About HL7

---

Founded in 1987, Health Level 7 (HL7) is a not-for-profit, ANSI-accredited standards development organization (SDO) dedicated to providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information to support clinical practice and the management, delivery, and evaluation of health services. This includes the development and support of standards such as HL7 FHIR®, which enable faster and more effective interoperability of systems across health care, a key priority of public and private sector leaders. 

HL7 standards-related activities—and in particular, HL7 FHIR®—play a key role in successfully achieving interoperability and information sharing, which are necessary components of a safe, high-quality, cost-effective, patient-centered U.S. health care system, as well as our national public health emergency response to COVID-19.

Congress, the Administration, and the private sector have embraced HL7 FHIR® as a national standard as part of the national strategy to support transparency, improve the quality of care, and provide seamless and secure access to, use, and exchange of electronic health information by patients, their health care providers, and those responsible for improving population health. Several federal agencies, including those within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense, rely on HL7 standards to support interoperability across health systems. 

HL7 FHIR® application programming interfaces (APIs) play a foundational role in the ONC final rule, 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program, released by HHS on March 9, 2020, which will enable patients to have safe, secure access to their health information, achieving the laudable goals of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, passed nearly unanimously by Congress more than three years ago.

Unlike most standards development organizations, HL7 made a commitment several years ago to make all of its standards—including HL7 FHIR®—publicly available at no charge. Given the transformative nature of HL7 FHIR® and the decision by several federal agencies to adopt it as a national standard for interoperability, HL7 needs predictable, ongoing support to effectively develop, test, maintain, improve, and efficiently support the widespread adoption of required standards. 

While HL7 receives core funding from membership dues and educational conferences, the combination of COVID-19 and the vast and accelerated response required for the exponential demand in FHIR-related support, HL7 needs additional support. Every public and private sector stakeholder benefits from the successful development and implementation of HL7 FHIR®.  These standards are a public good and play an integral role in our nation’s strategy to improve health and health care for all Americans.

As Congress works to transform health care toward a more coordinated, value-driven system and address the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, an interoperable health care system, supported by HL7 FHIR® is desperately needed. 

Congress should pass legislation—this year—that provides predictable, sustainable funding support to HL7 for HL7 FHIR®-related activities, through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within HHS.

Join this voluntary effort to help raise awareness of the need for support for HL7 and its HL7 FHIR®-related activities.