HealthSparq FHIR API: Accessing the Provider Directory

Details

CHRISTUS Health Plan utilizes HealthSparq to provide the FHIR Provider Directory API, which manages provider directory information. The system is designed for external applications (APP) integration. A key technical detail highlighted is the authentication methodology: instead of using the standard JOT client and secret credentials, this service employs a public token mechanism. To access the API, developers must first obtain a token from HealthSparq's public login service. This requires sending a POST request containing specific identifying information (e.g., insurerCode: CHRISTUS_I, brandCode: CHRISTUS) in JSON format. The resulting 'Subject-Token' must then be included in the header of all subsequent calls to the FHIR Provider Directory API. This public token has an expiration period of 15 minutes, necessitating that third-party developers implement a process to request new tokens before expiry. The document provides specific URLs and cURL examples for both the token acquisition endpoint and the base FHIR directory service URL, serving as a technical implementation guide for developers.