The family and one member
HL7 develops standards for health-information exchange. FHIR represents information using resources, such as patients and observations, and supports exchange approaches including web APIs. HL7 Version 2 is widely associated with event messages exchanged between healthcare systems.
Neither label alone tells you exactly what a particular interface can do.
Ask for the implementation details
A project that says it “supports FHIR” still needs to specify the version, resource types, implementation guide, supported operations, and access rules. Reading a medication list is not the same capability as writing a new prescription or subscribing to updates.
| Vague requirement | More useful requirement |
|---|---|
| Connect using HL7 | Identify the standard and version |
| Get the patient data | Name the needed resources and fields |
| Real-time access | Specify update timing and failure behavior |
The standard does not fill missing records
If the source system lacks a result, a well-formed exchange cannot invent it. If two systems use different coding conventions, further mapping may be needed.
FHIR can make exchange more structured and consistent. It does not, by itself, guarantee complete records, correct clinical interpretation, or permission to access every field. Those are separate parts of an interoperability project.
