Resources & FAQ

Q: What does FHIR Works on AWS do?

A: FHIR Works on AWS is a developer toolkit that allows software developers to incorporate FHIR APIs into their own healthcare applications. It is an open source project that provides all the code necessary for software developers to do so. This solution installs a sample environment with storage and the APIs in order to demonstrate its abilities.

Q: Does the solution provide sample scripts to test the APIs?

A: FHIR Works on AWS is based on an open source GitHub project. The GitHub repository contains frequently maintained scripts that can be used in Postman to connect to some of the FHIR Works APIs to test their functionality. You can find a recent link to the postman scripts in the documentation to this solution.

Q: What data stores are currently supported?

A: FHIR Works on AWS uses Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Elasticsearch Service (Amazon ES) to store and search for datasets. Through an abstraction layer, it is possible to replace these with other storage solutions where there is the need. In order to do so, replicate the open source repository on GitHub and modify the code as needed.

Q: Can I use FHIR Works on AWS to connect between legacy and FHIR systems?

A: This solution supports an interoperability framework. This is an abstraction layer that you can use to build your own connectors, or plugins, to other software systems such as legacy HL7 or other FHIR environments. You can then integrate these plugins into your software using FHIR Works on AWS.

Q: How much does this solution cost?

A: You are responsible for the cost of the AWS services used while running this solution. As of February 2021, the estimated cost for running the FHIR Works on AWS with 10 GB of structured data, 1 TB of unstructured (binary) data, and 500 transactions per day in the US East (N. Virginia) Region is approximately $140.00 per month.

For more details, including a breakdown of costs per AWS service, refer to the solution implementation guide.