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=﻿Query for Documents=

The Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) Web Service Interface specifications define the core set of standard services to be implemented by each node on the NHIN network in order to exchange interoperable health information over the Internet. Health Information Organizations (HIOs) which act as nodes on the NHIN are termed NHIOs. These functional services provide discovery and information exchange capabilities and rest upon a foundational set of messaging, security, and privacy services. This document presents the NHIN Query for Documents Web Service Interface specification. Together with the Retrieve Documents Service Interface specification, Query for Documents enables the NHIN’s Query/Retrieve information exchange pattern This specification is related to the following NHIN specifications: 1. **__Messaging Platform__ –** specifies a base set of messaging standards and web service protocols which must be implemented by each NHIN node and applies to all transactions. All NHIN inter-nodal messages are SOAP messages over HTTP using web services, must be encrypted and digitally signed. 2. **__Authorization Framework__** – defines the exchange of metadata used to characterize each NHIN request. The purpose of that exchange is to provide the responder with the information needed to make an authorization decision for the requested function. Each initiating message must convey information regarding end user attributes and authentication using SAML 2.0 assertions. 3. **__Patient Discovery__ –** defines the mechanism by which one NHIN node can query another to reciprocally establish patient identity and to determine if a node may be a source of information for a specific patient. It represents the first of three steps in the typical NHIN Query/Retrieve information exchange pattern. 4. **__Retrieve Documents__** – allows an initiating NHIN node to retrieve specific documents from a responding node using the Document Reference IDs obtained via a prior Query for Documents transaction. It represents the final of the three steps in the typical NHIN Query/Retrieve information exchange pattern. 5. **__Web Services Registry__** – enables nodes to discover each other through interactions with the NHIN UDDI registry, which lists NHIN nodes, the NHIN web services supported by each node, and how to reach those service end points. In this context, it might be needed to identify target nodes.

Together, the Messaging Platform and the Authorization Framework define the foundational messaging, security and privacy mechanisms for the NHIN.

2.2 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to capture the XCA specifications for Querying of Documents with the goal of aiding implementers to understand the ITI-38 in the context of its use in the NHIN. We highly recommend that implementers of this NHIN specification review IHE’s XCA in order to gain a more complete understanding of the transactions described and their relationship to other IHE transactions and profiles. The primary audiences for NHIN Specifications are the individuals responsible for implementing software solutions that realize these interfaces at Health Information Organizations (HIOs) who are, or seek to be, nodes on the NHIN network. This specification document is intended to provide an understanding of the context in which the web service interface is meant to be used, the behavior of the interface, the Web Services Description Language (WSDLs) used to define the service, and any Extensible Markup Language (XML) schemas used to define the content