In today’s digital healthcare world, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, and clinics use many different software systems. But for patients to get smooth, accurate, and timely care, all these systems must “talk” to each other and share information correctly. This is where medical interoperability standards come in. These standards act like common rules or a shared language that allows different healthcare systems to exchange patient data safely and meaningfully. In this blog section, we will explore the most important interoperability standards—such as HL7, FHIR, DICOM, and more—in simple, everyday language. You will understand what they are, why they matter, and how they help modern healthcare systems work together to improve patient experience, reduce errors, and support smarter digital health solutions.
When you visit a doctor’s clinic, get a blood test at a lab, or are admitted to a hospital, different computers and software systems are used. One system records your personal details, another stores your lab results, another keeps track of your billing, and so on. But have you ever wondered how all these systems share information with each other smoothly? This is where HL7 comes in.
When you visit a clinic, get a lab test, or buy medicine from a pharmacy, your health information gets stored in many different computer systems. But these systems often use different formats and may not understand each other. This creates problems when your data needs to move from one place to another. This is where FHIR comes in.
Whenever you get an X-ray, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, or any medical imaging test, the machine produces digital pictures of the inside of your body. But these images are not simple photos like the ones you take on your phone. They contain medical measurements, machine settings, and important details that doctors use for diagnosis. This is where DICOM comes in.
Whenever you visit a doctor, take a lab test, or get admitted to a hospital, many documents are created—prescriptions, discharge summaries, lab reports, referral letters, imaging reports, and more. These documents contain important details about your health. But different clinics and hospitals often create these documents in different styles and formats. This makes it difficult for doctors to read or exchange information smoothly. This is where CDA becomes useful.
India’s healthcare system is large and diverse—hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmacies, insurance companies, and digital health apps all operate differently. Because of this, a patient often has medical records scattered across many places, making it difficult to get continuous and coordinated care. To solve this problem, the Government of India launched NDHM—now known as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).