We have a project that may call on for FHIR needs. We have a healthcare product, essentially a PHR. We have a great team of API programmers that currently build APIs using RESTful standards, JSON, etc.
I am trying to connect the dots in my head, trying to ask the right question.
If my technical guys are well versed in RESTful, JSON, etc., what other “pieces” do they need to make this a FHIR API?
For example; if we have patient entered data in our system, such as vitals from a Garmin device…what additional layer do our API guys need to add to make it FHIR capabale?
You’d simply need to make your API conform to FHIR’s expectations - the data would need to be aligned with FHIR’s data structures, the RESTful endpoints would need to be named using FHIR’s conventions and you’d need to expose a metadata endpoint with a CapabilityStatement that defines what your system does. You might also want to look at national-level profiles such as those developed for the U.S. or Australia that provide additional guidance and expectations around what elements are mandatory, what terminologies should be used, etc.
Conversations typically happen in chat.fhir.org, though there are conference calls and sometimes face-to-face meetings too (information about both you can ask about on chat.fhir.org)