Capability Statements

This section provides an overview of the formal CapabilityStatement resources defined for CA:FeX. These artifacts define the expected resource support, interactions, and search behavior for each actor-option pairing across the CA:FeX exchange model.

For foundational context, see Document Exchange.

What is a CapabilityStatement?

A CapabilityStatement is a FHIR conformance resource that declares the specific RESTful behaviors a FHIR client or server supports. CA:FeX defines a set of actor- and option-specific CapabilityStatements to guide implementation and validation. These are linked below.

Notes:

1. Querying for a CapabilityStatement is a recommended first step before initiating search or submission transactions. See RESTful API Interactions for HTTP behavior expectations when unsupported operations are attempted.
2. Conformance requirements apply by actor and exchange option. A system SHALL meet the requirements for each option it claims in its CapabilityStatement. For example, an Option B Data Responder must support the document discovery and retrieval requirements defined in its actor-option artifact. Within the generic server artifact, resource support is conditional: Binary support is SHOULD and Binary read is SHALL, so a server adopting Binary must support read. These generic expectations do not replace the requirements of a claimed option.

CA:FeX Server (Document Exchange)

The cafex-server CapabilityStatement describes document submission, discovery and retrieval using Binary, Bundle and DocumentReference. It provides general server expectations; the actor-option CapabilityStatements below define the requirements for each claimed option.

• CA:FeX Server CapabilityStatement

CapabilityStatements by Actor

Below are the formally defined CapabilityStatements grouped by CA:FeX Actor and their respective Options. Each one links to its Simplifier-hosted rendering and supports XML/JSON access.

Data Responder

Data Consumer

Data Source

Data Recipient

Additional Notes

• Each CapabilityStatement reflects Option-specific conformance for actors and should be treated as normative for that role.
• The CA:FeX Server CapabilityStatement and the actor-option CapabilityStatements have distinct scopes. In particular, consult the Option B artifacts for $generate-metadata and the Option D artifacts for $summary.
• Use of FHIR operations like $docref and $summary are described in Operations.

For detailed actor behavior and transaction design, refer to:

• Document Exchange
• RESTful API Interactions