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Healthcare has lately been dotted with data-driven innovation. Companies with huge data warehouses like Google, Facebook, Amazon have made use of next generation technologies to deliver connectivity, ease of access, and user experience. Then, why not healthcare? The future of Big Data is promising- the analytics market in healthcare is projected to grow from $7 billion in 2016 to $24 billion in the next five years and tapping Big Data could offer several more possibilities.

For years we have known and experienced the negative impacts of delayed and inaccurate information transfer. The reasons could be many- lack of continuity, fragmented systems, different data standards- owing to which the news of a patient’s medical encounter may take some time to reach the provider, if it ever does. Stepping up, the international standards development organization, Health Level 7 (HL7) came up with ADT – Admit, Discharge and Transfer feeds to establish patient data notification services.

Today we would like to have all our health information at our fingertips. Just like the access to emails, calendar, maps, etc., it would be awesome if we also had a similar arrangement to view our cholesterol levels, insulin, and other vitals on the fly.

We all know that care coordination is fundamental to improving the quality and accessibility of care. We also realize that on paper, care coordination looks fairly easy- just the integrated efforts of primary care physicians, specialists, nurses, health coaches and all the caregivers. As the amount of healthcare data increases and as patients find themselves surrounded by bustling health-related activities, the need for safe, secure data exchange increases. To look at the bigger picture, providers need to have access to all the pieces. This is where interoperability comes in.

The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource, or FHIR (pronounced ‘fire’), is a new term in healthcare that’s witnessing growing interest and spreading almost like fire. FHIR is the latest standard to be developed under HL7 and is expected to contribute significantly to improving patient care, countering the barriers to interoperability, boosting information sharing, and unboxing innovation in healthcare. Stakeholders from all across the healthcare system are excited and enthusiastic about FHIR, its simplicity and a refreshing approach. Here’s all you need to know about it:

One size does not fit all- a concept, everyone in the world has to wrap their heads around at some point. Even in healthcare, there are several types of EHRs, wearable technology, cloud storage, and several data repositories and still, with significant advances in technology; a seamless data-sharing environment is yet to be seen.