What is FHIR R4? — UK Software Development Guide
Direct Answer
FHIR R4 (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, Release 4) is the current stable version of the HL7 FHIR standard for exchanging healthcare information electronically. FHIR uses a RESTful API model with JSON or XML payloads to define how healthcare data (patients, conditions, medications, appointments) can be accessed and shared between different healthcare systems.
Fhir-r4 in the UK
NHS England mandates FHIR R4 with UK Core profiles for all new NHS digital services. UK Core adds NHS-specific extensions and constraints to the base FHIR R4 standard — including NHS Number identifiers, SNOMED CT UK coding, and NHS-specific consent models. Key NHS APIs using FHIR R4: GP Connect (record access and appointment management), NHS Spine Patient Demographics Service (PDS), Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). DTAC (Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) Domain 4 (Interoperability) requires FHIR R4 UK Core compliance for NHS-connected applications.
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