FHIR Based Interoperability of Medical Devices

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Device Integration
• Healthcare Standards

Background:

• Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) is designed for ease of implementation.
• Integrating medical devices into healthcare systems often requires specialized knowledge.
• Portuguese healthcare projects sought to leverage FHIR for device integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the practical application and challenges of using FHIR for medical device integration in two Portuguese projects.
• To identify the FHIR resources utilized and the learning curve for project teams.
• To assess the general knowledge of FHIR and associated terminologies among involved device companies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of two Portuguese projects: easyHealth4Covid (EH4C) and Chronic Diseases Management Platform (CDMP).
• Examination of project evolution and the specific FHIR resources employed.
• Review of the types and number of medical device sensors integrated (11 sensors from 5 companies).

Main Results:

• Both projects successfully integrated medical devices using FHIR, primarily the FHIR Observation resource.
• Project teams generally possessed limited prior experience with FHIR implementation.
• A notable gap in knowledge regarding the FHIR standard and device-specific terminologies was identified across companies.

Conclusions:

• While FHIR enables medical device integration, a significant knowledge gap exists among healthcare technology teams and device manufacturers.
• Further education and standardization of terminologies are crucial for wider FHIR adoption in medical device integration.
• The FHIR Observation resource proved versatile for diverse sensor data in the evaluated projects.