July 2024: API News and Roadmap

We're thrilled to share some exciting news! At Healthie, we are committed to enhancing your developer experience. In the coming months, we'll be investing in refining our documentation, SDKs, Webhooks, and more to make your work smoother and more efficient.

To keep you in the loop with all the latest and greatest updates, we're launching periodic API updates packed with valuable insights and sneak peeks into our roadmap.

Recent API Releases

We rolled out the following API updates effective May 1, 2024: Updated GraphQL API error messaging:

Current GraphQL error messaging is generic and does not currently provide detailed information about the cause of the error.
New error messaging conforms to the latest GraphQL specifications, improving the developer experience.
For the next 180 days both the current non-conforming (generic) errors and the new conforming (specific) errors will be visible in the platform.
As of November 1, 2024 all non-conforming errors will be removed. deprecated.

Additional API & webhook releases

Added Webhooks for when sent faxes are created or updated.
Added a Webhook send when a patient is updated via a chart note to improve patient sync.
Fixed the recurring forms endpoint.
End-to-End pointers implemented.
Standardized dates to conform with ISO8601 standards.
We are changing the pharmacy GraphQL query spelling, but will continue to support the misspelled phamracy query until Thursday, September 14, 2024.

All features added to the platform are also available directly via the API. You can find full API updates in our monthly release notes.

Introducing Versioning

We are excited to introduce a new methodology for our GraphQL API: Versioning. This 8/1/2024 update allows you to opt-in to the latest version of our API, ensuring that you avoid any breaking changes as we continue to deploy updates and improvements.

By adopting API versioning, we aim to provide a more robust and flexible API experience, allowing you to seamlessly integrate and benefit from our ongoing enhancements.

How does versioning work with the GraphQL API?

When we make updates to the GraphQL API that may create a breaking code change, we create a new version. Each version is carefully documented and includes all the modifications made since the last version. By opting into version, you can control when and how you adopt new features and changes, eliminating the risk of breaking changes to your integration.

However, we will continue to make non-breaking updates and improvements through accretion.

This means you won't need to opt-in to use these changes, as they will be available in all versions, including the baseline.

2024-08-01 Version

Our first version will include GraphQL standardizations for dates and IDs. This update brings several benefits to our GraphQL API users, including:

Consistent Data Format: Standardized formats for dates and IDs ensure data is uniform, reducing errors and simplifying data handling.
Improved Interoperability: Easier integration with other systems and tools that also follow standard GraphQL practices.
Enhanced Data Validation: Stronger type enforcement helps catch errors early, leading to more reliable and predictable GraphQL API interactions.
Streamlined Development: Simplified data parsing and processing speeds up development time and reduces the need for custom handling.

While optional to remain on your current version, we do recommend regularly opting-in to the latest version for the best API experience.

Learn more about opting in to the 8/1 version here.

DoseSpot API V2 Migration

Healthie offers an E-Rx integration with DoseSpot as an add-on to your Healthie plan, which enables clinical providers to prescribe medications electronically on behalf of their patients.

As an API user, we want to inform you about an upcoming update from DoseSpot: the release of V2 of their API. This new version will necessitate updates to some of our own APIs in Healthie.

The primary reason for migrating from V1 to V2 is to transition our Drug Database from Lexicomp, which is being discontinued, to Medispan. Unlike Lexicomp, which is updated monthly, Medispan provides weekly updates. This means your providers will have access to the latest drugs on the market and the removal of outdated or discontinued medications, ensuring optimal patient care and safety.

We are actively working with DoseSpot to release the V2 on the Healthie side. We will be testing in staging starting next week and will aim to go live in the upcoming weeks.

While we aim to provide advance notice for any workflow or API changes, some changes have surfaced late in the implementation process. These will result in behavior changes, potentially requiring action on your part:

Drug allergies that have been synced to DoseSpot cannot have their name changed (other attributes are ok to change). The UI will prevent this and display an information notice indicating this. Users can delete and re-create the allergy to work around this. This also impacts API users.
Medications synced to DoseSpot cannot have their 'name' or 'dosage' changed (other attributes are ok). The UI will prevent this and display an informational message. Users can delete and recreate medications if necessary.
The `monograph_path` on `prescription` in the API will become unavailable after we convert to DoseSpot’s API V2. We are exploring alternatives for known impacted customers.
Previously, medications could be selected by patients without a dosage, preventing proper coding and interaction checks. With this new release, patients must select a medication dosage. This change might cause some friction with patients who do not know their dosage, but we will provide dosage options to assist them.

We apologize for the inconvenience these updates may cause, but we are also excited for the migration to DoseSpot’s API V2. We can expect to see notable improvements in the e-prescribing experience.

To be notified of this release, please subscribe to our Portal Card here.

Updates to Healthie Webhook UI

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the developer experience, we are making updates to the Webhook UI. With this upcoming release, we will now allow a single webhook to have many events instead of one per webhook. This will help streamline the Webhook experience and make adding webhooks with many events easier. Our target release date is Thursday 8/1/2024.

On the webhooks list page you’ll notice that instead of showing the actual event name, we now just show the number of selected events for the webhook.

When you add or edit a webhook you’ll now see a Webhook Event Types accordion that you can click to open. Once opened, you’ll see a list of events you can choose by clicking on the checkbox.

Learn more about our Webhook updates here.

GraphQL Validations

By leveraging GraphQL for validations, the API development process can benefit from real-time error detection, detailed and informative error messages, customizable validation based on usage patterns, adherence to standard specifications, and tailored solutions for specific needs. This approach not only improves the developer experience but also significantly enhances the end-user experience, addressing previous feedback about the API experience – making it more intuitive and reliable.

GraphQL for API validations supports the following:

Real-Time Feedback and Tooling: Alerts developers to issues as they happen, allowing for immediate customer feedback and error correction.
Enhanced Error Messages: Provides specific, informative errors that explain the cause, improving user understanding and experience.
Customizable Validations: Tailors validations based on frequently used APIs, ensuring the most impactful areas are prioritized.
Conformance to Standards: Adheres to the GraphQL specification, ensuring compatibility, consistency, and reliability.
Tailored Solutions: Built specifically for Healthie, addressing unique requirements and feedback, enhancing both internal and external usability.

GraphQL validations is multi-phased work planned for Q3 2024. Subscribe to our Portal Card here for real-time notifications.

👉 Find all upcoming releases in our Product Portal. You can subscribe to the releases that you want to closely follow, and receive real-time updates as they go live.

If you have any questions about new or upcoming releases, please reach out to

hello@gethealthie.com.