CH EPR mHealth (R4)
3.0.0 - DSTU3 Switzerland flag

This page is part of the CH EPR mHealth (R4) (v3.0.0: DSTU3) based on FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) R4. This is the current published version. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions

Get Access Token [ITI-71]

This section describes the national extension for the Swiss EPR to the Get Access Token [ITI-71] transaction defined in the IUA profile published in the IHE IT Infrastructure Technical Framework Trial Implementation “Internet User Authorization”. In this transaction, the OAuth Authorization Code grant type option is enforced for security reasons.

Scope

The transaction is used by an IUA Authorization Client (e.g., portals and primry systems) to pass claims to the IUA Authorization Server and to retrieve an access token to be used for authorization of the access to protected ressources of the Swiss EPR.

Depending on the claims made by the IUA Authorization Client, two different flavors of access tokens SHALL be provided by the IUA Authorization Server:

  • Basic Access Token – IUA compliant access token authorizing access to the EPR end-points which are NOT protected by the EPR role and attribute based authorization (i.e. for the PIXm endpoints).
  • Extended Access Token – IUA compliant access token for the EPR endpoints which are protected by the EPR role and attribute based authorization (i.e. for the MHD endpoints).

When an IUA Authorization Client is authorized, it may launch SMART on FHIR Apps using the EHR launch. When launched the SMART on FHIR Apps inherit the basic access authorization from the launching app1 and may retrieve Extended Access Token for EPR endpoints protected by the EPR role and attribute based authorization (e.g. to retrieve documents).

1By claiming a launch indicator, the launch is indicated as a SMART EHR Launch, initiated from a portal or primary system, which has been authorized to access on behalf of the user by the community during onboarding.

Actor Roles

Actor: IUA Authorization Client
Role: Communicates claims and launch information to the IUA Authorization Server and receives JWT access token.
Actor: IUA Authorization Server
Role: Identifies the Authorization Client, authorizes the access on behalf of the user, verifies claims and the authenticated user and responds a JWT Access Token to the IUA Authorization Client to be incorporated into the transactions to access protected resources.

Referenced Standards

  1. IHE ITI Technical Framework Supplement Internet User Authorization (IUA) Revision 2.2
  2. SMART Application Launch Framework Implementation Guide Release 2.1.0

Messages

OAuth 2.1 authorization code grant flow of the IUA Get Access Token transaction:

Interaction Diagram for [ITI-71]UserUserUser AgentUser AgentAuthorization ClientAuthorization ClientAuthorization ServerAuthorization ServerGet Access Token (ITI-71)[Authorization Code Grant][00]Redirect to Authorization Server(authorization request incl requested scopes, resource, etc.)[01]authorization requestAuthorization Server determines access based onuser authentication, consent and/or other policies.[02]Redirect to Client(authorization response with Authorization Code)[03]authorization response[04]Get Access Token Request(client credentials + Authorization Code)[05]Get Access Token Response (access token)
Step Action Parameter Opt (Basic/ Extended). Reference Remark
00, 01 The Authorization Client sends an HTTP GET request to the IUA Authorization Server endpoint. response_type R IUA The value SHALL be code.
    client_id R IUA The ID, the Authorization Client is registered at the IUA Authorization Server2.
    redirect_uri R IUA / SMART on FHIR Used as the callback URL the IUA Authorization Server will send the authorization code to. The URL SHALL match one of the client’s pre-registered redirect URIs.
    state R IUA An unguessable value used by the Authorization Client to track the state between the authorization request and the callback.
    scope R IUA / SMART on FHIR Attributes the Authorization Client claims (see detailed description below).
    aud R SMART on FHIR The URL or array of URL of the Ressource Servers the token is intended to be used for.
    launch R SMART on FHIR An opaque identifier which indicates that a SMART on FHIR App was launched from a portal or primary system which is authorized to access the Swiss EPR as EHR launch.
    code_challenge R IUA Transformed version of code_verifier with code_challenge_method
    code_challenge_method R IUA SHALL be “S256”.
02, 03 The Authorization Server performs an HTTP GET on the Authorization Client callback URL (redirect_uri) conveying the authorization code. code R IUA The authorization code generated by the Authorization Server.
    state R IUA The unguessable value used by the Authorization Client to track the state between the authorization request and the callback.
04 The Authorization Client performs an HTTP POST with parameter as a form-encoded HTTP entity body, passing its client_id and client_secret as an HTTP authorization header field. client_id R IUA The ID the Authorization Client is registered at the IUA Authorization Server2.
    grant_type R IUA Value shall be “authorization_code”.
    code R IUA The authorization
    code_verifier R IUA The original code verifier string.
05 The Authorization Server responds with the access token in the HTML body element. access_token R IUA A string containing the access token which SHALL be a JWT token.
    token_type R IUA The value of the parameter shall be Bearer.
    scope R IUA The scope granted by the Authorization Server.
    expires_in R IUA Maximum duration of 5 minutes.
Description of the HTTP conversation of the transaction.

2For SMART on FHIR Apps launched in EHR mode the client_id SHALL be the ID the portal or primary system which launched the App.

Get Access Token Request

Trigger Events

A user launches a portal or primary system, or a SMART on FHIR App to access data and documents from the Swiss EPR.

Message Semantics

The Authorization Client SHALL send an IUA compliant Authorization Request for the authorization code flow. The Authorization Request SHALL set the scope parameter with one or many scope values as defined in the table below.

Scope Optionality (Basic/ Extended) Type Reference Remark
launch O/R   SMART on FHIR The opaque identifier the SMART on FHIR App was launched with in an EHR launch. The claim is required for SMART on FHIR Apps launched from an portal or primary system.
purpose_of_use O/R token3 See sections below. Value taken from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5 of the CH: EPR value set.
subject_role O/R token See sections below. Only the values for the Role of Healthcare Professionals, Assistants, Patients and Representatives are allowed.
person_id O/R string, CX See sections below. EPR-SPID identifier of the patient’s record and the patient assigning authority formatted in CX syntax.
principal O/O token See sections below. Name of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.
principal_id O/O token See sections below. GLN of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.
group O/O string See sections below. Name of the organization or group an assistant is acting on behalf of.
group_id O/O string See sections below. OID of the organization or group an assistant is acting on behalf of.
access_token_format O/O Strings   SHALL be of value “urn:ietf:params:oauth:token-type:jwt”.

3Token format according FHIR token type.

Overview of the request’s scope parameter. For the explanation see the following sections.

The scope parameter of the request MAY claim the following attributes:

  • There MAY be a scope with name “launch”. If present, it indicates the permission of SMART on FHIR Apps to obtain launch context from a portal or primary system authorized to access the EPR.
  • There MAY be a scope with name “purpose_of_use=token”. If present, the token SHALL convey the coded value of the current transaction’s purpose of use. Allowed values are NORM (normal access) and EMER (emergency access) from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5 of the CH:EPR value set. e.g. purpose_of_use=urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5|NORM
  • There MAY be a scope with name “subject_role=token”. If present, the token SHALL convey the coded value of the subject’s role. The value SHALL be either HCP (healthcare professional), ASS (assistant), REP (representative) or PAT (patient) from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6 of the CH:EPR value set. e.g.: subject_role=urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6|HCP
  • There MAY be a scope with name “person_id=value”. If present, the value SHALL convey the EPR-SPID identifier of the patient’s record and the patient assigning authority formatted in CX syntax. e.g: person_id=761337610435209810^^^&2.16.756.5.30.1.109.6.5.3.1.1&ISO

Depending on the value of the role scope additional scopes are required, as described in the following sections.

Healthcare Professional Extension

In the healthcare professional extension, the scope subject_role SHALL be the code HCP from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6 of the CH:EPR value set.

Assistant Extension

In the assistant extension, the scope subject_role SHALL be the code ASS from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6 of the CH:EPR value set. There SHALL be a scope with name principal_id=value. The value SHALL convey the GLN of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of. There SHALL be a scope with name principal=value. The value SHALL convey the name of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of. There MAY be one or more scopes with name group_id=value and corresponding group=value. If present each value SHALL convey the ID and name of the subject’s organization or group as registered in the EPR HPD. The ID SHALL be an OID in the format of a URN.

Patient Extension

In the patient extension, the scope subject_role SHALL be the code PAT from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6 of the CH:EPR value set. The value of the purpose of use scope SHALL be the code NORM from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5 of the CH:EPR value set.

Representative Extension

In the representative extension, the scope subject_role SHALL be the code REP from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6 of the CH:EPR value set. The token of the purpose_of_use scope SHALL be the code NORM from code system 2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5 of the CH:EPR value set.

Expected Actions

The IUA Authorization Client SHALL support the HTTP conversation of the OAuth 2.1 Authorization Code grant as follows:

When launched, the IUA Authorization Client SHALL perform HTTP GET request with the URL query parameter as defined in Table and with the scope claims described in Table.

If the IUA Authorization Client receives the request from the IUA Authorization Server on the callback URL conveying the authorization code, it SHALL perform the HTTP POST request with the client_id and client_secret in the HTTP authorization header field to resolve the authorization code to the access token.

The IUA Authorization Client SHALL use the access token as defined in IUA Incorporate Access Token transaction, when performing requests to resources of the Swiss EPR4.

Message Example

The first step of the conversation is an HTTP GET which may look like for a Basic Access Token:

GET authorize?
    response_type=code&
    client_id=app-client-id&
    redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%3A9000%2Fcallback&
    launch=xyz123&
    scope=launch+user%2F%2A.%2A+openid+fhirUser&
    state=98wrghuwuogerg97&
    aud=https%3A%2F%2Fehr%2Ffhir&
    code_challenge=ZmVjMmIwMWYyYTNjZWJiNTgyNTgxYzlmOGYyMWM0MWI3YmZhMjQ4YjU5MDc3Mzk4MDBmYTk0OThlNzZiNjAwMw&
    code_challenge_method=S256

An extended access token where at least purpose_of_use (NORM), subject_role (HCP) and person_id are added to the scope may look like:

GET authorize?
    response_type=code&
    client_id=app-client-id&
    redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%3A9000%2Fcallback&
    launch=xyz123&
    scope=launch+user%2F*.*+openid+fhirUser+purpose_of_use%3Durn%3Aoid%3A2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5%7CNORM+subject_role%3Durn%3Aoid%3A2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6%7CHCP+person_id%3D761337610411353650%5E%5E%5E%26amp%3B2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.3%26amp%3BISO%0A&
    code_challenge=ZmVjMmIwMWYyYTNjZWJiNTgyNTgxYzlmOGYyMWM0MWI3YmZhMjQ4YjU5MDc3Mzk4MDBmYTk0OThlNzZiNjAwMw&
    code_challenge_method=S256

The second step of the conversation is an HTTP GET Callback conveying the authorization code and may look like:

GET /callback?code=8V1pr0rJ&state=98wrghuwuogerg97

The third step of the conversation is an HTTP POST sending the authorization code to retrieve the authorization token in the response which may look like:

POST /token HTTP/1.1 
Host: localhost:9001

Accept: application/json
Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Authorization: Basic bXktYXBwOm15LWFwcC1zZWNyZXQtMTIz
grant_type=authorization_code&
code=98wrghuwuogerg97&
code_verifier=qskt4342of74bkncmicdpv2qd143iqd822j41q2gupc5n3o6f1clxhpd2x11&
access_token_format=urn:ietf:params:oauth:token-type:jwt

Get Access Token Response

Message Semantics

The response SHALL either convey a Basic Access Token in JWT format, granting basic access to the EPR (i.e. to access patient data), or an Extended Access Token to access resources protected by the role and attribute based EPR authorization (i.e. read and write documents).

JSON Web Token Option

The Authorization Server and Resource Server SHALL support the IUA JWT extension with the following claims as defined in Table below.

The claim content for the JWT IUA extensions SHALL correspond to the content defined in the XUA specification (see 1.6.4.2 Get X-User Assertion, A5E1).

JWT Claim (Extension) Optionality XUA Attribute EPR Remark
subject_name O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xspa:1.0:subject:subject-id Plain text’s user name.
subject_role O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:2.0:subject:role Code indicating the user role. In the Swiss EPR the value SHALL be taken from the EPR Role Code Value Set.
purpose_of_use O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xspa:1.0:subject:purposeofuse Code indicating the purpose of use. In the Swiss EPR the value SHALL be taken from the EPR Purpose Of Use Value Set.
person_id O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xacml:2.0:resource:resource-id SHALL be the EPR-SPID of the patients EPR.
Attributes of the IUA Get Access Token response in the JWT extension ihe_iua.
The JWT ch_epr extension

The Authorization Server and Resource Server SHALL support the following extensions to the JWT access token for an EPR user:

  • user_id: subject identifier according to Annex 5 E1, section 1.6.4.3.4.2 Message Semantics.
JWT Claim (Extension) Optionality XUA Attribute EPR Remark
user_id R <NameID> child element of the <Subject> Depending on the Extension
user_id_qualifier R Name qualifier attribute of <NameID> Depending on the Extension
Attributes of the IUA Get Access Token response in the JWT extension ch_delegation.
The JWT ch_group extension

The Authorization Server and Resource Server SHALL support the following extensions to the JWT access token for a list of groups a subject is member of:

  • name: Name of the organization/group. The name SHALL be a string.
  • id: The id of the organization/group.The id SHALL be an OID in the format of a URN

The ch_group extension claims shall be wrapped in an “extensions” object with key ‘ch_group’ and a JSON array containing the JSON objects with properties name and id. The id SHALL be an OID in the format of a URN.

ch_group array element Optionality XUA Attribute EPR Remark
name O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xspa:1.0:subject:organization An array of groups with properties name and id.
id O/R urn:oasis:names:tc:xspa:1.0:subject:organization-id An array of group names and group ids.
Attributes of the IUA Get Access Token response in the JWT extension ch_group.
The JWT ch_delegation extension

The Authorization Server and Resource Server shall support the following extensions to the JWT access token:

  • principal (optional) Name of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.
  • principal_id (optional) GLN of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.

The ch_delegation extension claims shall be wrapped in an “extensions” object with key ‘ch_delegation’ and a JSON value object containing the claims. The claim content for the JWT CH:EPR extensions shall correspond to the content defined in the XUA specification (see 1.6.4.2 Get X-User Assertion, A5E1).

JWT Claim (Extension) Optionality XUA Attribute EPR Remark
principal O/R urn:e-health-suisse:principal-name Name of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.
principal_id O/R urn:e-health-suisse:principal-id GLN of the healthcare professional an assistant is acting on behalf of.
Attributes of the IUA Get Access Token response in the JWT extension ch_delegation.
Expected Actions

The IUA Authorization Server SHALL support the HTTP conversation of the OAuth 2.1 Authorization Code grant as follows:

If the IUA Authorization Server receives a request, it SHALL authenticate the user by redirecting the request to a Identity Provider using the Open ID Connect protocol. The Identity Provider authenticates the user based on its internal session management (i.e. by checking the requests cookies or other methods) or by validating the user authentication means and returns the identity token to the IUA Authorization Server.

In case of authentication failure, the IUA Authorization Server SHALL respond with HTTP error code 401 ‘Not authorized’.

The IUA Authorization Server SHALL identify the IUA Authorization Client (portal or primary system) based on the digital signature of the messages send by the IUA Authorization Client. The IUA Authorization Server SHALL use the X.509 certificate provided by the portal or primary system in the TLS connection to authenticate the IUA Authorization Client.

The IUA Authorization Server SHALL verify that the IUA Authorization Client (portal or primary system) is authorized to access the EPR on behalf of the users by checking if the IUA Authorization Client has been registered and authorized by the community during the onboarding process.

For SMART on FHIR Apps launched in an EHR Launch, the IUA Authorization Server SHALL validate the launch scope parameter, by verifying that the portal or primary system which launched the SMART on FHIR App has been registered with this launch parameter value by the community during the onboarding process.

In case of failure, the IUA Authorization Server SHALL respond with HTTP error code 401 ‘Not authorized’.

The IUA Authorization Server SHALL validate the scope claim. Depending on the scope claimed, the IUA Authorization Server SHALL either build a Basic Access Token authorizing basic access to the EPR (i.e. to access patient data), or an Extended Access Token to authorize access to resources protected by the role and attribute based EPR authorization (i.e. read and write documents).

The business rules for the IUA Authorization Server for the Healthcare Professional, Assistant, Patient and Representative Extension SHALL be the same as for Annex 5E1 1.6.4.2.4.4 Expected Actions X-Assertion Provider Extensions.

If successful the IUA Authorization Server SHALL generate an OAuth 2.1 authorization code and perform a callback to the URL defined in the request, using the OAuth authorization code as URL query parameter with key ‘code’.

The IUA Authorization Server SHALL store the access token and the assigned authorization code and respond the access token on request to the Authorization Client.

4This covers all possible EPR transaction, except the ITI-103 transaction.

Message Example

A JWT access token returned by the IUA Authorization Server and to be used to retrieve patient data may look like:

{
  "iss": "http://issuerAdress.ch",
  "sub": "UserId-bfe8a208-b9d0-4012-b2f5-168b949fc3cb",
  "aud": "http://pixmResourceServerURL.ch",
  "exp": 1587294580000,
  "nbf": 1587294460000,
  "iat": 1587294460000,
  "jti": "c5436729-3f26-4dbf-abd3-2790dc7771a",
  "extensions" : {  
    "ihe_iua" : {  
      "subject_name": "Martina Musterarzt"
    }, 
    "ch_epr": {
      "user_id": "2000000090092", 
      "user_id_qualifier": "urn:gs1:gln" 
    }
}

A extend JWT access token to be used to access patient documents SHALL have the additional attributes of the purpose of use, subject role, the EPR-SPID of the patient and may look like:

{
  "iss": "http://issuerAdress.ch",
  "sub": "UserId-bfe8a208-b9d0-4012-b2f5-168b949fc3cb",
  "aud": "http://mhdResourceServerURL.ch",
  "exp": 1587294580000,
  "nbf": 1587294460000,
  "iat": 1587294460000,
  "jti": "c5436729-3f26-4dbf-abd3-2790dc7771a",
  "extensions" : {  
    "ihe_iua" : {  
      "subject_name": "Martina Musterarzt",
      "person_id": "761337610411353650^^^&amp;2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.3&amp;ISO",
      "subject_role": {
          "system": "urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6",
          "code": "HCP"
      },
      "purpose_of_use": {
          "system": "urn:uuid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5",
          "code": "NORM",
      }
    }, 
    "ch_epr": {
      "user_id": "2000000090092", 
      "user_id_qualifier": "urn:gs1:gln" 
    },
    "ch_group" : [
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.1",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.1"
      }, 
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.2",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.2"
      },
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.2",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.3"
      }
    ]
  }
}

A JWT access token to be used to access by an assistant acting behalf on a healthcare professional for a patient SHALL have the additional extension ch_delegation:

{
  "iss": "http://issuerAdress.ch",
  "sub": "UserId-bfe8a208-b9d0-4012-b2f5-168b949fc3cb",
  "aud": "http://mhdResourceServerURL.ch",
  "exp": 1587294580000,
  "nbf": 1587294460000,
  "iat": 1587294460000,
  "jti": "c5436729-3f26-4dbf-abd3-2790dc7771a",
  "extensions" : {  
    "ihe_iua" : {  
      "subject_name": "Dagmar Musterassistent",
      "person_id": "761337610411353650^^^&amp;2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.3&amp;ISO",
      "subject_role": {
          "system": "urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.6",
          "code": "HCP"
      },
      "purpose_of_use": {
          "system": "urn:uuid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.5",
          "code": "NORM",
      }
    }, 
    "ch_epr": {
      "user_id": "2000000090108", 
      "user_id_qualifier": "urn:gs1:gln" 
    }, 
    "ch_group" : [
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.1",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.1"
      }, 
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.2",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.2"
      },
      {
        "name": "Name of group with id urn:oid:2.2.2.2",
        "id": "urn:oid:2.2.2.3"
      }
    ],
    "ch_delegation": {
      "principal": "Martina Musterarzt", 
      "principal_id": "2000000090092" 
    }
  }
}

CapabilityStatement Resource

There are no CapabilityStatement resources defined for this transaction.

Security Consideration

IUA Authorization Clients, Authorization Servers and Resource Server actors SHALL use the JWS (signed) alternative of the JWT token as specified in the IUA Trial Implementation. The JWE alternative SHALL not be used.

The traceparent header is required, as described in Trace Context header.

Security Audit Considerations

There is no audit event required for this transaction.