FHIR Messaging 2026

Acknowledgement

The given structure of this track is mainly based on HL7 International's Connectathon Patient Track definition.

Short Description

First look at the IG “HL7® Austria TC FHIR® Messaging“

Long Description

This experimental track gives participants a first look at the IG “HL7® Austria TC FHIR® Messaging“.

The goal is to define a format for ad hoc machine-to-machine communication based on FHIR. All necessary data, e.g., metadata for a document or data for a request, is available in FHIR format.

A Docker image is provided for testing purposes. It includes simulated medical software, a simulated hospital information system, two Hapi-based FHIR servers, and a Matrix server. Participants can test this system on site or work with the system themselves. Sources and Docker image links can be found below.

This working group was established as part of the “Plattform Gerichtete AdHoc-Kommunikation” (PGK) project. The "Plattform Gerichtete AdHoc-Kommunikation" project will therefore build on the results of the “Fax Replacement” project in 2025 and examine the organization, processes, and framework conditions/regulations for cross-institutional ad hoc communication using Matrix Messenger technology.

Type

Experimental use of FHIR messaging for targeted referral transmission.

Submitting Work Group/
Project/
Accelerator/
Affiliate/
Implementer Group  

HL7 Austria

Track Lead(s)

Hans-Jürgen Schiller

Support:

Stefan Straka

Track Lead Email(s)

tc-fhir@hl7.at

Related Tracks

https://hl7at.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AYCKOw (in case the basics are required)

FHIR Version

All related IGs:

  • FHIR R5

Specification(s) this track uses

https://profiles.ihe.net/ITI/MHD/5.0.0/

https://fhir.hl7.at/r5-core-STU2 (HL7 FHIR AT Core IG R5; STU2)

https://fhir.hl7.at/r5-TC-FHIR-AG-Messaging-R5-main/index.html (IG ALPHA Version)

Artifacts of focus

  • MessageDefinition

  • MessageHeader

  • Message Bundle

Date / Time

Monday March 2nd, 09:00am-17:00pm CET

Test Servers

https://github.com/cloudflightio/hl7-at-messaging-poc

Testserver:

Expected participants

In general this track is open for all participants. Even if you are completely new to FHIR you may patticpate.

Level 1:

  • Any new participants that are looking for a hackathon track to participate on.

  • FHIR messaging via the provided Docker image is possible without prior knowledge.

Level 2:

  • Participants who are familiar with the basics of FHIR.

Level 3:

  • Developers who are familiar with the basics of FHIR.

Level 4

  • Developers with FHIR experience.

  • Down the rabbit hole 🐇

Track Details

System Roles

Sender

  • The sender creates an FHIR message for a service request/document dispatch. The FHIR message is sent using the MATRIX API with the help of the MATRIX server.

Receiver

  • The recipient processes the FHIR message.

MATRIX Server

  • The MATRIX server forwards the FHIR message to the recipient

Pre-Requisites (depending on use case)

  • Laptop

  • Programming environment (Java)

  • Docker

  • Matrix Client

  • REST-Client (Postman, Insomnia, and/or Bruno)

Scenarios

  • Document dispatch

    • Sender->Reciever

  • ServiceRequest/CommunicationRequest

    • Requester-->Fullfiller

Level 1

Participants can use the Docker image to test the “HL7® Austria TC FHIR® Messaging” profile between the simulated systems.

Level 2

Participants expand the mapping and extend the mapping for specific use cases. Additional resources are added as necessary.

Level 3

Participants develop their own transmitters and receivers based on the Docker image.

Level 4

Participants develop their own messages and service patterns based on the implementation guide.

We are happy to follow any topic requiring a deep dive into technical/semantic/organisational/etc. discussions.

Security and Privacy considerations

Do not submit personal data (in particular, social insurance numbers and the like). Development and Test clusters require authentication, but are not encrypted and hardened like a production instance would be - use only the provided pseudo certificates.