From bottleneck to backbone: How iSOFT modernized its FHIR infrastructure

When iSOFT Netherlands set out to overhaul its FHIR infrastructure, they wanted more than just compliance. They wanted a fast, reliable, and scalable FHIR-native solution that would set them apart in a competitive health IT landscape. Supporting GPs, hospitals, and clinical systems nationwide, iSOFT turned to Firely—going live in just four months with a solution that now powers secure data exchange across the Dutch healthcare network.

Background

As a trusted technology provider for the Dutch digital health ecosystem, iSOFT Netherlands play a central role across multiple layers of care: 

• Primary care: iSOFT’s MicroHIS system is used by ~10% of GP practices in the Netherlands to manage patient records and clinical workflows. Its cloud-based successor, MaaS (MicroHIS as a Service), brings additional flexibility and scalability. 
• Hospitals: A number of Dutch hospitals rely on iSOFT’s Rhapsody interoperability platform to securely exchange clinical data across systems. 
• Clinical decision support: iSOFT provides decision support tools to over 50% of the Dutch market, helping clinicians make informed, data-driven decisions at the point of care.

The Challenge

iSOFT recognised that its existing FHIR infrastructure was becoming a bottleneck. It was lacking the performance, scalability, and interoperability needed to support its expanding healthcare portfolio, while also creating unnecessary technical overhead for its development teams. 

“The solution that we had was technically not that performant. We needed a platform that would perform reliably in real clinical settings, support future use cases, require minimal effort to implement, and be up and running fast,” says Eric Grosfeld, Managing Director at iSOFT. 

Rather than continuing to maintain an underperforming system, iSOFT set out to find a new FHIR-native platform that could power innovation, streamline onboarding, and scale with their growing ecosystem.

The Solution

After evaluating several alternatives, iSOFT selected Firely Server as their new FHIR backbone. Within just four months, the platform was fully integrated into its healthcare ecosystem and live in production. 

Key reasons for the decision: 

• Quick implementation: Firely Server was deployed and fully integrated in just four months, delivering a production-ready FHIR layer with minimal disruption to ongoing operations. 
• Ease of integration: Firely Server integrated smoothly with iSOFT’s architecture, avoiding costly architectural changes and reducing internal workload. 
• Built-in compliance: Out-of-the-box support for Dutch specifications ensured immediate compatibility with national requirements without additional configuration or custom development. 
• Strategic scalability and consolidation: Firely Server provided a flexible, future-ready foundation that allowed iSOFT to consolidate multiple FHIR initiatives onto a single platform. Its support for concurrent FHIR versions reduced complexity, enabled faster onboarding of new use cases, and ensured long-term adaptability across care settings. 
• Strong FHIR expertise and responsive support: Firely’s hands-on guidance helped streamline the implementation, troubleshoot technical hurdles, and apply best practices throughout the project. 

By replacing its legacy FHIR layer with a stable, high-performance solution, iSOFT streamlined onboarding, reduced integration complexity, and freed up developer capacity—enabling faster, more secure data exchange across GP practices, hospitals, and third-party apps like personal health environments (PGOs). 

“Firely’s team made the whole process easy. The solution was basically plug and play, it just worked out-of-the-box with no issues. Combined with their responsive support and deep expertise in FHIR and the Dutch market, they’ve been an invaluable partner,” says Grosfeld.

Looking Ahead

With Firely Server now powering a reliable FHIR foundation, iSOFT is well-positioned to build on this momentum and unlock new innovation across the care continuum. 

iSoft plans to: 

• Expand secure data sharing into more complex areas like medication processes (MP9) and hospital systems. 
• Support more GP practices in securely connecting to personal health environments (PGOs).
• Deliver smarter insights by using its strong position in clinical decision support to bring FHIR-based data into everyday care decisions. 
• Grow its cloud-first product portfolio, including MicroHIS, MaaS, and Rhapsody, to help providers make faster, more informed decisions using real-time patient data. 

This project represents more than just a technical upgrade. It’s a step toward simpler integrations, better-connected care, and improved outcomes across the Dutch healthcare system.

“With Firely, we found more than a technology provider, we found a long-term partner. Firely Server gives us the flexibility and foundation to scale quickly, connect systems seamlessly, and keep innovating to deliver better insights and outcomes,” says Grosfeld.

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