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About Fire Arrow

Fire Arrow is a FHIR backend platform that makes it easy to build digital health applications with strong security and modern APIs. Fire Arrow handles the complexities of FHIR data management, authentication, and role-based access control (RBAC) so you can focus on your application logic.

Philosophy​

FHIR servers provide excellent infrastructure for storing medical health records in an interoperable way, but they lack the access control, authentication, and developer experience needed to build modern health applications. Fire Arrow bridges this gap by providing:

  • Modern APIs -- GraphQL and FHIR REST interfaces that are easy to integrate with any frontend or mobile client
  • Security by default -- role-based access control that uses FHIR data itself (Patient, Practitioner, Organization resources) to model permissions
  • Flexible authentication -- works with any OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect provider, not locked into a specific identity platform
  • Simple configuration -- your entire authorization model is defined in a single configuration file
  • FHIR-native -- all access control rules are expressed in terms of FHIR compartments and resource relationships, keeping your security model aligned with your data model

Editions​

Fire Arrow is available in two editions, designed for different use cases:

Fire Arrow Core​

Fire Arrow Core is a lightweight, Dart-based GraphQL facade that sits in front of an existing FHIR server (such as Azure Health Data Services). It provides authentication, RBAC, and a modern GraphQL API while delegating data storage entirely to the upstream FHIR server.

Core is the non-opinionated edition: it works with any FHIR R4 server and gives you full control over your infrastructure choices.

Learn more about Fire Arrow Core

Fire Arrow Server​

Fire Arrow Server is a full-fledged, integrated FHIR server that includes all the features of Fire Arrow Core plus a built-in FHIR data store (powered by HAPI FHIR), FHIR REST API, server-side CarePlan materialization, binary storage, subscriptions, API tokens, and a web administration UI.

Server is the opinionated edition: it provides a complete, batteries-included backend that handles everything from data storage to business logic.

Learn more about Fire Arrow Server

Which edition should I choose?​

Choose Fire Arrow Core if you:

  • Already have a FHIR server (e.g., Azure Health Data Services) and want to add a GraphQL API with RBAC
  • Want a lightweight, stateless facade that you deploy alongside your existing infrastructure
  • Only need GraphQL access to your FHIR data

Choose Fire Arrow Server if you:

  • Want a complete, self-contained FHIR backend with integrated data storage
  • Need both GraphQL and FHIR REST API access
  • Want server-side features like CarePlan scheduling, subscriptions, or API tokens
  • Prefer a single deployment that handles everything

For a detailed comparison of features, see the Editions comparison.