March 2024 marked a pivotal moment for the healthcare IT sector, with the FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST) community survey revealing critical insights into the adoption, challenges, and perspectives surrounding various FAST implementation guides (IGs). This survey, engaging various stakeholders from providers to technology vendors, sheds light on the collective journey towards seamless healthcare interoperability. Let's dive into the nuanced feedback and the path it carves for the future of healthcare IT.
Survey Results Overview
FAST Security IG Adoption and the Quest for Clarity
The uptake of the HL7 FAST UDAP Security for Scalable Registration, Authentication, and Authorization Implementation Guide (FAST Security IG) is on the rise, driven by an evident market need. A notable proportion of respondents are keen to implement the HL7 FAST Security IG, likely due to its inclusion in the TEFCA FHIR Roadmap. There were some concerns expressed about market readiness. However, respondents expressed a need for clearer guidance beyond the existing FAST Security IG, suggesting the development of a companion document to aid in implementation strategies would be helpful.
FAST Identity IG: Overcoming Adoption Barriers
While there seems to be adoption readiness for the Interoperable Digital Identity and Patient Matching IG, the survey highlights perceived barriers to adoption. These barriers were related to industry issues such as cross-jurisdiction consent and broader market acceptance and adoption by other industry initiatives rather than any issues with the IG itself.
The HL7 FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST) UDAP Security for Scalable Registration, Authentication and Authorization Implementation Guide (FAST Security IG) was designed to streamline and secure data exchange across different healthcare stakeholders. This blog post seeks to dispel common misconceptions about the complexity of implementing the FAST Security IG.
Recent Initiatives of the ONC’s FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST) and Update on Payer-to-Payer Mandate are Key Topics for Wednesday Event, 8/25 at 4:00 pm ET
The success of the HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR®) standard is becoming increasingly evident.
Successful case studies are emerging. For example, a recently published HL7 case study documents how MultiCare Connected Care and Regence are recognizing significant cost savings by using a FHIR implementation guide standard to definitively ascertain that medication reconciliation has been completed. This case study can be found at https://www.hl7.org/participate/case-studies/index.cfm .
But these isolated successes beg the question – can FHIR be used more broadly, and implemented more widely across the country, handling a multiplicity of interactions across dozens of healthcare organizations simultaneously?
That is the task given to the ONC’s FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST), which is seeking to determine solutions and opportunities to influence emerging solutions.
Progress by the ONC FAST effort is of prime importance to the dissemination of FHIR solutions to solve information exchange challenges in healthcare. The panel’s progress over the past year will be one of the topics of the Da Vinci Project’s monthly Community Roundtable event, to be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 25.