Glossary
What is FHIR server?
A FHIR server is an HTTP service that implements the FHIR REST API: read, search, create, update, delete, history, and the standard operations defined by HL7 FHIR.
In context
Storage and search are the core. The FHIR specification defines what resource types exist, what operations are valid, what search parameters apply, and how bundles, transactions, and history are handled. Open-source implementations include HAPI FHIR (Java) and Medplum (TypeScript). Commercial implementations include Firely Server, Aidbox, and managed services like Azure Health Data Services.
A FHIR server is a foundational component, not the whole backend. Production digital health applications typically need authentication, fine-grained authorization, frontend-friendly APIs, scheduled work, and notifications around the server itself.
How Fire Arrow handles it
Fire Arrow Server uses HAPI FHIR JPA as its data layer. Fire Arrow Core can sit in front of any FHIR R4-compliant server (HAPI, Azure Health Data Services, others) to add the application layer.
