SEND FEEDBACK TO ASTP
The Federal FHIR Action Plan is designed to be a collaborative and evolving framework that benefits from input and feedback from federal agency partners, the standards development community, and SMEs. Since the FHIR standard is a broad, community-driven effort, there may be federal initiatives or insights that have not yet come to the attention of ASTP.
ASTP encourages interested parties to provide recommendations for additional specifications that should be included in the component tables, as well as suggestions for new capabilities that are in early stages of development. This feedback is essential for ensuring the action plan remains comprehensive, relevant, and aligned with interoperability goals.
ASTP expresses gratitude to federal and industry partners for their contributions, emphasizing that the current final version of the action plan — and future iterations — are made possible through their support and collaboration. This partnership is critical to advancing the adoption and implementation of FHIR standards to improve healthcare interoperability and outcomes.
ADVANCE AND REUSE HL7® FHIR® COMPONENTS
Federal agencies are actively reusing existing FHIR components in their development activities to support interoperability and streamline health IT initiatives. ASTP encourages agencies to collaborate with both ASTP and other relevant federal agencies to refine these existing components, as well as emerging ones, to ensure they align with agency-specific requirements and priorities.
In addition to refining existing components, federal agencies are encouraged to identify any new FHIR specifications that may be necessary to address their unique needs. This proactive identification of gaps or opportunities will help ensure that the FHIR standard evolves to meet diverse use cases across the federal landscape.
ASTP will continue to monitor agency feedback and update the Federal FHIR Action Plan regularly, ensuring it remains an informative framework that supports the interoperability goals of federal agencies and the broader health IT community.
FEDERAL COORDINATION TO ADVANCE THE FHIR STANDARD
Coordinated federal input is essential for shaping the timely advancement of the FHIR standard and guiding the development of new capabilities that address the specific needs of federal agencies. By working together, federal agencies can ensure that FHIR evolves in alignment with interoperability goals and supports the diverse use cases required across the healthcare ecosystem.
Federal agencies are encouraged to use the Federal FHIR Action Plan as a resource to:
- Identify and address common needs across agencies;
- Coordinate requests and focus areas for the FHIR standards community and implementation partners; and
- Optimize investments by reusing and advancing widely adopted capabilities, avoiding duplication in federal use cases.
The network of federal agencies involved in healthcare information technology is extensive, ranging from large departments to smaller agencies. While coordinating efforts at this scale presents challenges, collaboration and alignment of IT initiatives are essential to ensure efficient and cohesive operations across the federal landscape.
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of federal agencies and the willingness of technology developers, FHIR APIs are now widely available across the United States. Adoption rates of FHIR among healthcare providers are expected to increase significantly in the coming years as the necessary policies and technical infrastructure for FHIR API-based healthcare delivery systems are established.
As the nation transitions to a fully digital healthcare system, stakeholders are uncovering new opportunities to leverage health information technology to enhance healthcare delivery, public health, and research, ultimately improving people's lives. However, this exciting progress requires proactive alignment and coordination of FHIR-related activities across federal agencies to ensure efficiency and interoperability.
By aligning federal efforts in advancing FHIR standards and requirements, the objective is to reduce barriers to implementation, such as funding challenges and health IT workforce limitations, and improve health IT interoperability. The action plan aims to serve as a common platform for federal coordination and investments, providing the standards community and industry with clear guidance to accelerate the advancement of the FHIR standard.
This approach ensures that the transition to a digital healthcare system is innovative, efficient, and impactful, driving better outcomes for healthcare delivery, public health, and research.
We hope the considerations and approaches described in the draft action plan help provide a common platform for federal coordination and investments and provide the standards community and industry a clear direction to rapidly advance the FHIR standard.