SMART Health Cards and Links FHIR IG, published by HL7 International / FHIR Infrastructure. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 1.0.0-ballot built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/HL7/smart-health-cards-and-links/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions

Health Cards User Stories

SMART Health Cards are verified versions of your clinical information, such as vaccination history or test results. They allow you to keep a copy of your important health records on hand and easily share this information with others if you choose. SMART Health Cards contain a secure QR code and may be saved digitally or printed on paper.

An individual receives a SMART Health Card from a qualified issuer. An issuer is any organization authorized by the Verifiable Clinical Information coalition (VCI) to generate these cards, including pharmacies, hospitals, healthcare providers, medical labs, public health agencies, and more.

The user stories below describe example situations where SMART Health Cards are used.

A Patient Receives a Vaccination SMART Health Card

Alice goes to her corner pharmacy (or her doctor’s office or other location) to get a vaccination. Afterwards, she receives a SMART Health Card with information about her immunization in one or more ways:

• A paper copy might be handed to her at the time of the visit.
• A paper copy could be mailed to her by the organization that provided the vaccination.
• Alice could download the card from a website or app hosted by the organization. She can then…
  • print a copy of the card
  • save the card it as a digital file
  • and/or add the card to a wallet app such as Apple Wallet or Google Pay.

She now has a record of the vaccination that she can share with others who need to see and verify that information. And while Alice received a vaccination in this story, she could have instead had a lab test performed… with the same options for receiving a SMART Health Card containing the test results. SMART Health Cards are not limited to a particular type of clinical information.

An Organization Verifies the Patient’s Vaccine

Later in the week, Alice needs to provide information about her vaccination in order to participate in an event. Because the pharmacy digitally signed the data on her SMART Health Card using its “private key”, her vaccination information can be confirmed by others using the “public key” that the pharmacy makes available to verifier applications.

Alice can provide her vaccination information in a few differernt ways:

• If she downloaded the SMART Health Card to her computer, she could share the digital file with the event administrator others using any method she chooses
• If she needs to present proof of her vaccination in person, she can show the the QR code on her paper card or wallet app on her phone. The administrator can scan the code and verify the immunization info using an application that supports SMART Health Cards.
• Using a personal health record app that supports SMART Health Links, Alice can combine her vaccination record with other information and share it electronically with others.

The Patient gets a Booster Dose

Later in the year, Alice goes back to the pharmacy for an immunization booster.

Because SMART Health Cards do not change over time, she receives a new card containing her updated vaccination record that includes both the original and booster doses.

And if the pharmacy supports SMART Health Links, Alice may also be able to access immunization information through a Link that automatically stays updated as described here.