Interoperability of Swiss Personalized Health Network RDF Schema with FHIR

The Swiss Personalized Health Network is a national network aiming to facilitate responsible use of health-related data for research in Switzerland. Central to this effort is the SPHN RDF Schema, a graph-based model leveraging Resource Description Framework (RDF) to encode semantics. The use of RDF and semantic web technologies enable fine-grained representation of health-related entities and facilitates the integration of heterogeneous clinical datasets into interoperable knowledge graphs suitable for research. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) in contrast is optimized for data exchange in clinical environments. Its modular resources, ecosystem, and widespread adoption highlight its role as a well-recognized standard for scalable, cross-institutional data exchange. Recognizing their complementarity, we present the first comprehensive FHIR specification mapping SPHN semantics to FHIR. Based on this effort, SPHN plans to enable the transformation of SPHN-compatible RDF data into corresponding FHIR representation and seeks further validation with partner hospitals. This will facilitate collaborations with relevant initiatives and associations, while supporting the refinement and validation of the specifications.