Development with the FHIR service

Completed

Open-source repositories

The following GitHub repositories for the open-source versions of Microsoft health data tools can be beneficial if you're developing applications that connect with Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) service or the other managed services in Azure Health Data Services. Often, the repositories provide access to new functionality before you add new applications to the official products. You might also have access to the product teams if you submit GitHub issues or pull requests.

Open-source repositories that are related to Azure Health Data Services include:

For example, the FHIR server for Azure is the code that backs the managed FHIR service (which is part of Azure Health Data Services).

You can deploy and manage the FHIR server for Azure and then have full control over all components that are needed for a FHIR server. Keep in mind that when you're using the open-source version, you need to manage all of it. The codebase is only presented on an as-is basis, which means that you need to:

  • Maintain the service.

  • Ensure compliance.

  • Manage the database, disaster recovery, and so on.

When you're using the managed Azure offering, you use a provisioned deployment of the open-source project, which is offered as a platform as a service (PaaS) in Azure. The Microsoft Health and Life Sciences engineering team builds, manages, and maintains the service. Extra features are included that aren't available in the open-source version, and the service helps you meet regulatory compliance requirements for protected healthcare information (PHI).

For more information on how to deploy, set up, and use Azure Health Data Services for FHIR workloads and other health data interoperability solutions, see the Azure Health Data Services Workshop.