Learn FHIR

FHIR Explained for Everyone

Whether you're a healthcare leader, developer, or just curious - understand what FHIR is and how it can solve your problems.

For Healthcare Leaders (2-minute summary)

The Problem: Healthcare data is trapped in silos. Your EHR can't talk to the pharmacy system, which can't talk to the lab system, which can't talk to the patient's app.

The Solution: FHIR is a universal translator. It's an industry standard (mandated by CMS) that lets any healthcare system share data in a common format.

What This Means: You can build apps that pull data from ANY EHR - Epic, Cerner, Meditech - without custom integrations. Patient portals, analytics dashboards, care coordination tools - all possible.

Get a Sandbox to Explore See What You Can Build

The Basics

What is FHIR?

Everyone

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is the modern standard for exchanging healthcare data. Think of it as a common language that lets different healthcare systems talk to each other.

Why FHIR Matters

Healthcare Leaders

Before FHIR, getting patient data from one system to another was like translating ancient languages. FHIR standardizes this, making healthcare apps possible.

FHIR Resources

Developers

Everything in FHIR is a 'Resource' - Patient, Observation, Medication, Condition. Each resource has a standard structure that all systems understand.

Common FHIR Resources

These are the building blocks of FHIR applications. Each "resource" represents a type of healthcare data.

Patient

Demographics, identifiers, contact info

Example: Name, DOB, address, phone number

Patient portalsRegistration systemsIdentity matching

Observation

Measurements and findings (requires: status, code; coded with LOINC)

Example: Blood pressure (LOINC: 55284-4), heart rate (8867-4), lab results, vital signs

Clinical dashboardsRemote monitoringAnalytics

Condition

Diagnoses and problems (requires: subject; coded with SNOMED CT / ICD-10)

Example: Diabetes (SNOMED: 44054006), hypertension (38341003), allergies

Problem listsRisk scoringCare planning

MedicationRequest

Prescriptions and orders (requires: status, intent, medication, subject; coded with RxNorm)

Example: Metformin 500mg twice daily (RxNorm: 860975)

E-prescribingMedication reconciliationDrug interactions

Encounter

Healthcare visits and interactions (requires: status, class)

Example: Office visit, ER admission, telehealth call

SchedulingBillingCare coordination

DocumentReference

Clinical documents and notes

Example: Discharge summary, lab report PDF, consent form

Document managementClinical notesAttachments

What Can You Build?

Real problems being solved with FHIR today.

Problem

Clinicians waste 20+ minutes per patient gathering scattered data

Solution: Patient Dashboard

Unified view pulling Patient, Observations, Conditions, and Medications into one screen

Beginner

FHIR Resources:

PatientObservationConditionMedicationRequest

Problem

Medication errors from incomplete med lists

Solution: Medication Reconciliation

AI-powered tool that compares meds from different sources and flags conflicts

Intermediate

FHIR Resources:

MedicationRequestMedicationStatementPatient

Problem

Patients can't access their own health records easily

Solution: Patient Portal

Self-service app for patients to view results, schedule visits, message providers

Intermediate

FHIR Resources:

PatientObservationAppointmentCommunication

Problem

Care teams don't know when high-risk patients are admitted

Solution: ADT Notifications

Real-time alerts when patients are admitted, discharged, or transferred

Advanced

FHIR Resources:

EncounterPatientSubscription

Your Learning Path

Step 115 min

Understand the Basics

Learn what FHIR is and why it matters for healthcare

Step 210 min

Explore Sample Data

See real FHIR resources with synthetic patient data

Try the sandbox

Step 35 min

Pick a Use Case

Choose a problem you want to solve

Browse projects

Step 42 min

Connect with Builders

Find collaborators or get expert guidance

Browse the community

For Developers: Quick Start

Your First FHIR Query

# Get all patients

curl "https://api.medplum.com/fhir/R4/Patient" \

-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

What You Get Back

{
  "resourceType": "Bundle",
  "total": 100,
  "entry": [
    {
      "resource": {
        "resourceType": "Patient",
        "name": [{"family": "Smith"}]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Try It in the Sandbox Full FHIR Specification

Ready to Build?

Get your own FHIR sandbox with 100 synthetic patients. Test your ideas, learn the API, connect with builders.

Try the Sandbox Browse the Community

The Basics

What is FHIR?

Everyone

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is the modern standard for exchanging healthcare data. Think of it as a common language that lets different healthcare systems talk to each other.

Why FHIR Matters

Healthcare Leaders

Before FHIR, getting patient data from one system to another was like translating ancient languages. FHIR standardizes this, making healthcare apps possible.

FHIR Resources

Developers

Everything in FHIR is a 'Resource' - Patient, Observation, Medication, Condition. Each resource has a standard structure that all systems understand.

Common FHIR Resources

These are the building blocks of FHIR applications. Each "resource" represents a type of healthcare data.

Patient

Demographics, identifiers, contact info

Example: Name, DOB, address, phone number

Patient portalsRegistration systemsIdentity matching

Observation

Measurements and findings (requires: status, code; coded with LOINC)

Example: Blood pressure (LOINC: 55284-4), heart rate (8867-4), lab results, vital signs

Clinical dashboardsRemote monitoringAnalytics

Condition

Diagnoses and problems (requires: subject; coded with SNOMED CT / ICD-10)

Example: Diabetes (SNOMED: 44054006), hypertension (38341003), allergies

Problem listsRisk scoringCare planning

MedicationRequest

Prescriptions and orders (requires: status, intent, medication, subject; coded with RxNorm)

Example: Metformin 500mg twice daily (RxNorm: 860975)

E-prescribingMedication reconciliationDrug interactions

Encounter

Healthcare visits and interactions (requires: status, class)

Example: Office visit, ER admission, telehealth call

SchedulingBillingCare coordination

DocumentReference

Clinical documents and notes

Example: Discharge summary, lab report PDF, consent form

Document managementClinical notesAttachments

What Can You Build?

Real problems being solved with FHIR today.

Problem

Clinicians waste 20+ minutes per patient gathering scattered data

Solution: Patient Dashboard

Unified view pulling Patient, Observations, Conditions, and Medications into one screen

Beginner

FHIR Resources:

PatientObservationConditionMedicationRequest

Problem

Medication errors from incomplete med lists

Solution: Medication Reconciliation

AI-powered tool that compares meds from different sources and flags conflicts

Intermediate

FHIR Resources:

MedicationRequestMedicationStatementPatient

Problem

Patients can't access their own health records easily

Solution: Patient Portal

Self-service app for patients to view results, schedule visits, message providers

Intermediate

FHIR Resources:

PatientObservationAppointmentCommunication

Problem

Care teams don't know when high-risk patients are admitted

Solution: ADT Notifications

Real-time alerts when patients are admitted, discharged, or transferred

Advanced

FHIR Resources:

EncounterPatientSubscription

Your Learning Path

Step 115 min

Understand the Basics

Learn what FHIR is and why it matters for healthcare

Step 210 min

Explore Sample Data

See real FHIR resources with synthetic patient data

Try the sandbox

Step 35 min

Pick a Use Case

Choose a problem you want to solve

Browse projects

Step 42 min

Connect with Builders

Find collaborators or get expert guidance

Browse the community