Introduction

Welcome to PCEHR JConnector application!

The PCEHR JConnector is an open source reference implementation of a PCEHR System client. The scope of the project includes:

1.Providing sample code for connecting a client application to the PCEHR System via the PCEHR B2B Gateway.
2.Providing an online forum, where questions about connecting to the PCEHR System can be raised and answered.
3.Using feedback to continuously improve the sample code, as well as the general experience of software vendors looking to integrate with the PCEHR System.

The sample code brings to life the technical specifications published by Nehta, by demonstrating how a Clinical Information System (CIS) would interact with the PCEHR System. The sample code will be updated to incorporate future technical specification publications by Nehta.

The intent is for a software vendor to use this sample code as a guide for implementing products that integrate with the PCEHR System. During the implementation process, a vendor can register for Notice of Connection (NOC) testing with DHS Medicare. As part of the welcome pack for that registration, a vendor will receive a set of NASH certificates, test data and information on web service end points to connect to PCEHR system. This open source site does not include NOC environment information or NASH certificates.

The PCEHR JConnector project is a Java based implementation, released under the permissive Apache 2.0 open source license. A .NET sample client is also under development.

The implementation is available on a web-based source code repository SourceForge at https://sourceforge.net/projects/pcehrvendor/ . It provides a step by step guide for implementing connectivity to PCEHR system using the PCEHR JConnector classes. The current release (v1.0) includes -

•Generation of client stubs based on the Apache CXF Framework
•Creation of service invocation layer that wraps the raw client stubs
•Transport Layer Security (TLS) mutual authentication configuration
•Loosely coupled User Interface based on the Java Swing framework (Can be easily decoupled from the service invocation layer)
•Basic logging to capture SOAP requests and responses
•JUnit test suite and test results for key transactions
•The first iteration of this tool is focused on invoking the PCEHR services. It reads a prepared CDA document from file. Generating the CDAs dynamically to pass into these services will be provided in a later release.
•Supporting artefacts such as WSDLs, class diagrams, JConnector developer guide, UI input parameters guide, links and references to published specifications, and mapping of PCEHR JConnector to the transactions described in Nehta’s Logical Service Specification (LSS) and Technical Service Specification (TSS) documents.

PCEHR Java Connector future releases are planned to include:
•Dynamically generated CDA documents
•Multi-threading framework – allowing documents to be uploaded without impacting concurrent usage of the UI
•Smart stubs – to enable simulation of PCEHR B2B web service response. This would allow vendors to confirm their end to end impmlementation without requiring connection to a PCEHR test environment.
•Enhanced error handling and logging
•Enhanced UI to more closely represent a CIS system (rather than a test harness for individual services)
•Improved validation of request /response messages

Feedback on priority of enhancements is welcome

A description of the JConnector implementation can be found at : [Building a client web service consumer]