Introduction

The core HL7 FHIR specification identifies resources and their associated attributes, but intentionally stops short of dictating implementation specific details.  This allows for the standard to be adopted in a variety of regions and use-cases, but also introduces ambiguity.  Profiling picks up where the core FHIR specification leaves off, reducing ambiguity by specifying a security architecture, further defining/constraining resource attributes, and specifying terminologies and value sets.

Relevant Profile Projects

Argonaut Project

Argonaut is a collaborative, time-limited project that seeks to support, apply and accelerate the foundational FHIR work being done at HL7.

Argonaut Data Query Profiles

The Argonaut project is working to ensure the 2015 Edition Common Clinical Data Set (CCDS) Data elements can be stored and queried as FHIR resources in a well documented and interoperable fashion. To this end, the Argonaut Profiles define the minimum mandatory elements, extensions and terminology requirements that *MUST* be present in the profiled FHIR resource.

Argonaut Data Query Implementation Guide

The implementation guide is the collection of security specifications, profile definitions and supporting documentation which outlines how an application developer would utilize FHIR to build an interoperable application. The guide satisfies use cases for patient and clinician access to health data, ensuring the ONC 2015 Common Clinical Data Set elements are included and modeled in a standard format.

Where to learn more

• Published Argonaut Data Query Implementation Guide - The publicly available, published HTML version of the Argonaut Data Query Implementation Guide. Go here if you are an app developer interested in implementing Argonaut profiles.
• Argonaut Data and Document Query Implementation Guide Repository - The source code for the Implementation Guide, hosted in a git repository on GitHub. Go here if you are interested in contributing to the profiles, standards and documentation which are the core deliverables of the Argonaut project.
• Argonaut Project Wiki - Go here to learn more about the Argonaut project.