Why FHIR Matters When Choosing Practice Management Software

Why FHIR Matters When Choosing Practice Management Software

October 21, 2026

A referral arrives through secure messaging. A team member opens the document, reads the details and types them into the patient record. Pathology results come from a different system, so they’re downloaded, attached and filed by hand. During a consultation, the AI scribe needs context from the record, so someone copies it across.

The information already exists digitally. The work is getting it from one system into another.

For one patient, that takes a few minutes. Across a busy practice, those minutes become hours of admin, with more chances for details to be mistyped or to go out of date. The fix is interoperability: software that can exchange and use each other’s data directly. FHIR is a shared set of rules for how health information is labelled and sent, so different software can understand each other. It’s becoming more common, and it’s worth understanding before you compare software.

This article covers how FHIR works, what it changes for a practice, and what to ask before you commit to a platform.

What is FHIR?

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, pronounced “fire”) is a standard from HL7, the international body that sets health data standards. It gives healthcare software a common way to structure and share data.

Think of it as a common language. It doesn’t automatically connect every system to every other, because systems still need to be set up to work together, including security, permissions and day-to-day workflows. But a shared standard reduces custom development and makes new connections more consistent.

Four ideas sit behind it.

Resources

FHIR splits healthcare information into standard types, called resources. Examples include a patient, an appointment, a prescription (MedicationRequest in FHIR), a test result or measurement (Observation) and a referral (ServiceRequest). Each type has a fixed set of fields, so every system knows where to find a date of birth or a medication.

APIs

An API is a set of rules that lets one piece of software ask another for information, or send it some. Think of it as a menu and ordering system: the rules tell one program exactly how to ask another for something. FHIR requests travel over the web, much like loading a web page, and the answer comes back as structured text that software can read easily. When an API is documented, a developer can see exactly how to ask for what they need.

Terminology

Two systems can share the same fields and still describe things differently. FHIR works alongside clinical codes to fix this. SNOMED CT-AU is Australia’s standard list of clinical codes. It gives each diagnosis, symptom or finding its own code, so “type 2 diabetes” recorded in one system is understood as the same condition in another.

Profiles

FHIR leaves room for choices, so each country publishes a local rulebook, called a profile, that says which fields to use and how. In Australia, AU Core is that common baseline. Sparked is the community that develops and tests FHIR for Australian healthcare.

What FHIR changes for a practice

The technical details matter, but the real question is what interoperability changes in day-to-day work. The examples below describe what’s possible when both ends of an exchange support FHIR.

Referrals

A referral bundles the patient’s details, the reason for referral, their history and supporting documents. FHIR gives each a standard label and place, so the receiving software can fill in the right parts of the record instead of relying on manual entry.

Example: Where the sender supports FHIR, a GP's referral arrives and your team opens a record that is already populated, then confirms the details.

Pathology and results

A PDF is like a photo of a page. Software can display it, but can’t reliably read the patient, test or value inside it. Structured formats solve this, and FHIR is one of them. It sends results as data that software can match automatically. (A single value, such as a haemoglobin level, is an Observation. A group of results forms a DiagnosticReport.)

Example: A blood test result arrives as structured data and is matched to the right patient and test. Staff step in only when the system can't make a true match.

Third-party tools

Telehealth, ePrescribing, AI tools and other applications each need some information from the patient record. A standard way for software to connect gives them a consistent, authorised way to request it, and the platform controls what each one can see. Because the connection method is standard, a new tool that supports the same FHIR standards may connect without a custom-built connection. That keeps your options open as your needs change, including for tools that don’t exist yet.

Example: An AI documentation tool requests only the patient context it is authorised to access, with no custom connection to build. Permissions and configuration are still needed, but the custom work shrinks.

Where the sector is today

FHIR is growing in importance in Australian healthcare, but many referrals, results and other exchanges still rely on older but widely used message formats, such as HL7 v2 and CDA. MediRecords connects with the secure messaging services HealthLink and Medical-Objects for these exchanges. Healthcare organisations and vendors work across several standards at once, so the practical position is a platform that works with the systems you rely on now and gives you a foundation for what comes next.

Why not every platform supports FHIR

Supporting FHIR takes more than adding another integration. A platform has to be built to store and share data in a consistent structure, with authentication, access controls and documented APIs behind it. Many established systems were designed around their own way of organising data, with connections added one at a time over the years. That approach works well for specific connections, but adding a shared standard to an older system means reworking how it stores and organises data. That is a large engineering project, and the vendor has to see enough demand to justify it. Platforms built more recently, or rebuilt around open APIs, often find this easier, though a newer platform isn’t automatically a better one.

That is why it is worth checking how a platform is built, not only what it lists.

What to check before you commit

Which FHIR resources are supported?

Can data be both read and written?

Is the API documented and accessible to developers?

Which Australian profiles or implementation guides are supported (for example, AU Core)?

Has the FHIR implementation been tested or conformance-checked, for example at a Sparked connectathon?

How are authentication and permissions handled?

Can third-party applications connect directly?

How much custom development is required for a new integration?

Does it also support HL7 v2 and CDA for the exchanges that still depend on them?

Are there fees for API access or third-party connections?

Can I export my data in a standard format if I leave?

Clear answers let you compare platforms on equal terms, and vague answers tell you something too. MediRecords publishes its API documentation, so you can test it against this list.

Where MediRecords fits

MediRecords is a cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) and practice management platform designed with interoperability in mind. It supports standard web-based connections (REST APIs) and FHIR, along with Australian standards including SNOMED CT-AU, and is a founding member of Sparked. Its connections cover the workflows where practices feel the most friction:

MediRecords use cases

Appointment booking APIs. A patient-first start.

Appointment Booking API

Patients book from your practice’s own website. They choose a service, see an estimated next opening and get a confirmation. Behind the scenes, the booking goes straight into MediRecords, so your team doesn’t have to re-type it.

This is an example of what a developer could build using the MediRecords appointment APIs, not a ready-made product. Times shown are estimates until the booking is confirmed.

Online patient forms that go into the record

Patient Forms API

New patients fill in their details online before their first visit, including an emergency contact. The details go straight into their MediRecords record, so your team doesn’t have to type them in. Referral letters can be uploaded too. They are saved in the patient’s Correspondence In folder, so nobody has to file them by hand. Referral letters can be uploaded too. They are saved in the patient’s Correspondence In folder, so nobody has to file them by hand.

This is an example of what a developer could build, not a ready-made product. Referral letters are saved as correspondence, not as referral records.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does FHIR stand for?

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. It’s maintained by HL7, the international standards body for health data.

No. An API is the way one piece of software asks another for information. FHIR is the set of rules for what that information looks like and where each detail goes. FHIR is usually delivered through an API.

No. FHIR is about how data is structured and shared, not who can see it. Access is controlled by the platform, which verifies who is asking and limits what each application can see.

No. Vendors may support different types of information, different Australian rules, and different levels of reading and writing data. The checklist in the article helps you find out exactly what is supported.

It reduces the manual work of moving information between systems, and it makes it easier to add new tools later without custom-built connections.

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What’s happening in health?
 
 
 

July 9, 2024

What's happening in health?

As one of the biggest industries on the planet, there’s always something happening in healthcare. Here’s what has captured our attention recently.

Industry news

Private hospitals are facing tough times as costs of doing business keep rising while a major source of their revenue – private health insurers (PHI) – are seen to be holding tight to profits. The ill-will between PHI and private hospitals is best demonstrated by the battle between the St Vincent’s group and NIB, which is at breaking point.

Suggestions of a crisis in the private hospital sector are underlined by key players co-operating with a Federal Government review. Health Services Daily reports that, “79 facilities — including day surgeries, endoscopy centres, private hospitals, wound care centres, cosmetic surgery centres, dental centres, respiratory and sleep disorder clinics, dialysis clinics and mental health centres — have either closed or revoked their declaration as a private hospital since 2019”.

Internationally, post-pandemic use of telehealth has fallen and major retail chains who leapt into healthcare are back-pedalling. American companies Walmart and Walgreens winding back their health businesses (see What retail titans might do next on health care (axios.com)), makes us wonder how Healthylifeis going for Woolworths, locally.

The pressure to be profitable means most hospitals are searching for ways to reduce the costs of delivering care. Managing patients in their own beds may be cheaper than hospital beds and so the cash-strapped UK National Health Service has committed to scaling up virtual care.

If the NHS needs a success story to use as inspiration, the ever-innovative Cleveland Clinic is hailing its acute hospital care in the home program a success for patients and staff, while acknowledging further improvements are possible. For details, see Lessons from Cleveland Clinic’s 1st year of ‘hospital at home’ (beckershospitalreview.com).

Melbourne’s Austin Hospital has also committed to virtual wards as business as usual, particularly for cardiac and haematology patients.

And the Federal Government is funding virtual careto chip away at a barriers to accessing mental health inpatient care, (partly caused by a shortage of accessible psychiatrists).

Keeping it real on artificial intelligence

Investors seeking share-market alchemy remain bullish on Artificial Intelligence while potential end users want ethical, regulatory and security assurances to precede introduction of these potentially very useful new tools. The American Medical Association offers sensible tips on technology adoption here: In the push for AI in health care, avoid EHR rollout mistakes | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)

As to the smorgasbord of AI news, here is an aperitif:

 

Source: Future Health Index 2024 Better care for more people

We're all healthcare consumers

We also keep a close watch on consumer health news, in the interest of all of us avoiding hospitalisation. Here are some insights aimed at keeping our engines running:

Evidence is mounting that good gut health boosts mental health and ability to handle stress. Stress: Could a healthy gut microbiome make you more resilient? (medicalnewstoday.com)

Multivitamins, however, might only contribute to expensive and colourful urine. Another Study Finds No Life-Extending Benefit From Multivitamins (healthday.com)

In other product news, the old advice (or excellent marketing) that taking aspirin reduces risk of heart attack appears to have been debunked – unless you have previously had a stroke or heart attack. American Adults Warned Over Aspirin Use Despite Risks – Newsweek

Stanford University research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, has identified six different types of depression, which has implications for better treatment and management of mental ill-health. 6 types of depression identified in Stanford study | CNN

And there are clear reasons to avoid COVID19 because the long form of the illness is particularly nasty. Report: More than 200 symptoms tied to long COVID | CIDRAP (umn.edu)

The last word

Police, prisons and hospital emergency departments are often the professionals most likely to be dealing with people experiencing acute mental ill health. Here’s a good news story of how technology and faster access to treatment can successfully divert people from EDs and custody – https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/outfitting-police-telehealth-ipads-mental-health-program-saves-government-62m?

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Feeling the heat at
Burning GP
 
 

June 17, 2024

Feeling the heat at Burning GP

MediRecords joined the sun-starved throng flocking to the Tweed for the Wild Health Burning GP conference last week.

Here are 10 takeaways from two days of robust and enlightening conversations.

1. GPs are divided on the impact of Urgent Care Centres (UCC)

Are nascent UCCs an attempt to woo voters in outer suburban marginal seats, a means to divert a few people from crowded hospital emergency departments… or an example of government spending that would be better invested in primary care? The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) past president Adj Prof Karen Price also pondered whether UCCs are turning away “non-urgent” patients and referring them back to their family GPs.

2. There’s a great divide between GPs and hospitals

Healthdirect Australia is trialling a way to send NSW hospital discharge summaries to GPs and patients and Queensland discharge summaries are uploaded to The Viewer … but the data disconnect between primary and tertiary care remains vast*.

Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff, the Rural Doctors Association NSW vice president, said GPs were often left in the dark about hospital outcomes for their patients.

“We don’t always know if person has died, been discharged, or been sent home with only six (tablets)… We know the system is not right. It may be better than other countries, but we know it should be even better, given what (governments) are spending.” 

– Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff, the Rural Doctors Association NSW vice president

Judging by the overall vibe at Burning GP, GPs feel much of the government cash spent on shiny new hospitals could be better spent on disease prevention led by community-based primary care practitioners.

3. Workforce scaling

The RACGP warned Australia has a “whole of health” workforce crisis, exacerbated by insufficient medical students coming through, so we’re going to have to import doctors, nurses and specialists from overseas. (The ever-resilient Health Department Assistant Secretary Medicare Benefits and Digital Health, Mr Daniel McCabe, said he preferred “critical juncture” to crisis, triggering a running joke for the entire conference.)

Grampians Health Chief Strategy & Regions Officer Dr Robert Grenfell said the shortage of GPs in western Victoria was so acute he was planning based on having none. He said: “If we have (GPs) I will use them” but it was now prudent to make alternative plans.

4. Medicare misery is multiplying

Several conference panels highlighted the challenges of determining the correct, optimally reimbursed Medicare item codes for complex consultations. Mr McCabe conceded all billable items are due for review, with an aspirational goal of improving access to healthcare for people who can least afford it.

5. Telehealth – supplementary or threat?

If young and tech-savvy consumers keep opting for online access to quick prescriptions, medical certificates and more, community GPs will be left with older, sicker, more complex clients, including those with mental ill health. Whitebridge Medical Centre owner Dr Max Mollenkopf said GPs needed to understand why consumers are switching to digital health companies such as Eucalyptus and adapt fast. He said, “Our old patients who love us will die off and all the young ones will be (Eucalyptus patients) unless we do something different.”

6. The numbers speak for themselves

The Australian National University Associate Professor (and GP) Louise Stone highlighted a 42% pay gap between men and women GPs. She said this was compounded by women GPs shouldering a majority of longer, underfunded consultations with complex patients, (who may have been released from hospital prematurely to reduce bed blockages).

7. But metrics may deceive

Associate Professor Stone cautioned that ‘evidence-based solutions’ in healthcare may not be what they seem. Analysis had shown the typical participant in clinical trials is a privileged white male, the researcher is likely to be a white urban male and even the average lab rat is a white furred male. This means clinical metrics may not be representative … and AI tools risk exaggerating biased data even further.

Evrima Technologies CEO and Founder Charlotte Bradshaw said that 80% of clinical trials are delayed in Australia because eligible people can’t be found and paired with researchers.

8. The My Health Record (MHR) will grow exponentially

Mr McCabe confirmed legislation is imminent to mandate sharing diagnostic imaging and pathology with the MHR. The government will also “push very hard” for every medication event – prescribing and dispensing – to be uploaded. The CSIRO-led Sparked community will need to lead the software industry to a FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standard to achieve this. Mr McCabe said Australian healthcare was hamstrung by “a lot of technology built in the 1990s that is not fit for purpose”. The recent MediSecure data breach showed, “We need to make sure we set the bar a lot higher than it is today”.

9. Technology knowledge is variable

When you’re a time poor GP, technology is rarely top of mind. You just want it to work. GPs still need reassurance from healthcare influencers that cloud technology is as safe (or safer) than server-driven desktop tech and that switching brings cost and time savings on hardware, hosting, back-ups, security, software patches, electricity and more. As one GP said to us, “You mean I can sack my IT guy?”

As for innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), there’s a sense that while there are time, safety, revenue and efficiency gains to be made, the early adopters and innovators will be waiting a while for their conservative colleagues to join them.

10. Summing up

Based on our conversations and observations at Burning GP, community general practitioners feel underfunded, overworked, undervalued, and under siege from telehealth providers and pharmacists. They’re a resilient mob though, and still passionately defending their role as number one for longitudinal patient care.

*MediRecords new Admissions module means we can provide a longitudinal record connecting primary and tertiary care in one secure, cloud-hosted software system. We can send Discharge Summaries from our Admissions module and store them against the central patient file. Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you’re trying to solve these types of connectivity problems!

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