HealthCare interoperability Standards comparision Internationally

Session details:

This paper presents an expert-level comparative review of national FHIR Core implementation guides (IGs) and their respective digital health ecosystems in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and India. The analysis moves beyond a technical comparison of FHIR profiles to evaluate the underlying governance models, regulatory drivers, and legal frameworks that shape each country's approach to healthcare interoperability. The evaluation is structured around four key criteria: national interoperability, scalability, regulatory alignment, and patient data control. The analysis reveals a fundamental divergence in strategy, from the market-driven, fragmented landscape of the U.S. to the centrally-mandated approaches of the U.K. and India, and the collaborative model of Australia. The findings demonstrate that no single model is definitively "best"; rather, each presents unique strengths and weaknesses rooted in its national context. The report concludes by synthesizing the most effective elements from each approach to propose a blueprint for a future-proof, "best-practice" national FHIR strategy, offering a valuable resource for policymakers, implementers, and researchers in the global health informatics community.