This page is part of the SMART Health Cards and Links FHIR IG (v1.0.0: STU1) based on FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) R4. This is the current published version. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions

Glossary

Page standards status: Informative

Below is a glossary of terms used in this implementation guide.

Data Minimization

A privacy principle embedded in the Health Cards framework that aims to disclose only the minimum necessary information to verifiers.

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)

A standard for healthcare data exchange that defines how healthcare information can be exchanged between different systems.

Health Wallet

An application that enables users to store, manage, and present Health Cards. It allows users to retrieve Health Cards from issuers and selectively share them with verifiers.

Holder

The user who stores credentials in their Health Wallet and controls when and with whom to share them.

Issuer

An entity (such as a lab, pharmacy, healthcare provider, EHR, public health department, or immunization information system) that generates verifiable credentials with cryptographic signatures.

JWS (JSON Web Signature)

The technical format used to encode Health Cards with secure digital signatures.

QR Code

A machine-readable optical label that can contain Health Card data, allowing for paper-based or digital display of credentials.

Revocation

The process of invalidating a previously issued Health Card, which can be done individually using revocation identifiers or by revoking an entire issuing key.

SHC

Abbreviation for SMART Health Card.

SHL

Abbreviation for SMART Health Link.

SMART on FHIR

A set of open specifications that integrate apps with Electronic Health Records, portals, Health Information Exchanges, and other health IT systems.

SMART Health Card

A verifiable credential containing signed healthcare data that can be stored and presented by users for various purposes like proving vaccination status or sharing health information.

SMART Health Link

An extension of the Health Cards framework that enables storage and sharing of more information than can be kept on a single SMART Health Card (using cloud storage) and provides additional sharing options including limited-time access, long-term sharing of data that can evolve over time, and protecting access with a PIN that can be communicated to the recipient out-of-band.

Trust Framework

A set of rules that help verifiers decide which issuers to trust, though SMART Health Cards can operate independently of any specific framework.

Verifiable Credential (VC)

A tamper-evident credential with authorship that can be cryptographically verified.

Verifier

An entity that receives Health Cards from holders/users and validates their cryptographic signatures to ensure authenticity.