Vulcan Interoperability Bridge Announces Six New Implementation Guides

ANN ARBOR, MI, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HL7 Vulcan, a FHIR accelerator dedicated to advancing interoperability in the research to care continuum, announces the successful launch of six new implementation guides as part of its Vulcan Interoperability Bridge (VIB) program. Launched in late 2024 and funded by the Assistant Secretary of Technology Policy (ASTP) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the VIB program draws additional support from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 23 industry leaders in clinical research, including Johnson & Johnson, Epic, Parexel, and J2 Interactive, as well as others. By delivering fully fleshed-out ideas and concise implementation manuals, HL7 Vulcan hopes to inspire industry adoption, improving clinical research and patient care.

The VIB implementation guides are largely centered around operational efficiencies at research sites and accessing quality real-world data for study cohorts or safety reporting. IgniteData, Johnson & Johnson, and Epic led the way on one VIB that automated previously manual communications between research sites and study sponsors, reducing data entry errors by 99% and reporting results 1.5 times faster than with manual entry. In another VIB, InterSystems, J2 Interactive, Parexel, and Manifest MedEx demonstrated the potential of real-world data from Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) to power more robust scientific exploration and the ability to track long-term outcomes while reducing the time, cost, and effort needed to harmonize disparate data.

J2 Interactive Chief Innovation Officer Steve Heard, whose team built the proof of concept, noted, “J2 is a company of interoperability experts. Having worked with so many providers, labs, research institutions, and health information exchanges (HIEs) around the world, we've seen firsthand the power of connected data in healthcare. So when we had the opportunity to join Vulcan and help bring the benefits of interoperability to clinical research, we jumped. When it comes to advancing medicine and patient outcomes, we’re all in. Empowering clinical research is the right thing to do for the future of healthcare.”

The six implementation guides are only the beginning of what HL7 Vulcan aims to achieve. HL7 FHIR data standards, which are widely used by payers and providers in healthcare, drastically enhance safe data sharing between organizations and institutions, benefiting patients, public health officials, and researchers. Each implementation guide is a collaborative effort, representing a fully developed idea and built-out proof of concept of how HL7 FHIR can create interoperability in clinical research, increasing efficiency, and reducing human error and study costs, while opening the doors to new levels of transparency and accuracy in drug trials.

“The Vulcan team is immensely proud of the launch of this first VIB cohort and all the ways in which these implementation guides stand to improve clinical research,” says Amy Cramer, the Founder of Vulcan. “This is the culmination of years of collaboration and partnership building, but is really only the beginning of what we hope to achieve. Clinical research needs to catch up with the technological infrastructure found in the broader healthcare industry, and the VIB program is designed to illuminate these possibilities. This is truly transformative work.”

HL7 Vulcan is already accepting submissions for the 2nd cohort of the Vulcan Interoperability Bridge program, with ambitions to create sister VIB programs in Europe and Japan.

For more information about the project or to watch the use case demos, visit the VIB website.

Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.

HL7 Vulcan is a diverse, member-driven community focused on integrating clinical research and care through the adoption of FHIR. Our membership comprises healthcare, pharmaceuticals, academic researchers, implementers, the government, standards organizations, consortia, and more, with the goal of creating more efficient, inclusive, and patient-centered research infrastructure. For more information, please visit: HL7Vulcan.org.

Rachel Warnock
HL7 Vulcan
rachel.warnock@hl7vulcan.org
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