Introduction
How HL7 Works
HL7 International is a US-based organisation that has associated affiliates in different countries. Volunteers from payor, provider, vendor and federal agencies are working together in more than 30 work groups to develop standards for data exchange in healthcare.
The priority is on consensus-driven, transparent and open processes to create high-quality standards and guidelines. Up to now more than 250 standards have been developed. The most prominent are HL7 Version 2.x, Version 3 with CDA and – most important – the newest member FHIR – the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources
Implementation Guides
HL7 Europe provides a comprehensive framework for the adoption and use of HL7 FHIR standards across European healthcare systems through its HL7 FHIR Implementation Guides. Tailored to meet the specific needs and regulations of EU countries, the guides offer clear instructions and best practices for implementing FHIR-based solutions. They promote seamless interoperability between systems, enabling efficient healthcare data exchange while ensuring compliance with EU standards and project requirements. The guide is an essential resource for developers, implementers, and healthcare professionals, fostering the harmonization of digital health initiatives across Europe to enhance patient care and streamline healthcare processes.
HL7 Europe’s Implementation Guides are posted here: www.hl7.eu/fhir
Community
Hospitals on FHIR
Most EU Hospitals struggle with the adoption of advanced interoperability standards, because their vendors are not supporting FHIR or their staff and culture need to improve. While SDOs are in charge of promoting standards among industries, the final users are not aware of new standards features and capabilities.
The goal of Hospitals on FHIR is centered in Hospitals’ final users’ perspective, who are in need to both improve the knowledge of advanced standards and define a strategy for adopting and customizing the FHIR interfaces to comply with their local regulations and constraints, also by sharing their experiences facing these challenges.
The Policy Environment
Standards are global but implementation is local, and it is influenced by local policies. That’s why there are more than 40 HL7 national affiliates, and more than 20 in Europe [link to affiliates map]. Beginning with the Treaty of Lisbon (2007), the European Union has played a growing role in the health and social policies of its Member States. And it has been building a digital service infrastructure, especially after the 2011 Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (2011/24/EU), culminating during the COVID pandemic in a European Gateway that enabled transmission of test results and vaccination status.
HL7 Europe has contributed to building this digital service infrastructure, and the adoption of interoperability specification, through involvement in various research projects.
HL7 Europe has also contributed to the eHealth Stakeholder Group, a consultative and advisory body of European umbrella groups for the European Commission.
EHDS
Harnessing the power of health data for healthcare and research
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) seeks to improve healthcare delivery, deliver a framework for health data use, and advance a single market for digital health services and products. The Commission proposed an initial draft of the EHDS regulation in May 2022 [link]; the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement in spring 2024; it is expected to take effect before the end of 2024.
EEHRxF
Enabling the interoperable transfer of electronic health data exchange
The February 2019 Commission Recommendation on a European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (2019/243, abbreviation “EEHRxF”) set out a framework to develop principles, specifications and a process to achieve secure, interoperable, cross-border access to, and exchange of, electronic health data in the Union.
Collaborations
HL7 Europe is engaged in a number of strategic collaborations with European and international initiatives. Check here periodically for updates.
Sandboxes
The HL7 Europe Facility provides a comprehensive suite of tools and services to assist both current and potential users in understanding, testing, validating, and implementing HL7 EU standards and EU project specifications.
The facility includes a set of sandboxes equipped with HL7 FHIR APIs, which enable users to experiment with storing, searching, and retrieving HL7 FHIR examples, as well as validating them. A collection of reference examples is also provided to help users get started. These sandboxes are often enhanced with dedicated plugins for displaying stored examples and managing associated questionnaires.
In future, the sandboxes will be further supported by an HL7 FHIR Terminology Server, which will manage the terminology resources relevant to HL7 EU standards and EU project specifications.
Click here to go to the HL7 Europe sandboxes: https://sandbox.hl7europe.eu