Query & Response for Public Health
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Query & Response for Public Health, published by HL7 International / Public Health. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 1.0.0 built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/HL7/us-helios-QR/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions

: Public Health Query & Response Example Without an Intermediary

Page standards status: Informative

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<ExampleScenario xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <id value="phQueryExampleScenarioDirect"/>
  <language value="en"/>
  <text>
    <status value="extensions"/>
    <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p class="res-header-id"><b>Generated Narrative: ExampleScenario phQueryExampleScenarioDirect</b></p><a name="phQueryExampleScenarioDirect"> </a><a name="hcphQueryExampleScenarioDirect"> </a><p><b>StructureDefinition Work Group</b>: pher</p><p><b>url</b>: <a href="ExampleScenario-phQueryExampleScenarioDirect.html">QueryWithoutIntermediary</a></p><p><b>version</b>: 1.0.0</p><p><b>name</b>: QueryWithoutIntermediary</p><p><b>status</b>: Active</p><p><b>date</b>: 2026-03-18 12:59:01+0000</p><p><b>publisher</b>: HL7 International / Public Health</p><p><b>contact</b>: HL7 International / Public Health: <a href="http://www.hl7.org/Special/committees/pher">http://www.hl7.org/Special/committees/pher</a>,<a href="mailto:pher@lists.HL7.org">pher@lists.HL7.org</a></p><p><b>jurisdiction</b>: <span title="Codes:{urn:iso:std:iso:3166 US}">United States of America</span></p><p><b>purpose</b>: </p><div><p>This ExampleScenario describes the generic workflow to apply the FHIR RESTful API query &amp; response paradigm to public health use cases. Potential use cases include case investigation, newborn screening and cancer reporting among others.</p>
</div><blockquote><p><b>actor</b></p><p><b>actorId</b>: PublicHealthAgency</p><p><b>type</b>: System</p><p><b>name</b>: Public Health Agency (PHA)</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The Public Health Agency that holds the authority to access appropriate data to support program activities, goals, and services.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>actor</b></p><p><b>actorId</b>: HealthcareOrganization</p><p><b>type</b>: System</p><p><b>name</b>: Healthcare Organization (HCO)</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The Healthcare Organization is a critical element in collecting and exchanging clinical and administrative data that are essential for local PHA programs.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>instance</b></p><p><b>resourceId</b>: patientQuery</p><p><b>resourceType</b>: Binary</p><p><b>name</b>: Query for Patient Record</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA shares patient demographics as a Patient search or $match operation to identify the individual of interest.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>instance</b></p><p><b>resourceId</b>: patientQueryResponse</p><p><b>resourceType</b>: Bundle</p><p><b>name</b>: Response to Query for Patient Record</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>Based on the patient demographics provided, the HCO returns one or more corresponding Patient resources.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>instance</b></p><p><b>resourceId</b>: clinicalQuery</p><p><b>resourceType</b>: Binary</p><p><b>name</b>: Query for Clinical Data</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA requests additional data related to the identified Patient resource. The exact nature of the query and data requested will vary based on the use case being fulfilled. PHAs only request data that they have clear authority to access.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>instance</b></p><p><b>resourceId</b>: clinicalQueryResponse</p><p><b>resourceType</b>: Bundle</p><p><b>name</b>: Response to Query for Clinical Data</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The HCO returns appropriate FHIR-formatted data in response to the PHA query.</p>
</div></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>process</b></p><p><b>title</b>: Patient Identification Query</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The process of generating  a FHIR RESTful API query to identify the individual of interest in an external system which may contain additional authorized data required by the PHA to support program activities.</p>
</div><p><b>preConditions</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA must be aware of the existance of the individual and have sufficient demographics to positively identify the individual on the HCO's FHIR server.</p>
</div><p><b>postConditions</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA will have validated any returned resouces and made the data available for additional queries if appropriate.</p>
</div><blockquote><p><b>step</b></p><blockquote><p><b>operation</b></p><p><b>number</b>: 1</p><p><b>type</b>: RESTful Query</p><p><b>name</b>: Patient Identification Query</p><p><b>initiator</b>: PublicHealthAgency</p><p><b>receiver</b>: HealthcareOrganization</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA generates a FHIR RESTful API query containing patient demographics to identify the appropriate Patient resource on the HCO's FHIR Server. The HCO responses with one or more matching FHIR Patient resources.</p>
</div><h3>Requests</h3><table class="grid"><tr><td style="display: none">-</td><td><b>ResourceId</b></td></tr><tr><td style="display: none">*</td><td>patientQuery</td></tr></table><h3>Responses</h3><table class="grid"><tr><td style="display: none">-</td><td><b>ResourceId</b></td></tr><tr><td style="display: none">*</td><td>patientQueryResponse</td></tr></table></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>process</b></p><p><b>title</b>: Additional Data Query</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>The process of generating  one or more FHIR RESTful API queries to retrieve additional data necessary to carry out public health activities and/or provide services.</p>
</div><p><b>preConditions</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA must have identified a single Patient record corresponding to the individual of interest via the Patient Identiification Query process.</p>
</div><p><b>postConditions</b>: </p><div><p>The PHA will have validated any returned resources and made the data available to end users to support program activities.</p>
</div><blockquote><p><b>step</b></p><blockquote><p><b>operation</b></p><p><b>number</b>: 2</p><p><b>type</b>: RESTful Query</p><p><b>name</b>: Clinical Data Query</p><p><b>initiator</b>: PublicHealthAgency</p><p><b>receiver</b>: HealthcareOrganization</p><p><b>description</b>: </p><div><p>Using the identified Patient resource, the PHA formulates one or more use case specific FHIR RESTful API queries to collect additional relevant data. The HCO responses with the appropriate set of FHIR resources.</p>
</div><h3>Requests</h3><table class="grid"><tr><td style="display: none">-</td><td><b>ResourceId</b></td></tr><tr><td style="display: none">*</td><td>clinicalQuery</td></tr></table><h3>Responses</h3><table class="grid"><tr><td style="display: none">-</td><td><b>ResourceId</b></td></tr><tr><td style="display: none">*</td><td>clinicalQueryResponse</td></tr></table></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></div>
  </text>
  <extension
             url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-wg">
    <valueCode value="pher"/>
  </extension>
  <url
       value="http://hl7.org/fhir/us/ph-query/ExampleScenario/phQueryExampleScenarioDirect"/>
  <version value="1.0.0"/>
  <name value="QueryWithoutIntermediary"/>
  <status value="active"/>
  <date value="2026-03-18T12:59:01+00:00"/>
  <publisher value="HL7 International / Public Health"/>
  <contact>
    <name value="HL7 International / Public Health"/>
    <telecom>
      <system value="url"/>
      <value value="http://www.hl7.org/Special/committees/pher"/>
    </telecom>
    <telecom>
      <system value="email"/>
      <value value="pher@lists.HL7.org"/>
    </telecom>
  </contact>
  <jurisdiction>
    <coding>
      <system value="urn:iso:std:iso:3166"/>
      <code value="US"/>
    </coding>
  </jurisdiction>
  <purpose
           value="This ExampleScenario describes the generic workflow to apply the FHIR RESTful API query &amp; response paradigm to public health use cases. Potential use cases include case investigation, newborn screening and cancer reporting among others."/>
  <actor>
    <actorId value="PublicHealthAgency"/>
    <type value="entity"/>
    <name value="Public Health Agency (PHA)"/>
    <description
                 value="The Public Health Agency that holds the authority to access appropriate data to support program activities, goals, and services."/>
  </actor>
  <actor>
    <actorId value="HealthcareOrganization"/>
    <type value="entity"/>
    <name value="Healthcare Organization (HCO)"/>
    <description
                 value="The Healthcare Organization is a critical element in collecting and exchanging clinical and administrative data that are essential for local PHA programs."/>
  </actor>
  <instance>
    <resourceId value="patientQuery"/>
    <resourceType value="Binary"/>
    <name value="Query for Patient Record"/>
    <description
                 value="The PHA shares patient demographics as a Patient search or $match operation to identify the individual of interest."/>
  </instance>
  <instance>
    <resourceId value="patientQueryResponse"/>
    <resourceType value="Bundle"/>
    <name value="Response to Query for Patient Record"/>
    <description
                 value="Based on the patient demographics provided, the HCO returns one or more corresponding Patient resources."/>
  </instance>
  <instance>
    <resourceId value="clinicalQuery"/>
    <resourceType value="Binary"/>
    <name value="Query for Clinical Data"/>
    <description
                 value="The PHA requests additional data related to the identified Patient resource. The exact nature of the query and data requested will vary based on the use case being fulfilled. PHAs only request data that they have clear authority to access."/>
  </instance>
  <instance>
    <resourceId value="clinicalQueryResponse"/>
    <resourceType value="Bundle"/>
    <name value="Response to Query for Clinical Data"/>
    <description
                 value="The HCO returns appropriate FHIR-formatted data in response to the PHA query."/>
  </instance>
  <process>
    <title value="Patient Identification Query"/>
    <description
                 value="The process of generating  a FHIR RESTful API query to identify the individual of interest in an external system which may contain additional authorized data required by the PHA to support program activities."/>
    <preConditions
                   value="The PHA must be aware of the existance of the individual and have sufficient demographics to positively identify the individual on the HCO's FHIR server."/>
    <postConditions
                    value="The PHA will have validated any returned resouces and made the data available for additional queries if appropriate."/>
    <step>
      <operation>
        <number value="1"/>
        <type value="RESTful Query"/>
        <name value="Patient Identification Query"/>
        <initiator value="PublicHealthAgency"/>
        <receiver value="HealthcareOrganization"/>
        <description
                     value="The PHA generates a FHIR RESTful API query containing patient demographics to identify the appropriate Patient resource on the HCO's FHIR Server. The HCO responses with one or more matching FHIR Patient resources."/>
        <request>
          <resourceId value="patientQuery"/>
        </request>
        <response>
          <resourceId value="patientQueryResponse"/>
        </response>
      </operation>
    </step>
  </process>
  <process>
    <title value="Additional Data Query"/>
    <description
                 value="The process of generating  one or more FHIR RESTful API queries to retrieve additional data necessary to carry out public health activities and/or provide services."/>
    <preConditions
                   value="The PHA must have identified a single Patient record corresponding to the individual of interest via the Patient Identiification Query process."/>
    <postConditions
                    value="The PHA will have validated any returned resources and made the data available to end users to support program activities."/>
    <step>
      <operation>
        <number value="2"/>
        <type value="RESTful Query"/>
        <name value="Clinical Data Query"/>
        <initiator value="PublicHealthAgency"/>
        <receiver value="HealthcareOrganization"/>
        <description
                     value="Using the identified Patient resource, the PHA formulates one or more use case specific FHIR RESTful API queries to collect additional relevant data. The HCO responses with the appropriate set of FHIR resources."/>
        <request>
          <resourceId value="clinicalQuery"/>
        </request>
        <response>
          <resourceId value="clinicalQueryResponse"/>
        </response>
      </operation>
    </step>
  </process>
</ExampleScenario>