M03-03 · AI + Healthcare Operations

Healthcare Interoperability — HL7, FHIR, and Data Standards

AI + Healthcare Operations →

Teaches students the data standards and integration infrastructure that connects healthcare systems. Covers HL7 v2 message structure, FHIR R4 resources and SMART on FHIR authentication, terminology standards (SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10, CPT), interface engines (Mirth Connect, Rhapsody, Epic Bridges), X12/EDI billing transactions, and CMS interoperability rules under the 21st Century Cures Act.

35 Hours
8 Learning objectives
Create Bloom's ceiling (?)
5 Competencies

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth
  • Parse HL7 v2 messages across major types (ADT, ORM, ORU, DFT, MDM), identifying segments, fields, and components relevant to clinical data flow Analyze
  • Design FHIR R4 API integrations using Patient, Encounter, Observation, MedicationRequest, and DiagnosticReport resources with SMART on FHIR authentication Create
  • Apply healthcare terminology standards (SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10, CPT) to map between hospital-specific codes and standard terminologies Apply
  • Evaluate interface engine configurations (Mirth Connect, Rhapsody, Epic Bridges) to diagnose message parsing failures, transformation errors, and acknowledgment issues Evaluate
  • Analyze X12/EDI transaction formats (837 claims, 835 remittances) and their role in the revenue cycle Analyze
  • Apply CMS interoperability rules to assess an organization's compliance with patient access APIs, provider directories, and payer-to-payer exchange requirements Apply
  • Design an interface migration plan that prioritizes by clinical criticality, message volume, and downstream dependencies with rollback procedures Create
  • Understand the practical differences between HL7 v2 and FHIR R4, including where each standard applies and the realities of dual-standard environments Understand

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

What You'll Master

HL7 v2 Proficiency

Message structure, segment parsing, transformation rules, acknowledgment handling (ACK/NAK), version differences, error diagnosis.

FHIR R4 & SMART on FHIR

Resource model, RESTful API design, OAuth2 authentication flows, Epic App Orchard registration, sandbox testing, rate limit management.

Healthcare Terminology Mapping

SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, ICD-10, CPT code systems, cross-terminology mapping, handling hospital-specific code variants.

Interface Engine Operations

Mirth Connect/Rhapsody/Epic Bridges channel configuration, transformation development, monitoring, error handling, migration between engines.

Interoperability Compliance

21st Century Cures Act requirements, CMS interoperability rules, information blocking provisions, patient access API mandates.

What You'll Build

Healthcare Interface Migration Plan — Student creates a comprehensive interface migration project: an inventory of 15+ simulated interfaces (source, destination, message type, standard, volume, criticality), a prioritized migration plan with phased rollout and rollback procedures, a working Mirth Connect channel configuration for an HL7 v2 ORU interface, a FHIR R4 integration design with SMART on FHIR authentication flow, and a terminology mapping table converting hospital-specific codes to LOINC/RxNorm standards.

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

Mirth Connect

Open-source healthcare integration engine for building, testing, and managing HL7 and FHIR interfaces.

HL7 Message Analyzers

Tools like 7Edit and HL7 Inspector for parsing, validating, and debugging HL7 v2 messages.

Postman

API testing platform for building and testing FHIR R4 API integrations and SMART on FHIR flows.

HAPI FHIR Library

Open-source FHIR implementation library for building FHIR-compliant applications and integrations.

Epic FHIR Sandbox

Open.epic sandbox environment for testing FHIR integrations against realistic Epic data.

Claude

AI assistant for standards explanation, message parsing guidance, and de-identified integration planning.

Prerequisites

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