In Argentina, FHIR is used for several healthcare data exchange use cases. It is not yet the main standard, but adoption is growing steadily. The current focus is on R4, the most widely deployed version of FHIR worldwide.

We expect strong growth in FHIR adoption in the coming years. Last year brought more progress than expected, and there is optimism about the path ahead.

Rules and Support

Argentina has regulation in place that mandates standards for electronic health data exchange. FHIR is recommended (advised), but not strictly mandated by law.

• Law 27,706 establishes mandatory interoperability for health information systems. The Ministry of Health handles the technical implementation.
• Through ministerial resolutions and implementation guides, HL7 FHIR has been adopted as the standard for clinical data exchange.
• FHIR is effectively the de facto standard for integrating with the National Digital Health Network.
• There is no compliance deadline and no fines for non-compliance.
• There are no government funds specifically available to stimulate FHIR adoption.

Useful links:

• Law 27,706 – Electronic Health Record
• Decree 393/2023 – Regulation of Law 27,706
• Resolution 115/2019 – National Digital Health Strategy
• Argentina Digital Health – Standards and Interoperability
• National Digital Health Resources and Implementation Guides

National Setup

• There is no formal national organization dedicated solely to health data standards, although the Ministry of Health leads the work.
• A national base/core FHIR implementation guide is currently under development. You can find it at guias.hl7.org.ar.
• A few additional FHIR standards are being developed for more specific use cases.
• There are no current plans for a national FHIR terminology server (a service that manages standard medical codes and vocabularies).

Active Use Cases

FHIR specifications are being developed in Argentina for several use cases:

• Prescriptions and pharmacy
• Provider directory
• Terminology
• Diagnostic orders and reports
• Consent
• Clinical decision support
• Document exchange
• Immunizations

International standards that inform Argentina's work include:

• International Patient Summary (IPS) – a standard set of patient information for cross-border care
• IHE profiles – internationally recognized integration profiles

Regarding the FHIR Community Process (FCP), which allows organizations to develop and publish FHIR specifications, one or more Argentine organizations are exploring participation. Within 2–3 years, Argentina expects to have one or more approved FCP participants.

Who's Using FHIR

The main stakeholders adopting FHIR in Argentina are:

• Care providers
• Payers and insurers
• EHR (electronic health record) system vendors
• App developers

The main drivers for adoption are:

• Regulation and policy guidance
• Improving care workflows
• Patient data access
• Innovation

When it comes to exchange mechanisms and tools, the FHIR REST API (a way for systems to request and share data over the web) is the most widely used, followed by FHIR Documents, FHIR Questionnaires and SDC (Structured Data Capture), and FHIR Shorthand (a simple language for authoring FHIR profiles). Open source software dominates over proprietary solutions.

Success Stories and Challenges

Argentina has seen successful FHIR use cases delivering real benefits:

• Improved access to information
• Improved care workflows

Concrete examples include:

• Prescriptions
• Consents
• Document exchange
• Test and device orders
• Vaccinations

The main challenges to wider adoption are:

• Unclear regulations
• Lack of FHIR knowledge among implementers
• Changes in political direction

Looking ahead, there is anticipation for service request workflows and broader document exchange beyond the International Patient Summary.

Future Plans

Major achievements over the past year include:

• Steps toward establishing a national standards organization
• Development of new FHIR standards for specific use cases
• Expanded adoption of FHIR across the healthcare ecosystem

For the coming year, the focus will be on:

• Developing more FHIR standards for specific use cases
• Launching pilot projects with selected healthcare stakeholders

Overall satisfaction with the pace of adoption is positive, and there is agreement that within three years Argentina will see significant benefits from FHIR, including better care coordination and a stronger digital health ecosystem.

Contributors

• Fernando Campos, Chair, HL7 Argentina

The above summary is based on the answers to the State of FHIR Survey 2026, organized by Firely and HL7 International.