Stream: smart
Topic: multiple backends
Jason Walonoski (Mar 16 2016 at 12:07):
Newbie lazy question (why read when I can ask) -- can a SMART app talk to multiple FHIR servers on the backend? I'm thinking about an app that pulls together my medical record from multiple disconnected providers.
Grahame Grieve (Mar 16 2016 at 12:09):
either it has to oauth with each of the servers, or they need to share the token. The latter option is .... the sort of thing that makes Justin R's skin crawl, but it justified in some circumstances. Otherwise, there's need for some delegation process, which is in the heart/oauth space but not fully characterised by either at this point
Pascal Pfiffner (Mar 16 2016 at 12:21):
Our clients don't support multiple backends (AFAIK), but then again, nothing prevents you from building a SMART app that instantiates as many client instances as you want and your logic manages and mashes the resources each of these fetch.
David Hay (Mar 16 2016 at 15:59):
oddly enough - that's what my past post was about!
Jason Walonoski (Mar 16 2016 at 18:57):
@David Hay Ah, I see that now. I'll give it a read.
Kevin Shekleton (Mar 17 2016 at 05:56):
@Jason Walonoski This is certainly possible but as Grahame mentioned, the authorization bit will be tricky. Unless you're able to authorize to each FHIR server via B2B, your SMART app will get directed to a login page for each FHIR server connection.
Brian Postlethwaite (Mar 17 2016 at 05:58):
Yes, that's exactly what we have happening with our app.
We read from one system, and then submit to another.
David Hay (Mar 17 2016 at 06:30):
still better than not having that functionality at all! And there mechanisms for the authentication to last for a reasonable time making the user experience ok at minimal extra complexity...
Josh Mandel (Mar 17 2016 at 15:31):
Agreed. We basically say "this isn't the problem SMART is designed to solve, but SMART's certainly a useful building block."
Last updated: Apr 12 2022 at 19:14 UTC
