Storage size is the metric that quietly shapes hosting cost, backup windows, and disaster-recovery RTO over the life of a FHIR platform. A new public benchmark from Health Samurai loaded the same Synthea dataset (1,000 patients, around 2…

Value-based care programs for joint replacement, oncology, and cardiac episodes all share the same PROMs problem. The clinician needs a validated instrument at the right point in the episode. The payer needs the extracted result to reach…

Payer and provider integration teams comparing Cerner Millennium and Meditech HL7v2 feeds usually start from the same assumption: a feed is a feed, and the work to map ADT^A01 or ORU^R01 into FHIR is the same on both sides. In practice…

Terminology servers seem like infrastructure most teams could skip. In practice they deliver measurable value that shapes data quality significantly. Value 1: $validate-code on write. Every coded field validated at write time. Prevents bad codes from landing in the FHIR store. Sites without this see 5-15% terminology drift within 12 months. Value 2: $expand for […]

FHIR resources are serialized in multiple formats. Understanding when each applies avoids format confusion. JSON (default) Standard REST responses; individual resource GET/POST/PUT. Content-Type: application/fhir+json. Best for point-of-care, single-resource operations. NDJSON Bulk data streaming. Content-Type: application/fhir+ndjson. Each line is one resource. Best for Bulk Data `$export`, warehouse ingestion. XML Legacy option, application/fhir+xml. Best for HL7v2-to-FHIR converters […]

EMR development has changed materially since FHIR became mandatory but many fundamentals stay constant. Understanding both dimensions shapes 2026 development planning. What changed (FHIR-driven) 1. Integration surface = FHIR REST. Custom APIs are legacy; FHIR REST is the ecosystem. 2. Auth = SMART. SMART on FHIR is universal. 3. Analytics = bulk data. Bulk Data […]

The FHIR schema — the underlying structure of resources — is well-documented but has practical patterns worth internalizing. Understanding schema mechanics prevents integration surprises. Resource anatomy Every resource has: 1. resourceType — the resource name. 2. id — server-assigned identifier. 3. meta — versionId, lastUpdated, profile references, tags, security labels. 4. extension[] — custom fields. […]