Use the $member-match operation for Azure API for FHIR

$member-match is an operation that is defined as part of the Da Vinci Health Record Exchange (HRex). In this guide, we walk through what $member-match is and how to use it.

Overview of $member-match

The $member-match operation was created to help with the payer-to-payer data exchange, by allowing a new payer to get a unique identifier for a patient from the patient’s previous payer. The $member-match operation requires three pieces of information to be passed in the body of the request:

• Patient demographics

• The old coverage information

• The new coverage information (not required based on our implementation)

After the data is passed in, the Azure API for FHIR validates that it can find a patient that exactly matches the demographics passed in with the old coverage information passed in. If a result is found, the response is a bundle with the original patient data plus a new identifier added in from the old payer, and the old coverage information.

Example of $member-match

To use $member-match, use the following call.

POST {{fhirurl}}/Patient/$member-match

You need to include a parameters resource in the body that includes the patient, the old coverage, and the new coverage. For a JSON representation, see $member-match example request.

If a single match is found, you receive a 200 response with another identifier added.

If the $member-match can't find a unique match, you receive a 422 response with an error code.

Next steps

In this guide, you learned about the $member-match operation. Next, you can learn about testing the Da Vinci Payer Data Exchange IG in Touchstone, which requires the $member-match operation.