Relevant DevDays videos:

• Øyvind Aassve - Making FHIR Work at the National Level | DevDays November 2020 Virtual
• Thomas Tveit Rosenlund - HL7 FHIR in Norway lessons learned | DevDays 2023 Amsterdam

The following is based on the answers to the State of FHIR survey 2023 from Line Saele, Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Regulation

Norway is actively adopting FHIR, with the Norwegian Directorate of eHealth advising on its use in healthcare data exchange. While FHIR is recommended, it is not yet a required standard. There are no compliance deadlines or fines associated with FHIR adoption. However, with the national standard in use for several years, new implementations are expected to be based on FHIR, signifying a transition period.

National Standards Development

The Directorate of eHealth in Norway is the main body with the mandate to recommend or enforce health data exchange standards. Although there is a national FHIR data model in use, it is currently applied to a limited set of use cases. Other FHIR standards have been developed for specific applications, some of which derive from the national data model. The Department of eHealth's increasing focus on FHIR suggests a promising future for its wider implementation.

FHIR Implementation

FHIR adoption is anticipated to increase significantly, driven by its potential to lower costs and improve information access in healthcare. Norway boasts one of the earliest FHIR implementations, which is still operational. Despite facing challenges such as unclear regulations and a general lack of FHIR knowledge, there is optimism about overcoming these obstacles through collaboration with the Department of eHealth.

The healthcare sector in Norway, particularly EHR vendors, is expected to benefit from improved care delivery through FHIR's capabilities. While patient advocacy specifically for health data standards is not prominent, the successful use cases of FHIR in the country suggest a growing awareness of its benefits.