Helios

What Needs Does Helios Seek to Address?

Public health is only as strong as its weakest link. While considerable progress has been made in the ways public health accesses, exchanges, and integrates data, ongoing challenges persist.

Helios is an alliance of government, private sector, and philanthropic partners that are committed to the equitable and effective use of data for the advancement of public health. Members will help ensure data modernization efforts in public health incorporate market-based solutions that incentivize participation and are compatible with nationwide interoperability priorities.

Why Focus on FHIR-Based Standards and Approaches to Interoperability?

Public health is complex. It operates at all levels of government and with many partners across the healthcare sector and beyond, which creates challenges in coordinating efforts around data. The HL7 FHIR community has faced similar challenges and has successfully overcome them. Specific implementations of FHIR are being regulated and incentivized in the United States in ways that provide significant momentum, and some parts of public health are already using what’s been built by the FHIR community.

Helios will provide streamlined ways for diverse stakeholders to get on the same page, reuse what works, and fill in gaps to meet high-priority, cross-cutting public health needs. This streamlining will help to ensure FHIR-based solutions are integrated, aligned, and are a complement to everything else that's going on across public health.

Why the Name “Helios”?

Helios is the ancient Greek god of the sun – a symbol of transparency and healing. It’s a reminder to stay focused on solutions that aren’t just good in theory but that work in production.