FHIR API Procurement Checklist for Multi-Site Provider Groups
Most vendor demos show API capability. Fewer vendors can prove production-grade interoperability across multiple sites, specialties, and payer workflows. This checklist is designed for procurement teams that need evidence, not promises.
Checklist Category 1: Standards and Certification
- Confirm ONC certification status and exact certified version for deployed modules.
- Require explicit support statement for FHIR R4 and US Core profiles used by your workflows.
- Request roadmap and SLA for adoption of updated implementation guides.
Checklist Category 2: Security and Access Model
- Document SMART on FHIR authorization flow and token lifecycle controls.
- Verify app registration governance and tenant-level API key management.
- Require audit logging coverage for API reads, writes, and bulk export operations.
Checklist Category 3: Multi-Site Data Operations
- Prove patient identity matching accuracy across sites and merged records.
- Demonstrate cross-site encounter retrieval and reconciliation behavior.
- Validate data provenance and source tagging on inbound exchanged resources.
Checklist Category 4: Performance and Reliability
- Request production metrics for latency, error rate, and timeout behavior.
- Define rate limits and guaranteed throughput by contract.
- Set escalation and remediation windows for interface failures.
Checklist Category 5: Contract Controls
- Add language for API availability SLAs and support response times.
- Cap fees for API enablement, interface changes, and version upgrades.
- Require documented export formats and periodic exit-readiness testing.
Pair this checklist with our selection process guide and data exit contract playbook before final vendor scoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What FHIR API evidence should we request during procurement?
Request production metrics, implementation guide support details, security model documentation, and real workflow demonstrations for your care settings.
Is certification enough to prove interoperability readiness?
No. Certification is necessary but not sufficient. You also need contract-level performance commitments and production validation for your specific workflows.
How do multi-site organizations reduce interface failure risk?
Use explicit SLAs, quarterly integration reviews, and site-level data quality controls for identity matching, provenance tracking, and reconciliation workflows.
Editorial Standards
Last reviewed:
Methodology
- Mapped ONC certification and interoperability requirements to enterprise procurement checkpoints.
- Prioritized controls that are contract-enforceable and operationally measurable.
- Focused on multi-site provider groups with heterogeneous workflows and integration complexity.