FHIR¶
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is the HL7 standard for exchanging healthcare data over RESTful HTTP APIs. QIE supports FHIR in both JSON and XML payloads and can act as both a FHIR client (calling a FHIR server) and a FHIR producer (converting HL7 v2, database queries, CSV, or other inputs into FHIR resources and submitting them).
This page is the reference companion to the FHIR Quickstart. It collects the parts of the FHIR specification you reach for most often when building a FHIR channel (URL structure, search syntax, Bundle types, and HL7 v2-to-FHIR element mappings) and points to the QIE features that implement each one.
Specification version
The tables and examples on this page reference FHIR R4. The QIE features described work with any version a server exposes; the URL anatomy, search operators, and Bundle types are stable across R4 and R5. The element-level paths in the HL7 v2-to-FHIR table change slightly between versions. Verify against your server's published CapabilityStatement before relying on them.
Capabilities¶
| Capability | What QIE provides |
|---|---|
| Payload formats | Read and write FHIR resources as either JSON or XML. JSON is the more flexible choice and what most servers prefer. |
| Transport | RESTful HTTP via Web Service Connections and the REST Web Service Sender. HTTPS and mutual TLS supported. |
| Security | OAuth 2.0 (Client Credentials, JWT-bearer, refresh tokens) on the Web Service Connection. See the OAuth 2.0 Tutorial. SMART on FHIR scopes (patient/Patient.read, system/*.write, …) work through the same OAuth fields. |
| Transformation | Convert HL7 v2, CSV, database query results, and other formats into FHIR resources using mapping nodes plus the Evaluate Template function. |
| Bundles | Submit and receive transaction, batch, message, document, history, and searchset Bundles. |
| AWS HealthLake | The Web Service Connection's AWS Signature authentication signs FHIR calls to a HealthLake datastore. |
| Google Cloud Healthcare | Native Google Cloud Healthcare API connection type submits HL7 v2, FHIR, or DICOM to a configured FHIR datastore. |
What QIE does and does not do¶
QIE participates in the FHIR ecosystem as a client and a producer. It is not a FHIR server, terminology service, or Implementation Guide validator. The table below is the full landscape: what is in scope and what is not, with the alternative where one exists.
| Aspect | QIE support |
|---|---|
| Acting as a FHIR server | No. QIE is a client/producer. Use it to call FHIR servers or produce resources, not to host an endpoint that other systems query, validate against, or search. |
| Calling a FHIR server (client) | Yes. REST Web Service Sender over a Web Service Connection. |
| Producing FHIR from other formats | Yes. Convert HL7 v2, CSV, database results, etc. into FHIR resources with Evaluate Template. |
| Payload formats (JSON and XML) | Yes. Read and write either; JSON is what most servers prefer. |
| Bundles | Yes. transaction, batch, message, document, history, and searchset. |
| Security / authentication | Yes. OAuth 2.0, SMART on FHIR scopes, TLS/mTLS, AWS Signature (HealthLake). |
| Terminology services (SNOMED, LOINC, ICD-10, ValueSet/CodeSystem) | Not as a server. QIE does not host terminology. A mapping script can call an external terminology server's $lookup / $validate-code like any other REST endpoint. |
| Implementation Guide conformance (US Core, Da Vinci, CARIN, IHE) | Not enforced. QIE does not validate messages against an IG. You can shape resources to meet an IG's requirements in your mapping, but conformance is your responsibility. |
Profiles and extensions (StructureDefinition validation) |
Pass-through only. QIE reads and writes extension elements as ordinary JSON/XML, but does not validate resources against a profile. |
Reference pages¶
- FHIR search URLs covers the anatomy of a FHIR RESTful URL, plus the search parameter prefixes and modifiers that refine a query.
- FHIR Bundles lists the Bundle types QIE can submit and receive, and what each one is for.
- HL7 v2 to FHIR mapping holds the segment-to-resource mapping and the PID-to-Patient field table.
- Template-driven conversion produces FHIR from HL7 v2 with Evaluate Template.
- The HAPI FHIR SDK calls the bundled HAPI library directly from a script.
Where FHIR fits in QIE¶
| If you want to … | Use … |
|---|---|
| Reach a FHIR server from a mapping script or destination | Web Service Connection with the REST Web Service Sender |
| Authenticate with OAuth 2.0 / SMART on FHIR | The Authentication Protocol section of the connection. See the OAuth 2.0 Tutorial |
| Submit FHIR to a Google Cloud Healthcare FHIR store | The Google Cloud Healthcare API connection type |
| Convert HL7 v2 (or any other format) to FHIR | A mapping node with Evaluate Template plus a System Variable holding the template |
| Read FHIR responses field-by-field | The JSON Message Model. See the JSON Tutorial |
| Walk through it end-to-end | The FHIR Quickstart |