Netherlands - Generic Functions for data exchange Implementation Guide, published by Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 0.9.0-ballot built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/minvws/generiekefuncties-docs/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions

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Official URL: http://minvws.github.io/generiekefuncties-docs/ImplementationGuide/hl7.fhir.nl.gf				Version: 0.9.0-ballot
Active as of 2026-03-31				Computable Name: NlGenericFunctionsIG

Introduction

This FHIR Implementation Guide specifies the technical components of the Generic Functions for data exchange in the Dutch Healthcare system. A national programme led by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). There are five generic functions in this programme, of which two are specified here; Care Services Discovery (Addressing) and Localization (Medical Record Localization).

Care Services Discovery (Addressing)

Enables healthcare providers and systems to discover and retrieve up-to-date digital addresses and contact information of healthcare organizations, (physical) locations, services, and endpoints. Based on the IHE mCSD profile, it provides a standardized directory infrastructure that consolidates addressable entities from across the healthcare ecosystem, facilitating reliable care coordination and electronic data exchange. See Care Services Discovery.

This guide outlines the technical requirements and architectural principles underlying these generic functions. For related specifications/documents, see:

Functional design: GFO-adressering-v0.9.0.pdf
Technical design: GTO-adressering-v0.9.0.pdf

Localization (Medical Record Localization)

Provides a standardized framework for discovering which healthcare organizations hold relevant patient data of a specific type. Using a national Medical Record Localization Service (Nationale Verwijs Index or NVI), data holders register the presence of patient data by category, enabling healthcare professionals to efficiently locate health information while ensuring GDPR compliance through proportionality and subsidiarity principles. See Localization.

Artifacts

The Artifacts page includes a complete index of the profiles, capability statements, value sets, code systems, examples, and other generated IG resources.

History

For publication details, see History for release and change information.

Conformance Expectations

NL Generic Functions IG uses the normative words: Shall, Should, and May according to standards conventions.

Dependencies

This guide is based on the HL7 FHIR R4 specification. In addition, this guide also relies on a number of parent implementation guides:

Download

You can also download:

• this entire guide,
• the definition resources in json or xml format,
• the example resources in json or xml format.