Patient health depends on the accuracy of their medical records, so it’s vital that any organization which depends on Health Cloud be aware of the implications this release has on their environment. Salesforce has published a comprehensive documentation on their developer site, here.
What is the new Clinical Data Model
This new Clinical Data Model will be replacing many of the electronic health record (EHR) objects that we are familiar with today. Examples of these objects include fields like EHR_Allergy or EHR_Condition.
From a healthcare data perspective, interoperability is crucial.
Now more than ever, a patient’s healthcare information needs to be accessible by the entire healthcare ecosystem. Additionally, EHR platforms like Elation, Central Reach, and Epic will be required to support the FHIR standard in 2022. Considering this, the new data model intends to improve Health Cloud interoperability between hospitals, clinics, and EHR platforms using a structure more closely tied with the FHIR v4.0 standard.
The new data model can be enabled in Setup -> FHIR R4 Support Settings -> Enable FHIR-Aligned Data Model.
When Will it Happen?
The new data model will be available in the Spring ’21 release.
In the Summer ’22 release, Salesforce will require any new Health Cloud organizations to use the updated Clinical Data Model.
At Penrod, we would strongly suggest that new Health Cloud buyers should at least explore implementing with the new data model.
I’m a developer. Where can I find the new mappings?
The new object names can be accessed at the Salesforce Developer site:
New object names.
Salesforce has also provided example mappings for loading FHIR resources: Example Mappings.
I’m not a developer. Help?
We’re Health Cloud experts! Feel free to reach out at the form below and we’ll chat about your existing Health Cloud environment or new Health Cloud implementation project.