The document introduces FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperable Resources), a new standard proposed by HL7 to address limitations of current standards like HL7 v2 and v3 and to leverage web technologies. It describes how FHIR is designed using RESTful principles and common web approaches to simplify implementation and reduce costs. The document also discusses how FHIR adoption is growing within the HL7 community and healthcare sectors and could help commoditize integration and interface costs.