Hira developing single API access for developers

The team behind the development of Hira, New Zealand’s national health information platform, recently shared its plan to build a connector plane that gives application developers access to Hira APIs

Based on a recent update, the connector plane will provide a “single, secure entry point to APIs supported by Hira.” It adds that the technology will ensure “health information can be accessed, shared and updated securely.”

HOW IT WORKS

The Hira program supports developers in building innovative applications that use Hira APIs. In these applications, API gateways and the connector plane will work in the background to validate a user’s credentials before granting access to data, explains Hira Technology and Delivery Director Gerard Keenan. “Auditing and reporting (will) take place simultaneously,” he added.

According to Keenan, privacy and security features are currently being built into the connector aircraft, which should go into production later this year.

THE GREATER CONTEXT

Hira is currently in the first phase of implementation, which includes the development of the New Zealand Patient Summary. It is planned to be released in mid-2024the patient summary provides consumers and healthcare providers with access to essential health information, such as demographics, medications, vaccination status and laboratory results.

Meanwhile, the Hira team introduced a new one in June FHIR-based API that gives users access to the Medicines Data Repository.

An event notification service is also planned to be added to the platform soon, once the team can choose a provider through a proposal request process. This feature allows healthcare providers to know the changes in their patients’ information.