{"head":{"title":"What Is FHIR? Healthcare APIs in Plain English | OceanLab","description":"FHIR is HL7's standard for exchanging health data over web APIs, built from resources like Patient and Observation. How it works, an example and pitfalls.","canonical":"https://oceanlab.in/glossary/fhir"},"crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"Glossary","path":"/glossary"},{"name":"FHIR","path":"/glossary/fhir"}],"slug":"fhir","term":"FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)","aka":["HL7 FHIR"],"category":"Health software","short":"A standard from HL7 for exchanging health data through modern web APIs, built from small, defined pieces called resources.","body":[["FHIR describes health data as resources, such as Patient, Observation, Medication and Appointment, each with a defined structure. Systems read and write them over REST APIs using JSON or XML. Resources link to each other, so a lab Observation points to the Patient it belongs to."],["FHIR is published by ",{"href":"/glossary/hl7","text":"HL7"},". It has several releases, and the version a given EHR supports matters. Implementation guides and profiles narrow the base standard for a country or use case."]],"why":["FHIR makes health integrations look like ordinary API work, which cuts cost and time compared with older interfaces. It is also how many EHRs offer access to apps. But FHIR support differs between systems, so a build has to check exactly which resources and operations each target supports."],"example":["A diabetes coaching app lets patients connect their hospital record. It uses the hospital's FHIR API with ",{"href":"/glossary/oauth","text":"OAuth"}," to read the patient's recent glucose Observations and current Medications, with the patient's permission."],"inBuild":["We map the product's data model to the FHIR resources and profiles it needs, use a tested FHIR client library, and validate payloads against the target's profiles. Each EHR gets its own configuration, and we keep a log of every read and write."],"mistakes":[["Assuming FHIR support means every resource is available. Many servers expose only a subset."],["Ignoring the version and profiles, then failing validation in the customer's system."],["Pulling full patient histories when the feature needs a few fields."]],"related":[{"href":"/glossary/hl7","label":"HL7 (Health Level Seven)","detail":"The standards body behind major health data standards, and the common name for its Version 2 messages that hospital systems use to exchange data."},{"href":"/glossary/ehr","label":"EHR (electronic health record)","detail":"A digital record of a patient's health and care that is built to be shared with other providers, so it can follow the patient."},{"href":"/glossary/emr","label":"EMR (electronic medical record)","detail":"The digital version of a clinician's paper chart: a patient's medical and treatment history kept within one practice."},{"href":"/glossary/oauth","label":"OAuth 2.0","detail":"A standard that lets an app get limited access to a user's account on another service, without ever seeing their password."},{"href":"/glossary/phi","label":"PHI (protected health information)","detail":"Health information that can identify a person and is created or held by a HIPAA covered entity or its business associate."}],"tools":[{"href":"/tools/ehr-integration-cost","label":"EHR integration cost","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/telehealth-app-cost","label":"Telehealth app cost","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/hipaa-checklist","label":"HIPAA checklist","detail":"Free tool"}],"links":[{"href":"/compliance/fhir-hl7","label":"FHIR and HL7 guide","detail":"Health data standards and how integrations use them."},{"href":"/software/healthdata","label":"Health data software","detail":"Health records, integrations and data platforms."},{"href":"/software/telehealth","label":"Telehealth software","detail":"Virtual care apps and the rules that apply."}],"sources":[{"title":"HL7 FHIR specification (current published version)","url":"https://hl7.org/fhir/","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"},{"title":"HL7 FHIR overview: resources","url":"https://hl7.org/fhir/R5/overview.html","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"}],"legal":false,"updatedAt":"2026-10-25"}