HL7 FHIR® Implementation Guide: SMART Scheduling Links, Edition 1

DESCRIPTION

The Implementation Guide (IG) provides a structured framework for integrating slots across multiple EHRs and or booking portals. It will enable a patients a one stop place to view provider appointment availability and book via smart scheduling link.

ALTERNATIVE NAMES

HL7 FHIR® Implementation Guide: SMART Scheduling Links, Edition 1 may also go by the following names or acronyms:

BENEFITS

• Improves fragmented scheduling processes
• Enables managing scheduling workflows that don't communicate across platforms\
• Facilitates standardized, interoperable scheduling data

IMPLEMENTATIONS/CASE STUDIES

• Bwell
• ZocDoc
• FHIR IQ
• Optum
• United
• Gointerop
• haau3

DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND

What if booking clinical appointments looked more like booking airline tickets? This specification builds on the original SMART Scheduling Links developed to book a vaccine appointment to be more generally applicable to patient scheduling and availability, leveraging a FHIR standards-based approach to finding and searching for appointments. The idea is simple: you can easily book a flight or hotel using a common portal. Leveraging the bulk publish specification for the creation of a directory of slots, there is the ability to search and book via a deep link a doctor's appointment without the complex friction of calling back and forth to your doctor's office to book an appointment. This is akin to a "Kayak" booking experience for consumers and Calendly-like control for providers. The current aim is to support vaccination appointments, scheduling with specific providers, arranging visits to walk-in clinics, finding and booking with the nearest available provider, and setting up online or virtual appointments. Future developments aim to integrate insurance networks, allowing for in-network appointment scheduling. More complex scheduling needs, such as surgical procedures or diagnostic imaging appointments like MRIs are currently out of scope. In addition, this specification does not solve the backend scheduling needs for providers where multiple providers are necessary. This is intended to cover the publication of available slots when a provider chooses to make them available to consuming clients and slot aggregators.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

HL7 FHIR® Implementation Guide: SMART Scheduling Links, Edition 1

STU DOCUMENTS

HL7 FHIR Implementation Guide: SMART Scheduling Links, Edition 1 See the standard at http://hl7.org/fhir/uv/smart-scheduling-links/1.0.0.

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ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Patient scheduling remains a significant friction point in healthcare delivery. Patients frequently experience fragmented scheduling processes, requiring multiple phone calls to find available appointments, lacking visibility into real-time provider availability, and navigating disconnected systems across different care settings. Administrative staff spend considerable time managing scheduling workflows that don't communicate across platforms, leading to inefficiencies, missed appointments, and delayed care. The absence of standardized, interoperable scheduling data prevents the seamless care navigation experiences that patients expect in other industries.

A clear consensus has emerged around the need for interoperable appointment scheduling capabilities. There is growing momentum for requirements that health systems and vendors expose real-time provider availability and appointment slots via standard APIs.

TOPICS

• Patient Administration
• Scheduling

BALLOT TYPE

• STU

STATUS DATE

2026-10-21

RESPONSIBLE WORK GROUP

PRODUCT TYPE

• Implementation Guide

STAKEHOLDERS

• Clinical and Public Health Laboratories
• EHR, PHR Vendors
• Health Care IT Vendors
• Healthcare Institutions
• Regulatory Agency
• Standards Development Organizations (SDOs)

FAMILY

• FHIR

CURRENT STATE

• Active

REALM

• Universal