Introduction to Data Types and Resources

In the previous chapter, we explored the FHIR Patient Resource in detail, focusing on how it is structured and its key elements.

In this chapter, we’ll dive deeper into FHIR resources and FHIR data types, exploring how they work together to form the foundation of FHIR and enable healthcare data exchange.

FHIR is built on fundamental building blocks known as resources. Each resource represents a specific concept or entity in healthcare, such as a patient, observation, or medication. These resources are made up of fields, and each field holds information of a particular kind, defined by a specific data type. This structure ensures consistency and clarity when exchanging healthcare data.

The scope of FHIR and its role in interoperability

The Patient resource has a wide range of fields and data types, allowing it to capture everything from IDs and demographic details to contact information and language preferences.

This large scope means it can handle almost any use case involving patient data. As this information is organized in a consistent way across systems, healthcare institutions can easily share and understand patient records.

The standard fields and data types ensure the meaning stays clear, making the exchange of information accurate and reliable.

Why FHIR Versions Matter

When working with any FHIR resource, it’s important to first check which version of FHIR you’re reading. This is because the structure, available fields, and even the data types can change between versions. If you skip this step, you might follow outdated information or miss new features that are available in the latest versions.

Currently, R4 and R4B are the mature versions that most healthcare systems use in production. They are considered stable, well-tested, and safe for large-scale deployments.

R5 is still in the ballot stage, which means it’s open for community review and feedback. It’s not yet finalized, so you might see changes before it becomes stable.

In the future, R6 is expected to be the next mature release, bringing improvements and new capabilities.

By knowing your FHIR version, you can make sure you’re looking at the right structure and rules for your project, and avoid confusion when building or reading resources.

For this course, we’ll be working with R4. It’s widely adopted, stable, and has all the core features we need to learn and practice FHIR effectively.