We need better FHIR Implementation Guides.
In an ideal world I would like to see fully featured Implementation Guides for every specialty and field of medicine.
A library of profiles, ValueSets and extensions that you can choose from to meet a specific need.
Starting a genomics project? Reach for the genomics IG.
Building a lung treatment program? Look for the official pulmonary IG.
Dermatology, neurosurgery, psychiatry — each would have a comprehensive IG of their own.
Wishful thinking, I know. But in many specialities and domains work is already underway to achieve just this.
To demonstrate what’s possible I want to showcase a particular Implementation Guide that the CodeX FHIR Accelerator has been working on for some time.
mCode
mCode (minimal Common Oncology Data Elements) brings together a core set of structured data elements for oncology electronic health records.
Here’s a snapshot of its detail and depth.
It documents 7 key areas:
- Patient information
- Disease characterization
- Health assessment
- Genomics
- Cancer treatments
- Outcomes
Here’s the guide: https://build.fhir.org/ig/HL7/fhir-mCODE-ig/
mCode is one of the richest, most fully featured and well presented Implementation Guides I’ve come across.
It’s still a work in progress but that progress has been real. It’s an example of what’s possible when the right people come together for the right reasons and with the right support.
In my ideal world, Implementation Guides of this depth would be common across all healthcare domains.
For this ideal to exist, there needs to be community involvement.
If you work in an area that does not have a public Implementation Guide, if it’s your area of expertise and you want to step up, start here.
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