In Cyprus, FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, a standard for exchanging healthcare data) is becoming the main standard for sharing health information. The country shows strong commitment to adopting FHIR as part of its national digital health strategy.

The respondent expects a strong increase in FHIR adoption in the coming years. While specific FHIR versions in use weren't identified, momentum is building across the healthcare ecosystem.

Cyprus has been officially designated as the Digital Health Authority under European regulations, signaling a clear path forward.

Rules and Support

Cyprus has regulations in place that mandate the use of standards for electronic health data exchange:

  • FHIR status: FHIR is advised (not yet mandated)
  • Deadlines: Yes, compliance deadlines exist
  • Fines: No fines are imposed for missing deadlines
  • Government funding: Yes, funds are available to support FHIR adoption

The key regulations and frameworks include:

  • The National eHealth Law and regulations issued by the National eHealth Authority
  • The European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation and Implementation Acts
  • The Xt-EHR Joint Action Recommendations

The National eHealth Authority has been appointed by the Council of Ministers as the official Digital Health Authority, as required by Article 19 of the EHDS Regulation.

National Setup

Cyprus has organized national bodies and resources to support health data standards:

  • Standards organization: The Cyprus Organisation for Standards
  • Base FHIR implementation guide: Yes, a national core guide exists and is used in a limited set of use cases
  • Terminology server: Status is unclear

For the FHIR Community Process (FCP), one or more organizations in Cyprus are exploring becoming participants. Within 2-3 years, Cyprus expects to have one or more approved FCP specifications.

Active Use Cases

Cyprus builds its national FHIR work on top of well-known international specifications:

  • International Patient Summary (a standard set of essential patient information)
  • European Implementation Guides
  • IHE profiles (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, a framework of shared interoperability profiles)

Who's Using FHIR

The main groups adopting FHIR in Cyprus include:

  • App developers
  • Government agencies
  • Researchers

The main reasons driving adoption are:

  • Regulation and government grants
  • Innovation

Challenges and Looking Ahead

The biggest challenge for FHIR adoption in Cyprus is a lack of FHIR knowledge across the ecosystem. Building skills and expertise will be important for further progress.

On AI and structured data, the respondent disagrees with the idea that AI removes the need to invest in FHIR. Structured data remains valuable even as AI tools improve.

Future Plans

Looking back, Cyprus has made less progress than expected over the past year. The main achievement was the launch of pilot projects with selected healthcare stakeholders. Despite this, the respondent is very satisfied with the adoption rate so far.

Looking ahead, the next major step expected is the expanded adoption of FHIR across the healthcare ecosystem. The respondent agrees that within three years, Cyprus will see real benefits from FHIR adoption, including cost savings, better care coordination, and a stronger digital health ecosystem.

Contributors

The contributor to this survey chose to remain anonymous.

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