Why Should Hospitals Comply with FHIR?

Diler Aslan

The digital age offers the opportunity to benefit from real health data. The main requirement for this is that data exchange is carried out securely. There are many factors involved.

The first is that the data are named in a way that allows them to communicate with each other. The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) data model enables this. From a technical perspective, FHIR offers a versatile and in-depth framework due to its interoperability approach, API-based structure, and relationship with modern healthcare computing architectures.

The HL7/FHIR communities actively collaborate at international and national levels in areas such as standard development, creation of implementation guidelines, evaluation of real-life scenarios, and operation of feedback mechanisms.

We have observed that FHIR is not widely known in our country. In light of this information, within the scope of the Digital Health Program, we have tried to introduce the FHIR approach primarily from a technical perspective.

We conducted three interviews on this topic on Türkiye Klinikleri TV. The ones on this page are titled “Rapid Healthcare Interoperability/Workability Resources (FHIR) Standard: The Situation Worldwide and in Türkiye.”These interviews can be accessed on the blog titled "...".

The interviews discussed Türkiye's contributions to FHIR studies, which have become increasingly widespread globally since 2011; they also clearly revealed that this approach is not yet sufficiently known in our country. The interview content and the research conducted show that FHIR is still only moderately recognized in Türkiye.

In the digital age, using software developed according to international standards and national conditions offers a strategic advantage. In this context, participating in global initiatives seems essential.

To effectively participate in such studies, it is necessary to initiate pilot programs, and these pilots must be based on clinically relevant needs.

The fundamental question at this point is: What benefits will physicians and hospitals gain from FHIR?

This article attempts to summarize these benefits.

1. It simplifies data sharing and speeds up access.

FHIR enables standard, API-based data exchange between different electronic health record systems. This allows patient data to be shared instantly and securely between different institutions or systems. This directly improves care coordination and reduces delays in clinical processes.

2. It supports patient management and continuity of care.

FHIR makes it easier to access patient data:

• Patients can be monitored throughout their time receiving healthcare services.,
• Clinical decision-making processes improve,
• By combining information from different service points, a holistic patient history can be created.

This ensures continuity and consistency in patient care.

3. It simplifies the collection and use of research data.

FHIR provides data standardization for clinical research:

• It facilitates direct data extraction from electronic health records.,
• They commonly define data sets,
• FHIR-based tools improve research data flow.

FHIR-based research projects are increasing.  

4. It provides infrastructure for data standardization and analysis.

FHIR's standard data structure:

• Data analysis,
• Big data applications,
• It simplifies data entry in modern AI-powered solutions.

FHIR not only facilitates the sharing of data, but also ensures that the data becomes meaningful and analyzable.

5. Supports the Reuse of Research Data

FHIR's publications:

• Used in data capture, standardization, analysis and sharing,
• It is reported to facilitate the reuse of clinical data for research purposes.

This saves both time and money in clinical research projects.

6. Improved Data Quality and Decision Support Capabilities in Clinical Processes

Thanks to FHIR-based data streams:

• The data is more consistent,
• Clinical events can be described more accurately,
• Decision support systems can be based on real-time and reliable data.

This also improves patient safety and effective care planning.

7. It simplifies quality measurement and reporting.

FHIR standards can support automated data extraction for quality indicators and reporting. This ensures accuracy and speed in quality management processes. For example:

• Performance indicators,
• Audit evidence,
• Accreditation reports

Outputs such as these can be produced faster and more reliably with FHIR.

In summary;

FHIR:

• It is not a technology that makes the job of physicians and healthcare teams more difficult.
• It is not just an "IT project" for hospitals.
• It is not an additional burden for researchers.

FHIR should be considered an infrastructure that enhances the value of existing clinical work, and pilot programs should be initiated.

Kind regards…

Prof. Dr. Diler Aslan

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4907-9445

February 7, 2026

Sources

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2. Lehne M, Sass J, Essenwanger A, Schepers J, Thun S. Why digital medicine depends on interoperability. NPJ Digital Medicine. 2019;2:79.
3. Bender D, Sartipi K. HL7 FHIR: An agile and RESTful approach to healthcare information exchange. Proceedings of the IEEE 26th International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems.
4. Pfaff ER, Champion J, Bradford RL, et al. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) as a meta model to integrate real-world data sources. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 2019;95:103120.
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   3rd ed. Springer; 2016.