Data Interoperability (HL7/FHIR)

HL7 v2 is a legacy messaging standard from the 1980s that uses pipe-delimited text files to transmit patient data. FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is a modern REST API standard using JSON that's easier to work with and more flexible. Most legacy systems still use HL7 v2, so interoperability projects often require translating HL7 to FHIR.

Probabilistic record linkage compares patient names, dates of birth, SSNs, and addresses to identify likely duplicates. Above a high-confidence threshold (for example, 95%), records can be auto-merged; in a middle band (for example, 70-95%), they are flagged for manual review by administrative staff. Thresholds are tuned to your data.

Yes. Labs and imaging centers typically send HL7 ORU (Observation Result) messages or expose FHIR Observation resources. We build interfaces that consume these feeds and normalize them into your unified patient record. Large reference labs such as Quest and LabCorp, and most hospital lab systems, deliver results this way.

For a single EHR migration (e.g., moving from System A to System B), expect 8-12 weeks for data extraction, transformation, and validation. For multi-system unification (e.g., merging 3+ EHRs into a single FHIR data store), expect 16-24 weeks depending on data quality and volume.

We implement data quality checks at every stage: missing required fields trigger alerts, invalid codes are logged for manual review, and duplicate records are flagged before merge. Most projects require 2-4 weeks of post-migration cleanup to resolve edge cases that weren't caught in initial testing.

It can be built to HIPAA requirements (encryption, audit logging, role-based access): FHIR servers on HIPAA-eligible cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure), encryption at rest and in transit, role-based access control, and logging of all data access. We sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) before any PHI access: no one on our team sees protected health information until it is executed.

Yes. Once your data is normalized into FHIR, you can expose it via SMART on FHIR APIs that third-party apps can integrate with. This is useful for patient portals, clinical decision support tools, and population health analytics platforms.

Yes. Data interoperability is never 'done' — new programs launch, EHR vendors release updates, and data quality issues emerge over time. A monthly support retainer covers pipeline monitoring, data quality resolution, and onboarding new data sources as the operation grows.