FHIR

FHIR stands for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, a standard published by HL7 for the exchange of health data between systems. Instead of every supplier inventing its own field names, the standard defines resources such as ServiceRequest for an ordered test, Specimen for the sample and Observation for a measured value. Two systems that both use the standard already agree on the names, so there is less mapping work between them.

The standard matters when your product has to exchange data with hospital systems, an electronic record or a national infrastructure, because those systems often expect it. For a product sold directly to consumers it is usually not required, so the real question is whether an institutional buyer is on your roadmap for the next two years.

Support is never a simple yes or no, because one supplier can support three resources and another thirty. Aniva has not published FHIR support, so ask any supplier what it offers today, Aniva included.

• Ask which FHIR resources the supplier supports and which version of the standard.
• Ask whether results are available in that format or only in the supplier's own format.
• Ask which code system the analytes use, such as LOINC, and where the mapping is documented.
• Ask what the supplier does today when a hospital customer asks for the standard.

In this glossary, REST API covers the interface most partners integrate with, while LIMS covers the laboratory system the data comes from and Befund covers the German result document.