Release 5 Preview #1

This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v4.2.0: R5 Preview #1). The current version which supercedes this version is 5.0.0. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions . Page versions: R5 R4B R4 R3 R2

Operation-messageheader-process-message.xml

Infrastructure And Messaging Work GroupMaturity Level: N/AStandards Status: InformativeCompartments: Device, Practitioner

Raw XML (canonical form + also see XML Format Specification)

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Operation Definition

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<OperationDefinition xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <id value="MessageHeader-process-message"/> 
  <text> 
    <status value="generated"/> 
    <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
      <h2> Process Message</h2> 
      <p> OPERATION: Process Message</p> 
      <p> The official URL for this operation definition is: </p> 
      <pre> http://hl7.org/fhir/OperationDefinition/MessageHeader-process-message</pre> 
      <div> 
        <p> This operation accepts a message, processes it according to the definition of the event
           in the message header, and returns one or more response messages.</p> 

        <p> In addition to processing the message event, a server may choose to retain all or some
           the resources and make them available on a RESTful interface, but is not required to do
           so.</p> 

      </div> 
      <p> URL: [base]/$process-message</p> 
      <p> Parameters</p> 
      <table class="grid">
        <tr> 
          <td> 
            <b> Use</b> 
          </td> 
          <td> 
            <b> Name</b> 
          </td> 
          <td> 
            <b> Cardinality</b> 
          </td> 
          <td> 
            <b> Type</b> 
          </td> 
          <td> 
            <b> Binding</b> 
          </td> 
          <td> 
            <b> Documentation</b> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
        <tr> 
          <td> IN</td> 
          <td> content</td> 
          <td> 1..1</td> 
          <td> 
            <a href="bundle.html">Bundle</a> 
          </td> 
          <td/>  
          <td> 
            <div> 
              <p> The message to process (or, if using asynchronous messaging, it may be a response message
                 to accept)</p> 

            </div> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
        <tr> 
          <td> IN</td> 
          <td> async</td> 
          <td> 0..1</td> 
          <td> 
            <a href="datatypes.html#boolean">boolean</a> 
          </td> 
          <td/>  
          <td> 
            <div> 
              <p> If 'true' the message is processed using the asynchronous messaging pattern</p> 

            </div> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
        <tr> 
          <td> IN</td> 
          <td> response-url</td> 
          <td> 0..1</td> 
          <td> 
            <a href="datatypes.html#url">url</a> 
          </td> 
          <td/>  
          <td> 
            <div> 
              <p> A URL to submit response messages to, if asynchronous messaging is being used, and if
                 the MessageHeader.source.endpoint is not the appropriate place to submit responses</p> 

            </div> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
        <tr> 
          <td> OUT</td> 
          <td> return</td> 
          <td> 0..1</td> 
          <td> 
            <a href="bundle.html">Bundle</a> 
          </td> 
          <td/>  
          <td> 
            <div> 
              <p> A response message, if synchronous messaging is being used (mandatory in this case). For
                 asynchronous messaging, there is no return value</p> 

            </div> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
      </table> 
      <div> 
        <p> This operation does not use the parameters resource; the parameters &quot;async&quot;
           and &quot;response-url&quot; always go in the URL, if they are used, and the &quot;content&quot;
           parameter is always the body of the HTTP message.</p> 

        <p> When processing messages, a server may return one of several status codes:</p> 

        <ul> 

          <li> 
            <strong> 200 OK</strong> : Indicates that the message has been fully processed.  If an application-level response
             is expected for the submitted message, that response SHALL be returned as the body of
             the 200 response.
          </li> 

          <li> 
            <strong> 202 Accepted</strong> : Indicates that the receiving system has accepted custody of the message
          </li> 

          <li> 
            <strong> 204 No Content</strong> : Indicates that the message has been fully processed and would normally have had an application-lev
            el response, but because of instructions from the sender (e.g. the 
            <a href="extension-messageheader-response-request.html">messageheader-response-request</a>  extension), no response is being provided
          </li> 

          <li> 
            <strong> 300+</strong> : Indicates that the message was not successfully processed.  The server MAY return an
             
            <a href="operationoutcome.html">OperationOutcome</a>  with additional information, and SHOULD do so if the response code is 400 or greater.&lt;br/&gt;
The client SHALL interpret a 4xx response to indicate that there is no point resubmitting
             the unaltered message, and a 5xx response to indicate an unexpected error occurred on
             the part of the server, with the implication that it may be appropriate to resubmit the
             original message. Doing so SHOULD NOT result in a duplicate message response. Repeated
             failures indicate either a fatal problem with the submission or a problem with the receiving
             application.
          </li> 

        </ul> 

        <p> The following rules apply when using $process-message:</p> 

        <ul> 

          <li> The operation only accepts POST transactions - any other HTTP method will result in an
             HTTP error</li> 

          <li> The request content type submitted is always 
            <a href="bundle.html">Bundle</a>  with type &quot;message&quot; containing a 
            <a href="messageheader.html">Message Header</a>  resource as the first resource
          </li> 

          <li> The response content type returned is always 
            <a href="bundle.html">Bundle</a>  with type &quot;message&quot; containing a 
            <a href="messageheader.html">Message Header</a>  resource as the first resource, or an HTTP error
          </li> 

          <li> If the response is an error, the body SHOULD be an 
            <a href="operationoutcome.html">Errors &amp;mp; Warning</a>  resource with full details
          </li> 

          <li> The mailbox may be authenticated using standard HTTP authentication methods, including
             OAuth</li> 

        </ul> 

        <p> The $process-message operation can be used by any HTTP end-point that accepts FHIR messages,
           not just FHIR RESTful servers.</p> 

        <p> In order to ensure consistency of processing, the 
          <a href="messaging.html#reliable">logical rules regarding processing of Bundle.id and message id</a>  SHALL be followed when messages are processed using this operation.
        </p> 

        <p> The $process-message operation may be used synchronously, or asynchronously.</p> 

        <p> The following rules apply when using the $process-message operation synchronously:</p> 

        <ul> 

          <li> The URL (http://server/base/$process-message) has no parameters</li> 

          <li> It is an error if the sender POSTs a message that requires multiple response messages</li> 

          <li> Servers SHALL accept multiple concurrent message submissions and process them correctly
             (they are allowed to process them sequentially internally, but multiple concurrent submissions
             is not an error in its own right)</li> 

        </ul> 

        <p> The following rules apply when using the $process-message operation asynchronously:</p> 

        <ul> 

          <li> The URL has at least one parameter: http://server/base/$process-message?async=true</li> 

          <li> The server acknowledges the message with a 200 OK with no body, or returns an HTTP error
             if the message cannot be processed</li> 

          <li> Accepting the message means that the server has understood the message enough to know
             where to respond</li> 

          <li> An 
            <a href="operationoutcome.html">OperationOutcome</a>  SHOULD be returned in either case
          </li> 

          <li> By default, the server responds by invoking the $process-message using the sender's stated
             end-point in the message: POST [MessageHeader.source.endpoint]/$process-messages]</li> 

          <li> Since the source end-point may be manipulated by message transfer engines, an alternative
             response address may be specified using the parameter &quot;response-url&quot;: http://server/base/$
            process-message?async=true&amp;amp;response-url=http://server2.com/base/anything.  The
             endpoint at the specified URL SHALL implement the signature of the $process-message operation
             (parameter async=true, accept a Bundle, return a 200 OK or an error)</li> 

          <li> The server submits response messages to the appropriate end-point with the parameter async=true.
             There is no response message for the response messages</li> 

        </ul> 

      </div> 
    </div> 
  </text> 
  <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-fmm">
    <valueInteger value="4"/> 
  </extension> 
  <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-standards-status">
    <valueCode value="trial-use"/> 
  </extension> 
  <url value="http://hl7.org/fhir/OperationDefinition/MessageHeader-process-message"/> 
  <version value="4.2.0"/> 
  <name value="Process Message"/> 
  <status value="draft"/> 
  <kind value="operation"/> 
  <date value="2019-12-31T21:03:40+11:00"/> 
  <publisher value="HL7 (FHIR Project)"/> 
  <contact> 
    <telecom> 
      <system value="url"/> 
      <value value="http://hl7.org/fhir"/> 
    </telecom> 
    <telecom> 
      <system value="email"/> 
      <value value="fhir@lists.hl7.org"/> 
    </telecom> 
  </contact> 
  <description value="This operation accepts a message, processes it according to the definition of the event
   in the message header, and returns one or more response messages.  

In addition to processing the message event, a server may choose to retain all or some
   the resources and make them available on a RESTful interface, but is not required to do
   so."/> 
  <code value="process-message"/> 
  <comment value="This operation does not use the parameters resource; the parameters &quot;async&quot;
   and &quot;response-url&quot; always go in the URL, if they are used, and the &quot;content&quot;
   parameter is always the body of the HTTP message.

When processing messages, a server may return one of several status codes:
* **200 OK**: Indicates that the message has been fully processed.  If an application-level
   response is expected for the submitted message, that response SHALL be returned as the
   body of the 200 response.
* **202 Accepted**: Indicates that the receiving system has accepted custody of the message
* **204 No Content**: Indicates that the message has been fully processed and would normally
   have had an application-level response, but because of instructions from the sender (e.g.
   the [messageheader-response-request](extension-messageheader-response-request.html) extension),
   no response is being provided
* **300+**: Indicates that the message was not successfully processed.  The server MAY
   return an [OperationOutcome](operationoutcome.html) with additional information, and SHOULD
   do so if the response code is 400 or greater.&lt;br/&gt;
    The client SHALL interpret a 4xx response to indicate that there is no point resubmitting
   the unaltered message, and a 5xx response to indicate an unexpected error occurred on
   the part of the server, with the implication that it may be appropriate to resubmit the
   original message. Doing so SHOULD NOT result in a duplicate message response. Repeated
   failures indicate either a fatal problem with the submission or a problem with the receiving
   application.

The following rules apply when using $process-message:

* The operation only accepts POST transactions - any other HTTP method will result in
   an HTTP error
* The request content type submitted is always [Bundle](bundle.html) with type &quot;message&quot;
   containing a [Message Header](messageheader.html) resource as the first resource
* The response content type returned is always [Bundle](bundle.html) with type &quot;message&quot;
   containing a [Message Header](messageheader.html) resource as the first resource, or an
   HTTP error
* If the response is an error, the body SHOULD be an [Errors &amp;mp; Warning](operationoutcome.html
  ) resource with full details
* The mailbox may be authenticated using standard HTTP authentication methods, including
   OAuth

The $process-message operation can be used by any HTTP end-point that accepts FHIR messages,
   not just FHIR RESTful servers.

In order to ensure consistency of processing, the [logical rules regarding processing
   of Bundle.id and message id](messaging.html#reliable) SHALL be followed when messages
   are processed using this operation.

The $process-message operation may be used synchronously, or asynchronously.

The following rules apply when using the $process-message operation synchronously:

* The URL (http://server/base/$process-message) has no parameters
* It is an error if the sender POSTs a message that requires multiple response messages
* Servers SHALL accept multiple concurrent message submissions and process them correctly
   (they are allowed to process them sequentially internally, but multiple concurrent submissions
   is not an error in its own right)

The following rules apply when using the $process-message operation asynchronously:

* The URL has at least one parameter: http://server/base/$process-message?async=true
* The server acknowledges the message with a 200 OK with no body, or returns an HTTP error
   if the message cannot be processed
* Accepting the message means that the server has understood the message enough to know
   where to respond
* An [OperationOutcome](operationoutcome.html) SHOULD be returned in either case
* By default, the server responds by invoking the $process-message using the sender's
   stated end-point in the message: POST [MessageHeader.source.endpoint]/$process-messages]
* Since the source end-point may be manipulated by message transfer engines, an alternative
   response address may be specified using the parameter &quot;response-url&quot;: http://server/base/$
  process-message?async=true&amp;amp;response-url=http://server2.com/base/anything.  The
   endpoint at the specified URL SHALL implement the signature of the $process-message operation
   (parameter async=true, accept a Bundle, return a 200 OK or an error)
* The server submits response messages to the appropriate end-point with the parameter
   async=true. There is no response message for the response messages"/> 
  <resource value="MessageHeader"/> 
  <system value="true"/> 
  <type value="false"/> 
  <instance value="false"/> 
  <parameter> 
    <name value="content"/> 
    <use value="in"/> 
    <min value="1"/> 
    <max value="1"/> 
    <documentation value="The message to process (or, if using asynchronous messaging, it may be a response message
     to accept)"/> 
    <type value="Bundle"/> 
  </parameter> 
  <parameter> 
    <name value="async"/> 
    <use value="in"/> 
    <min value="0"/> 
    <max value="1"/> 
    <documentation value="If 'true' the message is processed using the asynchronous messaging pattern"/> 
    <type value="boolean"/> 
  </parameter> 
  <parameter> 
    <name value="response-url"/> 
    <use value="in"/> 
    <min value="0"/> 
    <max value="1"/> 
    <documentation value="A URL to submit response messages to, if asynchronous messaging is being used, and if
     the MessageHeader.source.endpoint is not the appropriate place to submit responses"/> 
    <type value="url"/> 
  </parameter> 
  <parameter> 
    <name value="return"/> 
    <use value="out"/> 
    <min value="0"/> 
    <max value="1"/> 
    <documentation value="A response message, if synchronous messaging is being used (mandatory in this case). For
     asynchronous messaging, there is no return value"/> 
    <type value="Bundle"/> 
  </parameter> 
</OperationDefinition> 

Usage note: every effort has been made to ensure that the examples are correct and useful, but they are not a normative part of the specification.