Sending a file

Some data just isn’t complete without a file or two for context. With Redox, you can send files to a connection’s EHR system or any other type of integrated system.

You can send any valid file type via API to an integrated system. Typically, you may send a file to save it to a patient’s record. For security reasons, we recommend not sending executable or archived files since they may contain exploitable vectors that could corrupt the integrated system. Before delivering the request, we use content-inspecting firewalls, which may reject suspicious payloads.

Using the Redox FHIR® API, you can use the DocumentReference resource to send a generic file. If you're sending a results or vitals document, you can send it as a FHIR® Attachment in the DiagnosticReport or Observation resources.

Using the Redox Data Model API, you can use the Media, Notes, or Results requests to send a file.

There are two methods for sending a file:

• Upload and reference files (recommended) Files up to 30 MB can be uploaded and referenced in a request. This is our recommended method since it improves our ability to process the request without errors. You can also download the file contents from the Redox dashboard when you send this way.

  File size limit

  The 30 MB file size for uploaded files is independent of the overall request limit. So if the request limit is 10 MB, the uploaded file doesn’t need to fit within that threshold.

• Embed files: Files can be embedded directly into a request so long as it fits within the size limit for the type of traffic. Check limits by traffic type. As a best practice, we recommend not embedding files over 200 KB.

For optimal performance, we recommend uploading a file via an HTTP request to Redox, then referring to the file in a request to your connection’s EHR system. We encode the file for you as a base64 encoded string before sending it to the intended recipient. Go with this option if you plan to send files regularly, especially large files.

To use this method, you must upload a file from a staging or production environment. You can check that a file successfully uploaded in the related log in the Logs page of the Redox dashboard.

If you plan to only send a small file occasionally, you can embed the file directly into the request instead. For optimal performance, we recommend embedding only small files, maybe up to 200 KB in size. Just know that if you choose this method, you must encode the file as a base64 encoded string yourself before sending the request.

Check out our how-tos for embedding or uploading files:

• Send a generic file via the Redox FHIR® API
• Send results or vitals via the Redox FHIR® API
• Send a file via the Redox Data Model API