Table of Contents

What is the PS-CA?

The Patient Summary-CA is:

  • an electronic patient summary for use at the point of care comprised of, at minimum, the required elements of the Patient Summary-CA data set and specifications.

  • a health record extract, at a snapshot in time, comprised of a standardized collection of clinical and contextual information (retrospective, concurrent, prospective), including the minimum necessary and sufficient data to inform a patient's treatment at the point of care.

  • condition-independent and specialty-agnostic, irrespective of the condition of the patient or the treatment sought or specialty of the provider delivering care.

The PS-CA Interoperability Bundle includes four documents, providing the details of an implementable, testable Patient Summary-CA specification, based on the IHE International Patient Summary (IPS) specification.

To learn more, go here.

What is the CA:FeX?

The CA:FeX Interoperability Specifications (Canadian FHIR Exchange (CA:FeX)) seek to promote FHIR RESTful exchange patterns, developed by industry-leading FHIR standards that can be applied on top of an existing non-FHIR infrastructure just as easily as it can be applied on top of FHIR servers.

The current version of CA:FeX is focused on the FHIR RESTful exchange of documents, which FHIR offers multiple structures and patterns to achieve. CA:FeX aims to provide clarity to implementers by identifying some of the choices currently available using FHIR, ranging from simple to a higher level of sophistication. As the development of CA:FeX continues, the Interoperability Specifications may evolve into a more formal Integration Profile (similar to existing international profiles reviewed below) that provides more comprehensive guidance on FHIR RESTful exchange patterns than what currently exists today.

To learn more, go here.

What is the RA?

The Reference Architecture (RA) content, to support interoperability, provides guidance on how to apply specific integration patterns that improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information in Canada. Systems that implement these capabilities can be represented by standardized interoperability patterns that are reusable across a wider array of eco-system solutions. The RA focuses on highlighting key elements of standardization that can be employed in solution design at system level. The elements presented in here are patterns that will be referred to in Companion Guides and Interoperability Specification documentation of specific priority areas (e.g., Patient Summary, e-Referral, etc.).

A large number of the integration patterns presented herein are interoperability profiles developed by IHE International. These patterns are based on open standards and are regularly tested at international interoperability testing events - Connectathons. This provides great value to both vendors and purchasers in that it creates a catalog of capabilities that can be used for system wide eco-system design. By following best practices and international standards, this Reference Architecture can grow over time to represent a pan-Canadian point of view and become an approach to interoperability.

In addition to existing published IHE profiles, the Reference Architecture also provides detailed implementation guidance for areas that contain Canadian specific implementation requirements (e.g., how to use IDP profiles - IUA, guidance on security and auditing - ATNA, etc.).

To learn more, go here.

How do I participate in the conversations and ask questions about the PS-CA, CA:FeX and/or RA?

We invite you to join in on the conversations about the PS-CA and CA:FeX by joining the Patient Summaries Working Group on InfoCentral. If you do not yet have an InfoCentral account, please register for an account and then Join the Patient Summaries Working Group, located in the menu under Communities | Working Groups.

How do I provide feedback on the specifications?

Each release will contain details about how to provide feedback. For details, refer to the individual release page for the version on which you wish to provide feedback. 

What is a Projectathon?

A Projectathon, one step of the complete testing process, is a best-practice collaborative approach where implementers test specifications and solutions using IHE Methodology and Tools to accelerate interoperability. For more information, please visit the Projectathon: Prototyping and Validation page.

Will there be information webinars?

Yes, there will be informational webinars covering the interoperability products to provide additional guidance and opportunities for discussion. These webinars will be posted in InfoCentral Patient Summary Events calendar. When new events are added to the calendar, Infoway will create a post in the Patient Summary Working Group Forum to notify you. Please ensure you are subscribed to Notifications to receive updates via your email.


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