In Israel, FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is becoming an integral part of healthcare data exchange. Currently, its use is at a foundational stage but is expected to expand rapidly in the coming years. The most active FHIR version in use is R4, with other versions still in the early stages or not mentioned. The country anticipates a significant increase in the adoption of FHIR standards, fueled by supportive regulations and community efforts.

Rules and Support for FHIR

  • Health Data Exchange Rules: Israel has regulations mandating the use of standards in electronic health data exchange.
  • FHIR Requirements: The regulations specifically mandate the use of FHIR.
  • Deadlines: Compliance with these regulations has a set deadline.
  • Funding: Government funds are available to stimulate FHIR adoption.
  • Important Links:

National Setup

  • Standards Organization: Israel's Ministry of Health and the FHIR community have established ILCORE to adapt FHIR standards to the local health ecosystem. ILCORE Information
  • Implementation Guides: A base/core FHIR implementation guide is in use for a limited set of cases. View Guide
  • Terminology Services: ILCORE also focuses on nationally accepted health terminologies and their implementation.

Active Use Cases

  • Local Implementations: Prescriptions/Pharmacy, Referrals/Continuity of care, Public Health Reporting, Consent, Clinical Decision Support, Imaging, Genomics, Provider Directory, Patient Access.
  • International Standards Use: HL7 FHIR & US CORE IG are applied in specific projects.
  • Key Projects: Implementation of a National Patient Consent Management System is highly anticipated.

Who's Using FHIR

  • Active organizations include the Ministry of Health, Health Management Organizations (HMOs), and various software vendors.
  • Main Reasons for Adoption:
    • Regulation and grants
    • Improving health outcomes and care workflows
    • Innovation in healthcare
  • FHIR is mainly used for improving data sharing between organizations and enhancing access to information through APIs and other technologies.

Success Stories and Challenges

  • Benefits: Successful use cases include better data sharing between HMOs and hospitals for insurance coverage, home hospitalization, and cancer treatment.
  • Challenges: High investment costs and lack of FHIR knowledge are among the main difficulties.
  • Future Plans: The country looks forward to the widespread implementation of FHIR, including the development of a national FHIR data model and new standards for specific use cases.

Future Plans

  • Progress So Far: There has been significant progress in FHIR adoption, meeting the country's expectations.
  • Next Steps: Continued expansion of FHIR across the healthcare ecosystem and the establishment of a national terminology team at the Ministry of Health.
  • Expected Changes: Anticipation of significant cost savings, enhanced care coordination, and a robust digital health ecosystem through FHIR adoption in the next three years.

Contributors

  • Permission was granted to use names from the survey. However, specific names were not listed in the provided data excerpt.

The above summary is based on the answers to the State of FHIR Survey 2025, organized by Firely and HL7 International.