Synthea
Synthea is a free, open-source generator that creates synthetic patients and medical histories.
What Synthea is
Synthea is a free, open-source generator that creates synthetic patients and medical histories. It simulates each patient from birth to the present, using generic modules for diseases, conditions, care, and transitions between states. Records can include medications, allergies, encounters, and social determinants of health. The project lists academic research, Health IT development and experimentation, and healthcare policy simulation as use cases; researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and software developers are among its intended users. Exports include HL7 FHIR R4, STU3, and DSTU2, C-CDA, and CSV. Bulk FHIR NDJSON and CPCDS exports are also supported when enabled in configuration. Users can configure demographics, add generic modules, and create Java rule modules. The project offers downloads of more than a thousand sample patients, and users can build it to generate additional data. Synthea is self-hosted and requires Java JDK 17 or newer; the project recommends LTS versions 17 or 25. It describes generated data as realistic but not real and free from privacy restrictions. The project is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Good
- Generates records from birth to the present
- Supports multiple FHIR versions, C-CDA, and CSV
- Demographics and modules are configurable
- More than a thousand sample patients available
Watch out
- Requires Java JDK 17 or newer
- Must be run self-hosted
Who it suits
Synthea suits researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and developers who need synthetic health data for research, Health IT work, or policy simulation.
Verdict
Synthea offers configurable synthetic patient data with several healthcare export formats. Its self-hosted setup and Java requirement are important considerations.
Plans and prices
From Synthea's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Synthea | Free | Open-source synthetic patient generator |
The facts
Each one read from Synthea's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Additional output
- The repository README lists Bulk FHIR ndjson and CPCDS exports, which are disabled by default and can be enabled in configuration.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Customization
- The project supports configuration-based demographics, drop-in generic modules, and custom Java rule modules.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Export formats
- The site lists HL7 FHIR R4, STU3 and DSTU2, C-CDA, and CSV exports.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The site identifies researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and software developers as users of the synthetic health data.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License
- The GitHub README states that Synthea is licensed under Apache License 2.0.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Patient lifecycle
- Each patient is simulated independently from birth to the present day using generic modules that model diseases, conditions, care, and transitions between states.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The project describes its generated patient data as realistic but not real and free from privacy restrictions.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Synthea is an open-source generator that simulates synthetic patients and their medical histories.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Record contents
- Patient records can include medications, allergies, encounters, and social determinants of health.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- Synthea requires Java JDK 17 or newer; the README recommends LTS versions 17 or 25.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Sample data
- The site offers downloads of over a thousand sample patients and says users can build the project to generate their own.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The Synthea team lists a discussion board, GitHub issues, and the email [email protected] for feedback and help.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The site describes uses in academic research, Health IT development and experimentation, and healthcare policy simulation.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Website security
- MITRE's site privacy policy says it uses safeguards including encryption and user authentication, while noting it cannot guarantee security of internet transmission or digital storage.checked 8 Oct 2026
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