openEHR Switzerland is preparing a prototype showcase for the GovTech Hackathon 2026. The aim is to demonstrate how FHIR-based exchange and openEHR-based longitudinal persistence can work together on an open platform, using the Swiss vaccination record as the use case.
In Switzerland, vaccination data exchange is based on FHIR, using the CH VACD implementation guide. For this showcase, we would like to demonstrate an architecture in which vaccination data are submitted as CH VACD FHIR documents, persisted as structured clinical data in an openEHR CDR, and later returned in CH VACD-compliant FHIR format.
Goal
The showcase is intended to illustrate how an open platform can combine standardised interoperability with structured, long-term clinical data storage. In the context of the Swiss DigiSanté programme and the emerging Swiss Health Data Space (SwissHDS), we would like to demonstrate the benefits of openEHR as a persistence layer for longitudinal vaccination data.
Big picture
The target architecture includes:
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an openEHR CDR for clinical persistence,
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an HL7 FHIR server for demographic and person-related data,
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and a terminology service for validation and value set expansion.
At a high level, the flow is:
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An app documents an administered vaccination.
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The app submits a FHIR CH VACD Immunization Administration Document to the platform.
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The platform receives the FHIR document through an integration layer.
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Relevant content is transformed and persisted as openEHR compositions.
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The platform can later generate and return a FHIR CH VACD Vaccination Record.
Questions to the community
We would be very interested in practical experience with architectures where FHIR is used for exchange and openEHR for longitudinal persistence.
In particular, we would welcome pointers on integration patterns, mapping approaches, developer tooling, and prototype-friendly enablement for a hackathon setting — including useful SDKs, starter kits, validation tools, and example implementations.
If you know of relevant reference architectures, open-source projects, sample mappings, or lessons learned, we would be very grateful for any pointers.
