Introducing CA:FeX v2.0.0 DFT - Advancing Interoperability in Canada!
Canada is transitioning towards a person-centric model of care in response to increasing calls by patients and their care teams to have ready access to the right health data, at the right time, in the most effective care-setting for quality health care. An aging population with increasingly complex healthcare needs, emerging public health risks and the continued growth of electronic clinical documentation are all driving the need to be able to exchange detailed health data between digital health solutions, ensuring these solutions “speak the same language”.
A Canadian health data modernization strategy will require industry wide support for new health information exchange protocols with vendor solutions employing modern, predictable, API based integrations. Jurisdictions and industry at large are already designing the next generation of API Gateways integrated with digital identity support and Health Level 7 (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®)-based protocols. Achieving meaningful advances in interoperability in Canada will require the support and active participation of all levels of government, health authorities, software vendors, academia and other health system stakeholders.
The current moment presents the opportunity to rally around an industry wide, standardized, and modern approach to health information exchange. A white paper has been developed to discuss how the Canadian FHIR Exchange (CA:FeX) protocol has the potential to fill this gap and provide the needed guidance to align the market, enable rapid advancement in the state of Canadian health information exchange and support execution of the pan-Canadian Health data strategy.
Watch a recorded video about CA:FeX
To learn more about the next iteration of CA:FeX and how it can help drive modernization of Health Information Exchanges, and to get a sneak peek into how the evolution of the standard can support vendors with easier ways to create patient summaries, check out this video recording from the Projectathon 2023 Symposia Day sessions.
Read the CA:FeX FHIR Implementation Guide
To learn more about CA:FeX v2.0.0 scope and view the FHIR Implementation Guide, go here.
What's Next
In support of the provinces and territories, Canada Health Infoway (“Infoway”) is facilitating a national, collaborative effort to advance interoperability which includes the creation and evolution of CA:FeX, as part of the Shared Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap.
The interoperability roadmap includes a set of strategic goals in which initiatives/programs (e.g., eReferral and eConsult) will be identified over time based on jurisdictional priorities across the country. As these initiatives/programs progress, they will naturally require various interoperability building blocks (e.g., reference architectures, data standards, trusted exchange frameworks, digital identity, patient/provider access, etc.) that will be designed and developed to enable successful implementation of the initiatives. This approach will enable the creation of core capabilities and drive the maturation of each building block over time.
The CA:FeX v2.0.0 specification development will be prioritized by the Interoperability Governance alongside the pan-Canadian Interoperability Strategy & Shared Roadmap.
Stay tuned for the upcoming release of the pan-Canadian Interoperability Strategy & Shared Roadmap!