---
# System prepended metadata

title: FHIR in SLI Management Introduction
tags: [FHIR_SkinLesionImageManagement]

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---
title: FHIR in SLI Management Introduction
tags: FHIR_SkinLesionImageManagement
---

<font color="red">FHIR</font> in SLI Management Introduction
===

The implementation of FHIR in skin lesion image management is one of FHIR in healthcare scenario.
This project is planned to improve health services for both medical proffesional and patients by designing workflow scenarios of implementation FHIR on skin lesion image management. This project aims to integrate skin lesion images, information (image metadata), image annotations, image finding, diagnostic reports, and skin lesion data sharing by utilizing FHIR as a solution for recording those data. According to the specifications of FHIR standard resources (FHIR Encounter, FHIR Device, FHIR Media, FHIR Observation, FHIR DiagnosticReport, FHIR Document, FHIR DocumentReference, and FHIR Consent), the data would be XML or JSON formatted stored in FHIR server. FHIR uses a resource reference mechanism to integrate resources between them, such as FHIR-based Media could be referenced by FHIR-based annotations, etc. Using HL7 FHIR to integrate data in skin lesion image management will bring considerable more advantages for patient and healthcare professionals in the healthcare ecosystem. It will facilitate the sharing and access of data among health providers and patients, and will be very beneficial in research and development of telehealth services in the future.

## Table of Contents
[TOC]
## What is skin lesion image?
**Skin lesion** is a part of the skin that has an ==abnormal growth or appearance== compared to the skin around it
Two types of skin lession are:
* **Primary skin lesions** = abnormal skin conditions present ==at birth== or acquired over a person’s lifetime.
* **Secondary skin lesions** = the result of ==irritated== or manipulated primary skin lesions.

Skin lession categories: acne, cold sores, actinic keratosis, allergic eczema, impetigo, etc.
Skin conditions can be examined based on photographs taken with a smartphone or camera to support a dermatological diagnosis by a general practitioner.

In addition to that, in dermatology also known as **dermatoscopic image** which is the image capture of a lesion during dermatologic examination that the lesion has already had roughly 10–15x magnification using a dermoscope.

**Dermatologic examination** = ==captures== the patient's general physical condition, based on careful ==inspection and palpation of the skin== and documentation of the findings.

> The **skin lesion image** defined in this article is the entire skin lesion image captured using both professional tools such as a dermoscope, smartphone camera, and other tools that is used for patient dermatological diagnosis and disease tracking.

## What is the use of skin lesions image?
**Dermatologic examination** gives patient ==important information== about potentially serious diseases, especially in older adults who are vulnerable to skin breakdown.

> Dermatologic examination result along with the skin lesion image are used by **general practitioner** for ==diagnostic, tracking, educational, and research purposes== of the disease. 

## What is skin lesion management?
To support telehealth, it is necessary to establish standard skin lesion image management, which is an architecture that provides standards-based specifications for managing the sharing of documents between any healthcare enterprise and telehealth facility in an integrated and secure manner.
## What is the current skin lesion management demands?
- **Need a system** that allow general practitioner to ==display, annotate, and make finding reports== based on patient skin lession image
- **Need a system** that allow patient to ==upload== patient skin lession image for dermatological diagnosis or other healthcare services
## What is the problem of curent skin lesion management?
- **Nonexistence of effective skin lession image storage** for telemedicine scenario
- **Nonexistence of efficient and effective system integration** for exchanging health record between health enterprises 
- **Nonexistence of efficient and effective integration** between patients, skin lession images, annotations, and reports data
- **Nonexistence of detailed specification** regarding the implementation of FHIR on skin lesion image management
## Why is it necessary to use FHIR in skin lesion management?
- Interoperability:
FHIR is an international standard for healthcare information interoperability. It facilitates the exchange of consistent formated data related to skin lesions, including images, observations, and reports, across different systems and organizations, which is critical for collaborative care and research.

- Comprehensive Resources:
FHIR provides a comprehensive set of resources that can be used to store detailed observations of skin lesions. This includes specific resources for imaging, pathology & clinical reports, and clinical observations. It ensuring that all relevant data about skin lesions is systematically recorded and accessible.

- Ease of Implementation:
The FHIR format is designed to be easily implemented within existing workflows. This means that healthcare providers can integrate FHIR into their skin lesion management processes without significant changes to their current systems.

## Reference
https://www.healthline.com/health/skin-lesions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7328057/
