PCS Release Management
| Date | FHIR Release | Package | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | Pharmacy Claim Standard, EG PCS1.0.0 | N/A | This is the initial release of the Canadian FHIR Pharmacy eClaims Standard |
| Target Q2-Q3 2025 | PCS version 1.1.0 | Trial Use - TBD |
Trial Use Standard
HL7 has developed terms that describe the level of stability and implementation readiness associated with different aspects of the specification. PCS has set a target for a Trial Use standard to be published in 2025.
Following is an excerpt from the HL7 website that describes a Trial Use Standard:
This content has been well reviewed and is considered by the authors to be ready for use in production systems. It has been subjected to ballot and approved as an official standard. However, it has not yet seen widespread use in production across the full spectrum of environments it is intended to be used in. In some cases, there may be documented known issues that require implementation experience to determine appropriate resolutions for.
Release Management / Message Versionning
Over time we can expect that new releases of the specification and new versions of the IG will become available.
The IG release number will be identified using the format "Major.Minor.Publication", eg 1.2.3., where 1=Major, 2=Minor and 3= Publication. Only the Major and Minor changes will impact the package and validator.
The message version number will be the "Major.minor" and this is identified in the message instance.
| Type | Description | Example Scenario | Example IG Version | Example Message Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | Substantive Changes and/or breaking changes where updates to message structure required | New mandatory element is added, new transaction type is added | 2.0.0 | 2.0 |
| Minor | An update that includes minor substantive changes (potentially including limited breaking changes) | New/optional extension is added, new data element becomes supported/optional | 1.2.1 | 1.2 |
| Publication | No substantive changes; typically for terminology updates, wording updates only Applies only to the IG version |
Value set is updated to include additional values, New example message is added. Note: This is NOT identified in the message instance as they are not updated when there is a new publication of the IG |
1.1.2 | 1.1 |
Release Identification, Message Instance
On the inbound message, we will find the release identified as Major.minor (eg 1.0) in the Bundle.meta.tag:version.code. Note: The "publication" is not used in the message instance and will only be part of the Implementation Guide (IG) release number.
For Major releases and minor releases with impact to the structure defintions/validation, the Bundle.profile and Message Header.profile will include a reference to the release (eg 1.0). These profile identifers are used to validate the message instance against a particular version of the profiles.
Example: http: /pharmacyeClaims.ca/FHIR/1.0/StructureDefinition/profile-BundleThe release number is not identified within the API specification which allows the same API to be used for multiple versions of the message. Otherwise, the API would need to change each time there is a new version which is not desirable. discuss
Packages
As part of the IG, a published "package" will be available. This will include all profiles, value sets, examples and capability statements. It can be downloaded to a FHIR server and used to validate message instances against the specified profiles.
Maintenance
It is expected that releases will be tightly managed and that all new Packages will be published for major and minor changes. Each publication will include a full list of changes to the prior version.