FHIR Validation

Description

The LogicNets system can consume and generate Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) messages, including Questionnaires, QuestionResponses, Procedures, ServiceRequests, and DiagnosticReports. These messages must comply with the HL7 FHIR Standard, and you can use our FHIR Validator Tool to ensure that your generated and consumed messages comply with this standard. 

Details

Different organizations and companies provide tools to perform FHIR validation, and you can customize FHIR messages with extensions and profiles. You must publish custom extension and profiles online using HL7-approved websites and make them accessible for those validation tools. For more information on each, see these sites:

• Validation: https://hl7.org/fhir/validation.html
• Extensions: https://www.hl7.org/fhir/extensibility.html
• Profiles: https://www.hl7.org/fhir/profiling.html

As an alternative to publishing and making your FHIR messages publicly available, you can use the LogicNets FHIR Validator Tool and create a custom implementation guide based on the official HL7 FHIR validator. This LogicNets-based tool does not require you to publish your custom extensions and profiles online. 

It is also possible to use the LogicNets FHIR Validation API or Test Manager to validate your FHIR messages.

Create a Custom Implementation Guide

You can create a custom FHIR implementation guide using the definitions of custom extensions and profiles created by external tools and storing and publishing them in a LogicNets package that stays on a local server. The following image shows the project of the LogicNets Implementation Guide with all LogicNets extensions and profiles.

If you create an implementation guide project in your Designer and publish it, you can configure it as ImplementationGuide on the General tab in the System Configuration module. We also recommend that you configure the LogicNets Implementation Guide (FhirImplementationGuide) as well.

Configure the FHIR Validator

To use the FHIR Validator, LogicNets requires you to install the official HL7 Validator library and a compatible Java runtime. Once you have both items installed on the server, you configure the Java executable through the LogicNets System Configuration module on the General tab.

By default, LogicNets does not always validate generated FHIR messages. You can enable automatic validation using the Auto Validate FHIR Messages configuration dropdown. However, be aware that running FHIR validation is time consuming and will delay all API calls producing FHIR messages.

Download the HL7 Validator here: https://github.com/hapifhir/org.hl7.fhir.core/releases. This is also where you can find the Java release to install. For more information, see https://confluence.hl7.org/display/FHIR/Using+the+FHIR+Validator. Please contact your LogicNets representative if you want to use a LogicNets-hosted solution. 

Use the FHIR Validator Tool

Start the LogicNets FHIR Validator Tool by entering the following URL: https://[hostname/company]/FhirValidator, making sure that you grant access to the FhirValidator package. 

The tool opens and displays an input box where you can paste an FHIR message. Click Validate to start the validator. The system displays the results on the Details pane and any potential execution errors on the Console pane.

FHIR Validator API

In addition to the LogicNets Validator Tool, LogicNets also provides an API you can call to validate a FHIR message. To use the FHIR Validator API, call the API at this address: https://[hostname/company]/FhirValidatorAPI/v1/resource/validate and post the FHIR message you want to validate.