FHIR across the professions

One standard. Different starting points.

FHIR is one standard, but not everyone needs all of it. Your role decides where to begin. This lesson is a guide to the starting points.

A role, and where to start

Here is a suggested guide. If you care for patients, start with the clinical, medications and diagnostics modules. If you work on clinical A I or informatics, start with clinical and terminology. If you analyse health data, start with resources and datatypes, then the FHIR path and S Q L on FHIR specifications. If you build and connect systems, start with exchange, conformance, and security and privacy. If you handle billing and claims, start with the financial module. And if you lead across all of it, follow the whole map, level by level.

• I care for patients · Clinical, Medications, Diagnostics · person · navy
• I work on clinical AI or informatics · Clinical and Terminology · concept · amber
• I analyse health data · Resources, FHIRPath, SQL on FHIR · chart · navy
• I build and connect systems · Exchange, Conformance, Security · gear · slate
• I handle billing and claims · The Financial module · scale · slate
• I lead across all of it · The whole map, level by level · layers · slate

Five tracks, one standard

The five certification tracks climb from foundations to the specialist capstone. Here is a proposed mapping to what FHIR gives each one. Foundations: reading and explaining records that move between systems. Clinical A I and informatics: understanding what structured data a model receives, and its limits. Health data and analytics: getting FHIR data into analysis. Interoperability engineering: building and testing the interfaces, profiles and security. And the specialist capstone: the whole picture.

• Specialist · SIDHI: the whole picture. · star
• Engineering · HCIE: build and test interfaces. · gear
• Analytics · HDAP: get FHIR data into analysis. · chart
• Clinical AI · CAIA: know what data a model gets. · concept
• Foundations · DHF: read and explain records. · person

The same record, seen three ways

The same FHIR resource is met in different ways. A clinician reads it as care information. An analyst queries it as structured data. An engineer exchanges it through an interface. Same resource, different work.

• The clinician · Reads it as care information · person
• The analyst · Queries it as structured data · chart
• The engineer · Exchanges it by interface · gear

Check yourself

Pause and think. Which FHIR module covers billing and claiming support? The answer: the financial module.

• Financial
• Diagnostics
• Workflow
• Foundation

Keep these in mind

Your role decides where in FHIR to begin. Clinical roles start with the clinical, medications and diagnostics modules. Engineers start with exchange, conformance and security. And a starting point is a suggestion, not a gate.

• Your role decides where in FHIR to begin
• Clinical roles start with clinical, medications, diagnostics
• Engineers start with exchange, conformance and security
• A starting point is a suggestion, not a gate