

 

 

Limitations of previous HL7 Standards

 

One of the primary limitations of HL7 standards was its complexity. The standards were intricate and challenging to implement, particularly for healthcare organizations lacking technical expertise or sufficient resources. The complexity extended the time required for integration and increased the likelihood of errors.  The existence of multiple versions, such as HL7 V2, HL7 V3, and FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), introduced difficulties in integrating systems that operate on different versions. Although HL7 provided a standardized framework for data exchange, individual healthcare organizations had different workflows and requirements. Adapting HL7 to meet these specific needs was complicated and costly as well.

 

How Does FHIR Stand Out in Improving Interoperability?

 

FHIR isn’t bound to the limitations of traditional document-based approaches like C-CDA.  These documents are static, meaning that although they contain valuable data, they aren't easily searchable, adaptable, or integrable with other systems. For instance, lab results in a C-CDA document may be essential for a patient's care, but alone, they don’t give the full picture and make it tough to extract and manipulate the information. FHIR utilizes a more dynamic, data-level exchange using standardized APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Instead of dealing with large, unwieldy documents, you can conveniently access individual pieces of data—such as lab results, medications, or diagnoses. 

 

What are FHIR Resources?

 

FHIR resource is a set of healthcare information that’s standardized for easy sharing and interpretation. FHIR patient resources include data such as allergies, diagnoses, and medical conditions, all presented in a way other FHIR-based solutions can instantly understand. FHIR patient resources ensure that data is represented similarly, no matter the system used. Attributes like the type of data, data names, and relationships between data elements are all standardized. This means when one system shares data with another — say, a lab system sharing test results with a hospital’s EMR system — both systems interpret the data similarly. No extra setup is required!

The standard ensures each resource comes with metadata that explains the technical context of the data, like its version, ID, last updated timestamp, and even a human-readable narrative to explain the data. This makes it easier for you to understand the information at a glance while providing all the technical details needed for machine-to-machine communication. Whether it’s XML or JSON formats, FHIR ensures that any system can translate and understand resources, making interoperability much less complicated. 

 

Integration of FHIR with your healthcare data architecture

 

1) Access Your Current Data Architecture

The first step in integrating FHIR is to thoroughly assess your existing data architecture. Take stock of all the different data sources you currently have, understand their formats, and identify disparate systems in place. Get a clear picture of your current setup, informing how you approach the FHIR integration. You’ll also need to define the scope of the FHIR integration and the specific requirements you want to achieve.

2) Choose a FHIR Implementation Approach

Once you've assessed your current system, the next step is to decide how you will implement FHIR. There are several approaches to choose from, like RESTful APIs, FHIR documents, or outsourcing the integration to a third-party service.  The strategy you select should be based on your organization’s specific needs, its technical capabilities, and the goals for your FHIR integration. 

3) Design and Map Your Data

Before talking about the actual implementation, it's important to understand the FHIR resources and data models in detail. You must map your existing data to the appropriate FHIR resources at this stage. This ensures that your data is accurately represented within the FHIR framework, which is key for maintaining data integrity. Your current data may not perfectly match FHIR standards, so you must solve the data normalization challenges.

4) Develop and Test FHIR Integration

With the design and data mapping done, it’s time to develop the integration and rigorously test it for accuracy and reliability. During this phase, you must deal with security and privacy concerns, such as implementing robust authentication, encryption, and authorization measures. Comprehensive testing will help you understand the risks and fix the issues before the system goes live.  

5) Deploy and Monitor

After successful testing, the final step is to deploy the FHIR integration into a production environment. At this step, you need to monitor and see if the integration performs as expected or not. Regularly track its performance and establish processes for regular maintenance and updates. Given that both the FHIR standard and your data architecture will evolve over time, it’s essential to regularly review and refine your integration to keep it up to date.

 

Integration of FHIR with your healthcare data architecture

 

Key Design Principles of FHIR

 

FHIR design principles are grounded in 5 key principles that aim to make healthcare data exchange simpler, more efficient, and more adaptable.

1) Reuse

Instead of creating new, overly complex models for different scenarios, FHIR uses a set of reusable resources. When a specific use case needs something more customized, extensions and profiling come in. With extensions, FHIR becomes more flexible, allowing developers to add additional attributes or modify resources without creating redundant or overly complicated structures.

2) Performance

FHIR has been designed to be leaner and more efficient than its predecessors. Older healthcare standards had complicated data formats, which made it hard to exchange information quickly across networks. FHIR patient resources, in contrast, are more straightforward and streamlined. With a clear structure and minimal complexity, developers can spend less time wrestling with the technical details and more time building valuable healthcare applications.

3) Usability

Even if you don’t understand the nitty-gritty of XML or JSON formats, FHIR data can still be read easily in a browser or through a text reader. This is essential as it means that someone like an administrator who may not have deep technical knowledge can still interact with the data and understand its contents. This is one of the main reasons why FHIR is widely adopted,  even by those who might be intimidated by more technical standards.    

4) Fidelity

FHIR resources have strict rules about mixing data types, facilitating highly accurate and secure data exchange. For example, you can’t mix strings (text) with numeric values in the same field, which would lead to confusion or errors. FHIR provides mechanisms to validate the data for syntax and against predefined business rules. In this way, the exchanged data becomes more meaningful and consistent with the help of FHIR.

5) Implementability

The goal of this standard was to make it easily adaptable across different healthcare settings, whether you're dealing with a small local practice or a massive health system. FHIR resources are designed to be easily understood by developers, and they use widely accepted technologies like RESTful APIs, XML, and JSON. The standard is also designed to be compatible with common programming languages and well-established data exchange technologies.

 

key design principles of FHIR

 

Advantages of Adopting Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources 

 

With all the constantly changing restrictions, we know that everyone's top priority right now is more effective data exchange across businesses. FHIR closes this gap by providing increased interoperability, flexibility, security, and simplicity of development. Let’s explore the advantages of adopting Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources and how this standard can benefit your healthcare organization.

1) Flexibility and Scalability

FHIR-based solutions can evolve with the modern requirements of the healthcare sector.  FHIR is designed with flexibility in mind and can accommodate a wide range of healthcare use cases, from small clinics to large hospital networks. As you incorporate new technologies, you can support the growth of your organization, as FHIR is highly scalable. 

2) Patient acquisition and experience

Accessing data becomes much more straightforward with FHIR, as patients can access their medical records through FHIR-compliant apps. You can enhance patient acquisition by using FHIR to deliver personalized care by integrating patient data from multiple sources. In this way, healthcare services can be made more appealing to new and existing patients.

3) Ease of Implementation

It is easier for developers to integrate with existing software systems as FHIR is built on web technologies like RESTful APIs and JSON. Due to its modular structure, your organization can implement only the components you require and reduce the deployment time. This ease of FHIR API integration in healthcare systems reduces barriers and accelerates the adoption of digital healthcare solutions.

4) Privacy and security

FHIR comprises privacy and security measures to protect sensitive patient data. It incorporates industry-standard protocols such as OAuth2 and SMART on FHIR for secure authentication and authorization. It minimizes the risk of data breaches and ensures compliance with HIPPA regulations by adhering to strict security guidelines.

5) Data management

FHIR standardizes how data is stored, accessed, shared, and ensures that information is structured consistently and meaningfully. This standardization supports better decision-making, improved reporting, and advanced analytics, making it easier to make the most of your data for better care delivery.  

6) Better Interoperability

FHIR standardizes how healthcare information is formatted and shared across platforms like electronic health records (EHRs), health apps, and medical devices. Improving EHR interoperability with FHIR  eliminates data silos, enhances care coordination, and supports a unified view of patient information.

7) Cost efficiency 

By simplifying data exchange and reducing the complexity of FHIR API integration in healthcare systems, you can lower costs with FHIR implementation. It eliminates the need for custom interfaces or development, reducing the expenses associated with legacy system maintenance. FHIR’s ability to improve healthcare data handling and workflow efficiency leads to indirect cost savings, making it an economically viable option for you.

 

Challenges for FHIR implementation in healthcare

 

Implementing FHIR can be a complex and resource-intensive process, and achieving full FHIR compliance involves addressing several interoperability layers. To ensure that systems communicate and exchange data securely, each application must meet strict interconnectivity standards. As your organization works to meet these complex requirements, it becomes clear that the road is full of challenges for FHIR implementation in healthcare.

1) Technical Integration Complexities

FHIR aims to simplify data exchange, but integrating it into existing healthcare IT systems is often more complex than anticipated. Many healthcare organizations rely on legacy systems with deeply embedded workflows and architectures that are not designed with interoperability. Adapting these systems to support FHIR requires customization, including developing APIs and ensuring compatibility with non-FHIR resources.

2) Compliance and Privacy Concerns

Healthcare data is very sensitive, and FHIR implementations must adhere to privacy and compliance regulations, such as HIPAA in the United States or GDPR in the European Union. While FHIR compliance defines mechanisms for secure data exchange, implementing these correctly remains a challenge. Developers must ensure that APIs and applications leveraging FHIR adhere to encryption standards, access controls, and auditing protocols. 

3) Data uniformity in third-party applications 

Third-party applications leverage FHIR for healthcare innovation, such as patient engagement platforms or advanced analytics tools. However, ensuring data uniformity across these applications remains a hurdle. FHIR defines flexible standards, and the interpretation of its resources can vary widely between developers. For example, discrepancies in coding systems, such as SNOMED CT or ICD-10, can create barriers to interoperability. 

4) Adoption and Standardization

While FHIR has gained significant traction in the healthcare industry, the adoption of digital healthcare solutions is far from universal. Many organizations face challenges related to the costs, training, and resource allocation required to transition to FHIR-based systems. Moreover, a lack of consistent implementation standards can result in fragmented adoption, where different organizations or regions implement FHIR in varying ways.

 

Real-World FHIR Implementations

 

From improving care delivery to enhancing data exchange, various organizations are leveraging FHIR to solve critical issues. The following examples highlight how FHIR can be effectively applied to create more efficient, interoperable systems that enhance patient care and clinical workflows. 

1) The Gravity Project

The Gravity Project addressed social determinants of health (SDOH) by leveraging technology to improve care and reduce disparities. Despite growing awareness of SDOH, a lack of consistent technology and documentation processes created barriers to effectively integrating this information into clinical workflows. 

Led by Evelyn Gallego of EMI Advisors, The Gravity Project identified that existing medical terminology was insufficient for accurately recording and exchanging SDOH data. The project convened over 800 stakeholders from diverse sectors to collaboratively create frameworks for documenting key social risks.  

The project identified common data elements through real-world case studies and aligned them with HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard. The Gravity Project collaborated with other initiatives like Argonaut, CARIN Alliance, and Da Vinci to develop and promote the FHIR implementation guide. 

This affiliation enhanced the project's ability to standardize and scale SDOH data integration across various healthcare platforms. A key project output is developing a FHIR implementation guide, which provides developers with the tools to integrate SDOH data into electronic health records (EHRs), improving EHR interoperability with FHIR.

 

 

2) CoxHealth  

CoxHealth faced a shortage of dermatologists, and the burden of conducting dermatological exams began to fall on primary care physicians (PCPs). Without specialized experience in diagnosing and treating skin conditions, PCPs were disadvantaged. By integrating the SMART on the FHIR application, CoxHealth equipped its physicians with advanced tools to enhance diagnostic accuracy.

VisualDx leveraged medical imaging, visualization, and machine learning to assist physicians in identifying and comparing various diseases affecting the skin, hair, and nails. The seamless integration into CoxHealth’s Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system was a key advantage. This integration saved valuable time by embedding critical patient information directly into the EHR. 

VisualDx offered accessibility beyond the confines of the office. Physicians could access patient data and utilize VisualDx through their mobile phones, enabling them to generate differential diagnoses, review possible conditions, and delve deeper into details from virtually anywhere. 

With the implementation of VisualDx, CoxHealth is addressing the shortage of dermatologists and empowering its primary care workforce with cutting-edge technology. This initiative underscores CoxHealth’s commitment to innovation and quality care, ensuring patients receive accurate diagnoses and effective treatments, even without specialized dermatology staff.

 

 

How Webelight Solutions Improved Interoperability of a Hospital with HL7/FHIR Integration services for healthcare

 

Dr. Ethan, the CEO of a mid-sized hospital group, approached our next-gen AI/ML solutions provider company with a problem. He faced the challenge of integrating electronic health records (EHR), laboratory management systems (LMS), and billing systems. These silos delayed patient care, increased administrative workload, and impacted overall productivity. Dr. Ethan recognized the need to create a unified healthcare ecosystem with the help of FHIR-compliant APIs for real-time data exchange. 

Client’s problem

The hospital faced multiple challenges that required immediate attention, such as disconnected data silos hindered collaboration across departments, and manual data entry processes were not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. The hospital needed to comply with HL7 and FHIR standards for interoperability and data security and lower costs with FHIR implementation.  These operational bottlenecks negatively impacted patient services, leading to delays in care delivery and stakeholder dissatisfaction.

How did we help?

Webelight Solutions Pvt. Ltd. developed and implemented an advanced HL7/FHIR integration framework to modernize the hospital's operations.  A hybrid architecture was designed, blending HL7 v2/v3 protocols for legacy compatibility with FHIR standards for modern systems. The solution included FHIR-compliant APIs for real-time data exchange, HL7 parsers for older systems, and a centralized API gateway to ensure seamless communication.

The results spoke for themselves

The integration delivered amazing results, including a 40% reduction in data processing time and a 30% boost in operational productivity. Real-time data flow between EHR, LMS, and billing systems enhanced collaboration and decision-making, while automated workflows reduced manual errors. Compliance with HL7 and FHIR standards ensured data security and privacy, and timely access to accurate patient records empowered healthcare providers to deliver improved care. These advancements also elevated patient satisfaction, with scores increasing by 15%. The project demonstrated Webelight Solutions’ expertise in creating future-ready solutions that address the unique challenges of healthcare interoperability.

 

Get in touch with us if you are struggling with healthcare data handling and improve your workflow’s scalability and flexibility with HL7/FHIR integration services for healthcare.

 

FAQ's

FHIR significantly improves interoperability by removing traditional, static document-based exchanges like C-CDA. Instead of large, hard-to-manage documents, FHIR enables the exchange of specific data resources through standardized APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). It makes healthcare data more accessible, adaptable, and usable across different systems.