Decoding FHIR Standards: Ensuring Secure Data Exchange in Healthcare Systems

Sumit Singh, Founder & CEO at Timus Solutions

 

FHIR stands for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. FHIR provides a standardized way for systems to exchange medical information. With FHIR, patient data can be shared seamlessly between electronic health records, apps, wearable devices, and more. As an example, FHIR can enable a hospital’s EMRs and its mobile health apps, to communicate seamlessly and share patient data in a consistent format. This interoperability is crucial for unlocking the full potential of HealthTech innovation, allowing for more personalized care, better data analytics, and improved decision-making across the healthcare ecosystem. With the ease of interoperability that FHIR brings to the table and security by design from inception of the standard, FHIR standards are poised to play ever growing significant role in HealthTech future growth story. Let us look how it got started.

 

Evolution of FHIR

First deliberations on FHIR standards started around 2011 when the Health Level Seven International (HL7) organization recognized the need for interoperability in a modern connected world which needed to be faster and easier in supporting a web-friendly approach for healthcare. Thus began FHIR. In a couple of years, around 2014, recognizing the potential, serious work was initiated by the HL7 community. With its simple and flexible approach, it encouraged new HealthTech innovations enabling more apps come into play than ever before. 2017 was a seminal year when FHIR was officially recognized as a standard by HL7. It became the go-to framework for healthcare interoperability thus paving the way for various players in HealthTech such as EHR vendors, start-ups, and healthcare providers to seamlessly share data. Since then, new versions and updates have been released that continue to power this innovation cycle making it easier than ever for different systems to exchange health data securely and efficiently.

 

Journey from HL7 to FHIR

HL7 Version 2 and HL7 Version 3 were the standards followed by HealthTech prior to the advent of FHIR. Credit must be given to the foresight of the HL7 versions for enabling health data exchange but they had limitations. To start with, they were complex making it difficult to implement, and lacked the flexibility needed which hindered innovation. As with any version, HL7 Version 2 was able to get the job done but lacked elegance and efficiency and became outdated soon hence came HL7 Version 3. It was an improvement no doubt, but it was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, it was just not enough for the fast-paced world of digital health that demanded fresh thinking and approach.  Thus was born FHIR which by design had to cater to mobile apps, wearable devices, and cloud computing. Now there were diverse stakeholders that needed interoperability and required data, which were earlier locked in silos, to be made available across the value chain with ease. It addressed the shortcomings of its predecessors by embracing concepts like RESTful APIs and JSON format, making it easier than ever for different systems to exchange health data. This had  a rallying effect on start-ups, big tech companies, healthcare providers and so on opening new opportunities for improving patient care and driving healthcare transformation.

 

Advantages of FHIR

With simplicity and flexibility as its cornerstone, FHIR has proved its value and significance to HealthTech. The developer community loves it because it is easier to understand hence easier to build or implement interoperable solutions. This made development cycles shorter and to bring solutions to the market new products and services quicker. The standard is, in other words, a common language for systems to communicate. By providing this common language for different systems to communicate, broke many data silos and promoted data exchange. This availability of data across systems, no matter the place of origin, led to better care coordination and improved patient outcomes. Further, FHIR supports a wide range of data types such as demographics to clinical parameters and notes, prescribed medications, treatment plans, procedures etc. to name a few. 

 

FHIR and Security

Security and privacy are top priorities for healthcare, and FHIR addresses these concerns from the very start. Modern security standards and encryption protocols are incorporated to ensure that sensitive data is protected during transmission and storage. This is a significant issue with all stakeholders from patients to providers who need to be able to have trust in HealthTech solutions. Under FHIR standard, all data is exchanged using HTTPS protocol which is the same secure protocol used by banking or shopping applications. This level of encryption when the data travels between a source and destination ensures privacy protection and patient confidentiality. This makes it virtually impossible for a hacker to intercept and decipher. For the verification between source and destination, it uses OAuth authentication mechanism which acts as a gatekeeper, only allowing what is verified while blocking unverified requests. This level of granular access control further allows for tracking and monitoring of various access requests and take necessary steps as required. FHIR also supports auditing capabilities which is like having a digital surveillance capability keeping a strict and watchful eye who is accessing patient data and flagging any suspicious activity detected of breach attempt and unauthorized access. Security protocols of FHIR are continually evolving making it a future-proof choice for HealthTech innovation.

 

Challenges in Adoption

Organizations with legacy systems may find FHIR a bit complex which they could mitigate by training their IT staff which enhances their skills and knowledge to implement FHIR effectively. Additionally, adopting middleware solutions like APIs can assist as well. Though FHIR is a standard, often the implementation itself is not standardized which could be an area of improvement. Here best practices and guidelines are sorely missed and are required. While security is a cornerstone of FHIR, It cannot solve the entire security posture for data protection. Hence robust security measures are necessary along with periodic audits and reviews. Healthcare being a regulated sector, it is necessary to stay informed of the regulatory requirements such that proper implementation takes place. Lastly, there is always resistance to change and many will not move at speed which is necessary to adopt FHIR and it may be required to build and showcase success stories and bring about the transformation that FHIR can bring.

 

Conclusion

With continuous growth and innovation, the future of FHIR is bright and is poised to play a significant role in the digital transformation journey of the healthcare industry. It enjoys significant support from all stakeholders where collaboration and interoperability are the key mantras. As FHIR adoption further matures, we will see more sophisticated use cases and applications to improve patient satisfaction, engagement and safety which will further fuel the innovation cycle and pursuit of growth and efficiency. 

 

The  Journey into Industry

Mr Sumit Singh, an accomplished leader in the realms of Information Technology and Healthcare, currently serves as the Founder & CEO of Timus Solutions, where he drives an energetic organization towards achieving higher business goals and fostering innovation. With over two decades of experience, Sumit has left an indelible mark in various prestigious roles.

 

Previously, as the Group CIO at VPS Healthcare and VP CIO & Business Head Digital at Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd, Mr Singh spearheaded transformative initiatives, revolutionizing the integration of technology in healthcare, ensuring timely delivery of medical care, and enhancing clinical support systems.

 

Mr Singh's journey spans across esteemed organizations like Ernst & Young and TD Ameritrade, where he exhibited exemplary leadership as an Assistant Director and Senior Application Development Manager, respectively. Notably, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to found OnMoney Inc., where he pioneered the development of a groundbreaking finance portal.

 

Mr Sumit Singh's expertise lies in driving digital transformation, managing global applications, and leading multidisciplinary teams towards success. Certified as an Independent Director by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, he continues to bring fresh ideas and strategic insights to the boardroom, shaping the future of organizations with his visionary leadership and commitment to excellence.