In Germany, the fragmentation of hospital IT systems and lack of interoperability are severely hindering the adoption of advanced AI technologies. Establishing standardized data sharing and integrated systems is urgently needed.
This article compares two standards, legacy HL7 v2 and modern FHIR, addressing data integration challenges in hospital IT. It explains which standard is better suited for an appropriate integration strategy, suggesting that FHIR holds an advantage, especially when developing new systems or considering long-term investment.
Hospitals can regain control over their data by implementing a Clinical Data Repository (CDR) based on the FHIR standard, moving beyond isolated systems. This establishes an integrated and continuous data foundation for electronic records and research utilization.
Tieto Caretech, x-tention, and Better have formed a strategic partnership to realize the next generation of open, patient-centric healthcare systems. They plan to introduce the 'Lifecare Open Health Suite' to modernize clinical data and dismantle data silos in the DACH region.
Health Samurai hosted an offline FHIR meetup at BIH@Charité in Berlin during DMEA 2026. Engineers and architects gathered to discuss practical topics, including building FHIR pipelines, migration strategies from HL7 v2 to FHIR, and SQL on FHIR.
gematik released the ePA Medication Service (Version 1.1.5), providing an implementation guide and resource profile specifically for medication's PZN ingredient. This offers a standardized data structure for electronic pharmaceutical information exchange.
As hospital mergers advance, IT integration is becoming the critical factor determining speed and stability. Securing 'data sovereignty' by integrating data over a FHIR-based layer helps reduce risks and strengthen healthcare provision.
Pontegra Software Technologies provides a secondary-use research infrastructure for Data Integration Centers (DIZ) based on Germany's Medical Informatics Initiative (MII). This solution collects and standardizes clinical data into HL7 FHIR format, enabling the generation of highly reproducible datasets for AI/ML and RWE analysis.
The 'Entscheider-Event' discussed the progress of digitalization in the German healthcare economy. Participants shared successful key projects and highlighted crucial future technical challenges (cybersecurity, FHIR-based e-records), while also raising structural issues across the entire industry.
Led by the IDB and PAHO, and supported by Japan, the Pan-American Digital Health Route (PH4H) is an initiative aiming to build interoperable infrastructure for secure clinical data sharing across Latin American and Caribbean countries.
This page provides reference information related to Health Device Data Transfer. Specifically, it allows users to access a code system defining specific measurement methods and reference values based on the FHIR standard. This aids in data standardization and quality control.
Maximilian Schoeppe, an IT expert at Black Tusk GmbH, has a background in biomedical engineering and epidemiology. Since 2020, he has served as COO, strategically focusing the organization on FHIR, contributing through consulting and product development.
A working group aimed to comprehensively map interoperability initiatives and stakeholders related to FHIR within the German healthcare sector. The goal was to create a foundational resource for experience sharing and community building.
Smile Digital Health's FHIR® platform, Smile CDR, enables structured management of clinical data in hospitals. Through nursIT, it integrates standards like HL7 v2 and SNOMED CT to provide a central data platform with high interoperability.
Dr. Viola Henke of DMI points out the financial difficulties and structural challenges facing German hospitals. She states that utilizing new funding mechanisms (KHTF) requires an integrated approach to digitalization, focusing on interoperability and data strategy, rather than mere system implementation.
The German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) is promoting the development of an 'intersectoral FHIR data model' with Tiplu GmbH. This aims to standardize and improve interoperability of healthcare data across sectors within the electronic patient record (ePA), facilitating better treatment quality and research utilization.