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Comment by jbob2000 | Hacker News Reader

jbob2000·

The one big problem I see with healthcare information is red tape. Independent developers and small shops do not have the resources to deal with lots of red tape. We saw with the recent VAT changes in Europe that it's really hard for anyone who isn't an enterprise company to deal with lots of regulation.

Before we start talking APIs, I want to know the hoops I'm going to have to jump through before I even git init.

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I wrote up a project plan that details the players and some of the steps to get HL7 data through the traditional integration methods that exist today. Check it out: https://catalyze.io/learn/how-to-integrate-with-epic-or-any-...

I think FHIR only helps this process if it standardizes/centralizes security. So much of the process of setting up integration is getting whitelisted by an organization and setting up VPNs and other security measures that have nothing to do with HL7 or FHIR or IHE profiles. If startups have to establish credibility and integrity at each hospital they go to, the cycle will continue even with a public API.

There are companies that help with this. Aptible, TrueVault, Accountable, etc. -- the market in healthcare is worth working with partners to get past the regulatory hurdles that various governing bodies impose on ingenuity. As someone about to go start practicing medicine with a background in computing and looking at how humans interact with machines, I hope there's devs out there in places like this who will take on the challenges and make my life easier and my patients' lives longer/better.

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