A spirit of collaboration — even among competitors — was the overwhelming experience of the MediRecords Technology & Product team this month at a key event for advancing the secure and seamless exchange of electronic healthcare data. 

The HL7 AU FHIR (Fast Health Interoperability Resources) Connectathon at the Sydney Microsoft headquarter revealed the broad range of organisations using FHIR. 

“This event was a great way to see what is on the horizon and to see how many organizations are using FHIR and are willing to work together towards a common objective,” said MediRecords Technical Product Owner Sanjeed Quaiyumi.

“At MediRecords, we have already built a huge suite of FHIR resources. Events like Connectathon allow us to validate our new ideas and in-progress work.” 

Sanjeed added that the team gained insights into the FHIR capabilities of organisations such as Australian Digital Health Agency, CSIRO, Telstra Health, Sonic HealthCare, and software developers Epic, and for what business purposes they are using FHIR.

“It is an amazing community which brings people from different aspects of healthcare together, sharing a common objective of interoperability”, he said. 

MediRecords Software Developer/FHIR Analyst  Niel Sayo and FHIR Team Lead Jack Li agreed the friendly event was an opportunity to view the latest products, approaches and ideas in Australia. 

“We can look at our competitors also as partners when it comes to collaborative interoperability concerns,” Niel said. 

MediRecords Graduate Software Engineer Joshua Vazzoler also noted the collaborative nature of the event and appreciated the opportunity for practical experience in a hackathon-style setting. 

“My initial observations of the event highlighted the expanding presence of FHIR within the Australian market, with a significant turnout of professionals,” Josh said. 

“As a participant, I was eager to engage with like-minded FHIR professionals who share a passion for interoperability, and learn from esteemed industry experts.” 

“The event instilled a sense of inspiration and motivation to contribute towards the advancement of FHIR-based solutions within the healthcare industry.”