Question: Entering the #FHIR Bandwagon
Feb 2, 2016Question:
HL7 v1 came first, followed by V2, followed by CDA, V3. For newer entrants into Standards and Interoperability is the central dogma of S&I is something like Learn V2 first, then CDA, then V3 and then FHIR and then SMART on FHIR and then Newer or a person can just straightaway buy an FHIR textbok or Collect all FHIR blogs at one place and start reading from scratch?
Answer:
V2, CDA, FHIR+Smart on FHIR are all different approaches to solving various healthcare interoperability problems. If you’re deeply invested in the standards process, then learning all of v2, CDA, and FHIR will give you deeper perspective about what has and hasn’t worked, and what ideas last across the various specifications. But if you’re just solving a particular problem, then you just pick one, learn it, and give into the job.
Which one to learn?
- Actually, this is simple. If you have to use one, because of legal requirements, or because your trading partners have already chosen one - that’s by the far the most likely situation - then you don’t have to decide. Otherwise, you’d use FHIR
How to learn? From a previous post, these are the books I recommend:
- v2: Mike Henderson’s “HL7 Messaging”
- v3: Andrew Hinchley’s “Understanding Version 3”
- CDA: Keith Boone’s “The CDA Book”
- General HL7: Tim Benson’s “Principles of Health Interoperability HL7 and SNOMED”:
None of these cover FHIR. But, in fact, Tim invited me to join with him for the forthcoming 3rd edition of his book, to cover FHIR, and this should be available soon. In the meantime, as you say, there’s the FHIR blogs.