Patient360 Structured Retrieval

Patient360 Structured Retrieval is the standard workflow for retrieving patient records from connected health information networks, processing those records, and storing the resulting data in your Health Gorilla tenant.

Unlike document-based query methods, this workflow produces structured, normalized patient data that can be queried through standard FHIR APIs and used in the Patient Chart.

This approach is intended for applications that need a complete, reusable view of a patient’s clinical history—not just access to individual documents.

Overview

Health Gorilla supports two primary approaches for retrieving patient data:

• Structured retrieval retrieves records from connected networks, processes them, and stores normalized data in your tenant
• Document query (HIN) retrieves available documents without processing or storage

These approaches serve different purposes.

Structured retrieval is designed for building a longitudinal patient dataset, while HIN is designed for on-demand document access.

All requests require OAuth 2.0 authentication with appropriate scopes.

When to Use Patient360 Structured Retrieval

Use this workflow when your application needs to work with patient data, not just view documents.

Typical use cases include:

• Powering a clinical viewer (Patient Chart)
• Aggregating patient history across multiple organizations
• Supporting clinical decision-making workflows
• Enabling downstream analytics or data reuse
• Providing a normalized dataset for application logic

If your use case is limited to retrieving and displaying documents (for example, C-CDA ingestion), the HIN Document Query may be a better fit.

Patient Identity Requirement

Structured retrieval operates on a Health Gorilla patient record.

Before initiating retrieval:

• The patient must exist in your tenant
• You must reference the Health Gorilla patient ID
• The patient record should include sufficient demographic data

Accurate and complete demographics directly impact retrieval success. Missing or incomplete data may reduce match rates or limit results returned from networks.

How It Works

Patient360 Structured Retrieval abstracts a complex, multi-step process into a single workflow.

When $p360-retrieve is called:

1. Health Gorilla identifies where patient data may exist across connected networks
2. Relevant documents are retrieved from responding systems
3. Documents are processed through normalization pipelines
4. Structured clinical data is extracted where possible
5. Data is standardized into FHIR resources
6. Duplicate and overlapping data is reconciled
7. The resulting dataset is stored in your tenant

This allows your application to work with a unified patient record instead of managing multiple document sources.

Core Operation

Structured retrieval is initiated using the $p360-retrieve operation:

GET /fhir/R4/DocumentReference/$p360-retrieve?patient={hg_patient_id}

This call starts the retrieval and processing workflow.

It does not return the full dataset in the response. Instead, it triggers background processing, and results become available after completion.

Asynchronous Behavior

Structured retrieval is asynchronous by design.

This means:

• The initial request confirms that processing has started
• Retrieval and processing continue in the background
• Data becomes available incrementally as processing completes

This design allows the system to handle large volumes of data and multiple network interactions without blocking client applications.

Relationship to Patient Chart

The Patient Chart relies entirely on structured data stored in your tenant.

Structured retrieval is required to:

• Retrieve external data
• Normalize and reconcile it
• Store it in a format suitable for rendering

If $p360-retrieve has not been executed, the Patient Chart will not display patient data—even if documents exist in external networks.

Structured Retrieval vs. HIN Document Query

These two approaches are complementary but serve different goals.

Patient360 Structured Retrieval

Use when you need a complete, structured patient record:

• Data is processed and normalized
• Records are deduplicated and reconciled
• Data is stored and reusable
• Supports Patient Chart and FHIR queries

HIN Document Query

Use when you need direct access to documents:

• No processing or normalization
• No deduplication
• No storage in tenant
• Best for document-centric workflows

Key Takeaways

• Patient360 Structured Retrieval creates a usable, structured patient dataset
• $p360-retrieve initiates retrieval, processing, and storage
• The workflow is asynchronous
• Structured retrieval is required for Patient Chart
• Use HIN when you only need documents, not structured data