HL7 launches Helios public health FHIR accelerator

A new initiative launched by Health Level Seven International (HL7) and jointly supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) aims to generally Use recognized data exchange standards to advance healthcare. The initiative, called Helios, aims to strengthen capacity and streamline data sharing across all levels of public health using the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability (FHIR) standard.

“Public health has grown in urgency and importance over the past 18 months,” said ONC’s National Health IT Coordinator Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., MPP identifying and overcoming long-standing barriers to interoperability. The Helios Alliance is a market-based implementation collaboration that will help ensure that FHIR development is coordinated and aligned with real public health needs. “

The initiative is the latest to take advantage of HL7’s FHIR Accelerator program, which aims to accelerate the development and availability of FHIR to deliver better data that leads to better health outcomes. The Helios Alliance represents an ambitious new use of the FHIR Accelerator program that brings together a diverse group of state, tribal, local, territorial and federal health agencies, partners from the private and philanthropic sectors, and other groups working on an equitable and are interested in effective use of data to promote public health.

“Helios is expected to become an integral part of the HL7 FHIR Accelerator Program and a cornerstone of the newly announced HL7 Implementation Division,” said Charles Jaffe, MD, Ph.D., CEO of Health Level Seven International. “The Helios Public Health Accelerator will represent a critical step towards direct access to data that is needed for public health.”

As the FHIR standard matures, there is a clear way to use FHIR and other existing standards to carry out the interoperable public health data exchange. Helios members will help demonstrate the benefits of FHIR and ensure that public health needs are paramount as FHIR-based implementations evolve and roll out nationwide.

As the FHIR standard matures, there is a clear way to use FHIR and other existing standards to carry out the interoperable public health data exchange. Helios members will help demonstrate the benefits of FHIR and ensure that public health needs are paramount as FHIR-based implementations evolve and roll out nationwide.

“Standardizing and automating our data flows will help us get data to work faster,” said Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH, CDC assistant director for public health science and surveillance. “Such an organization will help ensure that FHIR-based solutions are integrated and coordinated and complementary to everything else that goes on in the public health community.”

Helios organizers encourage other companies to join the effort. For more information on Helios and the project objectives, please visit the HL7 website, www.hl7.org/helios/.

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