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Perform operations on FHIR resources
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Overview

This node integrates with a FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) server API to perform various operations on healthcare data resources. Specifically, the Resolve operation allows users to resolve one or multiple FHIR references into their full resource representations by fetching them from the FHIR server.

Common scenarios for this node include:

  • Retrieving detailed information about referenced FHIR resources when you have only reference strings or objects.
  • Automating workflows that require dereferencing linked FHIR resources, such as resolving patient references in clinical documents.
  • Enriching datasets by replacing references with full resource data for further processing or analysis.

For example, if you have a list of Observation references, you can use this node's Resolve operation to fetch the complete Observation resources from the FHIR server.

Properties

Name Meaning
Authentication The method used to authenticate requests to the FHIR server. Options include: Basic Auth, Custom Auth, Digest Auth, Header Auth, None, OAuth1, OAuth2, Query Auth.
Base URL The base URL of the FHIR server API to which requests will be sent. Required when using certain authentication types.
Resource Type The type of FHIR resource to operate on (e.g., Patient, Observation). This property is hidden for the Resolve operation.
Custom Resource Type If "Resource Type" is set to custom, specify the custom resource type string here.
Tenant ID Optional tenant identifier to include in request headers for multi-tenant FHIR servers.
Reference The FHIR reference(s) to resolve. Can be a single string, a Reference object, or an array of Reference objects. This is required for the Resolve operation.
Specify Query Parameters How to specify additional query parameters: either as key-value pairs or as raw JSON.
Query Parameters A collection of key-value pairs representing query parameters to add to the request URL. Used if "Specify Query Parameters" is set to "Using Fields Below".
JSON Raw JSON object representing query parameters. Used if "Specify Query Parameters" is set to "Using JSON".
FHIR Path An optional FHIRPath expression to extract specific data from the response output.
Ignore SSL Issues Whether to ignore SSL certificate validation errors when connecting to the FHIR server. Useful for self-signed certificates or development environments.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects corresponding to the resolved FHIR resources. Each item in the output contains:

  • json: The full JSON representation of the resolved FHIR resource.
  • pairedItem: Metadata linking the output item back to the input item index.

If the resolved resource is a FHIR Bundle, the node extracts and outputs each individual resource entry that matches the search mode "match" or has the same resource type as the first entry.

Binary data is not produced by this node.

Dependencies

  • Requires access to a FHIR server API endpoint.
  • Supports multiple authentication methods; appropriate credentials must be configured in n8n.
  • Uses the fhirpath library internally to evaluate FHIRPath expressions if provided.
  • Network connectivity and proper SSL configuration are necessary unless ignoring SSL issues is enabled.

Troubleshooting

  • Error: "The search returned more than one result"
    Occurs if the Search operation returns multiple results but the node is configured to error in that case. To fix, either allow multiple results or refine your search query.

  • Invalid JSON in Query or Body Parameters
    If JSON fields are malformed, the node throws an error indicating invalid JSON. Ensure all JSON inputs are correctly formatted.

  • Reference Not Found or Invalid
    If the reference string is invalid or the resource does not exist on the server, the request may fail. Verify the correctness of reference values.

  • SSL Certificate Errors
    If connecting to a server with an untrusted certificate, enable "Ignore SSL Issues" to bypass validation during development.

  • Authentication Failures
    Ensure that the correct authentication method and valid credentials are configured. Missing or incorrect credentials will cause authorization errors.

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