HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)

Definition: HL7 FHIR is a healthcare data exchange standard developed by HL7. It uses modern web technologies such as RESTful APIs, JSON, and XML to enable secure and efficient communication between electronic health systems.

Core Concepts:

Resources: modular components like `Patient`, `Observation`, `Medication`, `Encounter`
Interoperability: facilitates data sharing across systems and organizations
Extensibility: allows customization while maintaining standards compliance
Web Technologies: supports HTTP(S), OAuth2, and formats like JSON/XML

Advantages:

Simple to implement and integrate
Supports real-time data exchange
Enables mobile and cloud-based healthcare applications
Ideal for integrating EHR systems, research platforms, and patient apps

Example Resource: ```json {

"resourceType": "Patient",
"id": "example",
"name": [{ "family": "Doe", "given": ["John"] }],
"gender": "male",
"birthDate": "1990-01-01"

}

Step 1: Master the Fundamentals of HL7 FHIR (Week 1–2) Goals:

Understand the FHIR architecture

Learn about core Resources like Patient, Observation, Procedure, ImagingStudy

Grasp RESTful API basics and data formats (JSON, XML)

Resources:

FHIR Overview for Clinicians

FHIR Specification Home

FHIR DevDays videos

Step 2: Hands-on Practice with FHIR Servers (Week 3–4) Tools:

Use Postman to test RESTful queries

Practice with public FHIR servers:

HAPI FHIR R4 server

SMART Health IT Sandbox

Examples for Neurosurgery:

Create a Patient with clinical notes and imaging references

Record a Procedure like aneurysm clipping

Link an ImagingStudy (e.g., pre/post-op MRI) to a DiagnosticReport

Step 3: Clinical Modelling for Neurosurgery (Month 2) Goals:

Learn how to create custom FHIR Profiles for neurosurgical use cases

Use SNOMED CT for procedures/diagnoses and LOINC for observations

Model clinical events like:

GCS scoring

mRS (modified Rankin Scale)

Post-op status

Example JSON:

json Copiar Editar {

"resourceType": "Observation",
"code": {
  "coding": [{
    "system": "http://loinc.org",
    "code": "9269-2",
    "display": "Glasgow coma score"
  }]
},
"valueQuantity": {
  "value": 7
},
"subject": {
  "reference": "Patient/123"
}

} Step 4: Real Use Cases in Your Hospital (Month 3+) Project Idea: Build a small neurosurgical clinical dashboard with:

Patient list

GCS scores

Surgery dates

Links to DICOM imaging

Post-op functional status

Tech stack suggestions:

Use React or Medblocks UI (FHIR-friendly components)

Connect to PACS via DICOM to FHIR bridge

Step 5: Advanced FHIR Concepts (Month 4 and beyond) Learn FHIRPath for querying FHIR resources

Explore CQL (Clinical Quality Language) for clinical logic

Understand FHIR Subscriptions for real-time alerts