BSP vs FHIR vs HL7 vs OpenEHR

A practical comparison of open health data standards — what they solve, who controls the data, and where BSP fits in.

Summary Table

Feature	BSP	FHIR (R4/R5)	HL7 v2/v3	OpenEHR
Data ownership	Patient (cryptographic)	Institution	Institution	Institution
Permanent storage	Arweave (immutable)	Server-dependent	Server-dependent	Server-dependent
Privacy model	Consent tokens on-chain	OAuth/SMART	ACL	Role-based
Interoperability	Open standard	Open standard	Open standard	Open standard
Vendor lock-in	None	Possible	High	Low
API fees	None	Possible	High	Low
Longevity	Permanent (blockchain)	Dependent on vendor	Dependent on vendor	Dependent on vendor
AI/ML ready	Native (BioRecord)	Partial	Limited	Partial
Developer SDK	TypeScript + Python	Many	Many	Several
License	MIT (open)	HL7 IP	HL7 IP	Apache 2.0

What is FHIR?

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is an HL7 standard for exchanging health information electronically. It defines data formats and APIs used by hospitals, insurers, and EHR vendors.

FHIR is excellent for: interoperability between healthcare institutions.

FHIR does not solve: patient data ownership, permanent storage, or freedom from API gatekeepers.

What is HL7?

HL7 (Health Level 7) is a set of international standards for transferring clinical and administrative data between software applications. HL7 v2 is still the most widely used messaging format in hospitals.

HL7 is excellent for: legacy healthcare system integration.

HL7 does not solve: modern data sovereignty, patient consent, or decentralized access control.

What is OpenEHR?

OpenEHR is an open standard for electronic health records. It uses archetypes and templates to model clinical knowledge independently of any vendor.

OpenEHR is excellent for: standardized clinical data models.

OpenEHR does not solve: cryptographic ownership, immutable storage, or patient-controlled consent.

Where BSP fits

BSP is not a replacement for FHIR or HL7 inside hospitals. BSP solves a different problem: who ultimately owns the data when it leaves the healthcare system.

BSP sits at the sovereignty layer — giving individuals cryptographic ownership of their biological data, regardless of which EHR system generated it.

Hospital EHR (FHIR/HL7)
        ↓
  BSP Export (BEO + BioRecord)
        ↓
  Arweave Permanent Storage
        ↓
  Patient-Controlled Access
        ↓
  AI / Research / Longevity Apps

Key BSP concepts not found in other standards

• BEO (Biological Entity Object) — the cryptographic identity of a living organism
• IEO (Institutional Entity Object) — how institutions interact with biological data
• ConsentToken — on-chain consent that cannot be revoked without the patient's signature
• BioRecord — standardized time-series biomarker data format
• Arweave integration — data stored permanently, independent of any API

FAQ

Can BSP work alongside FHIR? Yes. BSP exports can be generated from FHIR resources. The two are complementary.

Is BSP a blockchain protocol? BSP uses Arweave for permanent storage and on-chain consent. The protocol itself is a data standard — implementation details are open.

Who controls BSP? BSP is governed by BIPs (Biological Improvement Proposals), modeled after Ethereum's EIP process. No single company controls it.

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See also: What is BSP? · Specification Overview · Whitepaper