SMART on FHIR
Also known as: SMART
A specification that lets a third-party application launch inside an electronic health record with authorization and clinical context already established.
SMART on FHIR adds an authorization and launch layer on top of FHIR so an external application can open within the EHR, already knowing which patient and which user are in context.
This is the mechanism behind most in-workflow clinical applications, and it is what buyers mean when they ask whether a product works "inside" the chart rather than in a separate window.
Technical conformance does not equal availability. Launching inside a specific EHR normally also requires acceptance into that vendor’s application program, which has its own review process and timeline independent of the health system’s decision.
Vendors routinely underestimate this and quote implementation timelines that ignore it.