FHIR vs HL7: Why FHIR is the Future of Healthcare Data Exchange

Over the years, the healthcare industry has been utilizing HL7 (Health Level Seven) interfaces to exchange patient health data between various systems. While HL7 has been the standard for many years, it has its limitations, and a newer standard, known as FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), has emerged as a more flexible and efficient solution. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of FHIR over traditional HL7 interfaces.

1. FHIR is more flexible

One of the most significant advantages of FHIR is its flexibility. It was designed to be easily adaptable to a variety of healthcare workflows, including those that have yet to be developed. FHIR allows healthcare organizations to define their own data models, which means that they can customize the data that they exchange. This is a major advantage over HL7, which has a fixed data model that can be difficult to modify.

2. FHIR is more efficient 

FHIR is a RESTful web service, which means that it is based on modern web technologies, such as HTTP and JSON. This allows for faster and more efficient data exchange between systems. With FHIR, developers can create lightweight APIs that can be used to access specific data elements within a patient's health record. This is in contrast to HL7, which requires a more complex and heavyweight messaging protocol.

3. FHIR supports modern security protocols

Another advantage of FHIR is that it supports modern security protocols, such as OAuth2 and OpenID Connect. These protocols allow healthcare organizations to secure patient health data without the need for complex and proprietary security systems. This is a major improvement over HL7, which does not have built-in security features and requires organizations to develop their own security solutions.

4. FHIR is more developer-friendly

FHIR was designed with developers in mind. It has a simple and intuitive data model, and it is based on modern web technologies that developers are already familiar with. This means that developers can easily build FHIR interfaces and integrate them into their applications. In contrast, HL7 is often viewed as complex and difficult to work with, which can make it challenging for developers to build and maintain interfaces.

5. FHIR has a growing community

 Finally, FHIR has a rapidly growing community of developers, healthcare organizations, and vendors who are working together to improve the standard and develop new applications. This community is actively contributing to the development of FHIR, which means that the standard is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the healthcare industry.

 FHIR vs HL7: Why FHIR is the Future of Healthcare Data ExchangeWhile HL7 has been the standard for many years, FHIR offers a more flexible, efficient, secure, and developer-friendly solution for exchanging patient health data. With its rapidly growing community, FHIR is likely to become the standard for healthcare interoperability in the years to come.  But now is the time to lead and make FHIR the standard for your healthcare organization.