Australia’s 2024–25 Annual Progress Report for the National Healthcare Interoperability Plan 2023–2028 outlines ambitious steps to make healthcare more connected. But translating these national actions into daily hospital operations is not straightforward.

Here are three key actions from the report, and what they mean for hospitals on the ground.

Action 2.3 – HL7 FHIR® AU Usage

The report highlights that AU Core and AU Base are now central to digital health, with services like Healthdirect reporting over 90% of API traffic already FHIR-based.

Hospital challenge: Most EMRs, LIS, and PACS systems were never built for FHIR®. Migrating can be costly, disruptive, and slow.

Odin solution: From New Zealand’s ALEX Project (1,000+ providers) to countless hospital deployments worldwide (including PKUPH), Odin has delivered numerous real-world interoperability projects powered by FHIR® APIs.

Move beyond “basic FHIR support.” With Odin Engine Cluster Edition, FHIR is built in at the engine level, covering all versions (R2–R5) with full capability. From APIs to data mapping, rule adaptation, and seamless exchange, it enables hospitals to adopt FHIR fully and confidently while ensuring smooth transition and compatibility with existing EMR, LIS, and PACS systems.

Action 2.12 – API Information Exchange

The Agency is embedding OAuth and OpenID Connect as the national standard for secure health API transactions.

Hospital challenge: Securing and managing APIs across dozens of vendors is complex and resource-heavy, often leading to compliance gaps.

Odin solution: Odin Engine provides a front-end API Gateway that enables secure, standards-based information exchange with built-in identity authentication and access authorization. Built on a cluster-native architecture, it ensures stability and scalability, allowing hospitals to manage and govern thousands of APIs reliably while maintaining compliance.

Action 3.1 – Embedding Interoperability in Procurement

States and territories must now include interoperability in EMR vendor contracts and procurement processes.

Hospital challenge: Procurement teams must prove compliance to national standards while still delivering systems that meet frontline needs.

Odin solution: Odin delivers an integration platform with native support of FHIR®, CDA, and HL7 standards, enabling hospitals to meet national interoperability requirements directly out of the box. This not only simplifies compliance reporting during vendor evaluations but also reduces procurement risk by ensuring new systems can connect smoothly with existing EMRs and clinical workflows.

The Bigger Picture

The national roadmap for AU is clear: interoperability, FHIR, and secure APIs are no longer optional, they are mandated. But hospitals cannot achieve these goals with policy alone. They need infrastructure that makes compliance operational, secure, and sustainable.

With Odin, providers can bridge policy and practice, ensuring interoperability on paper becomes interoperability in action, improving both compliance and care.