From Fragmented Silos to Unified Encounters: How FHIR Reshapes Healthcare Database Design

As FHIR becomes the standard for healthcare data exchange, developers must rethink database architecture to move from fragmented visit tables to unified encounter models. This shift introduces complex challenges around polymorphic relationships and relational design that are critical to building systems that are both reliable and truly interoperable. Understanding these architectural patterns is essential for any engineer building modern healthcare applications.