Binary resources are used to store and retrieve unstructured documents or raw content such as PDFs, images, or CDA files. These are often referenced via the Attachment.url field in other FHIR resources such as DocumentReference.
Use Cases
- Retrieve original document content (e.g., scanned reports, C-CDA documents, PDFs, or images)
- Access files attached to
DocumentReferenceorDiagnosticReport
Access Pattern
To download a binary file: GET /fhir/R4/Binary/{id}
Example: GET /fhir/R4/Binary/4c4c925d60847d72f652c7f7
A valid Bearer token must be included in the request. Binary download URLs are protected and require authentication for access depending on configuration, some URLs may be time-limited or pre-signed.
Content Format
Binary content is returned in the format the source system supplied, such as XML, PDF, or an image, and its format is given in the Content-Type response header. Documents are not converted to another format. To accept only certain formats, send an Accept header that lists them. For a document in any other format, HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type is returned. The same applies to documents retrieved in Canada.
Required Scope
The scope varies depending on the resource referencing the Binary. In most cases, the scope required is the same scope used to access the referencing resource (for example, patient.read or document.read).
For more information, go to: OAuth 2.0 Authentication