Review of definition for the Interoperability Layer.

[eramirez-sv]

FILE: smart-ra/input/fsh/actors/actors.fsh

• title = "Interoperability Layer"
• description = "A component that facilitates the exchange of health information between systems by routing, translating, and orchestrating messages."

My Observation:
This definition comes from traditional Service Bus architecture model where it was desirable to have a single/central point of convergence for all systems and services - this was the model for OpenHIM/OpenHIE. This model poses complexity and scalability challenges as the number of systems, translations, services, etc. grow.

My Suggestion.
I believe we want to use something more aligned with a decentralized architecture, where there is clear separation of concerns. Health Management Systems should be in charge of their own business logic and have full control of their data transformations and interactions with other systems.

In this decentralized model, the interoperability layer would act as a shared trust layer and gate keeper, enforcing common authentication and authorizations standards (e.g. OIDC) and sharing only minimum data (i.e. digitally signed tokens) needed to process requests across systems.

Lastly, the DPI concept was introduced alongside a user centric approach to interoperability. The sample solution for interoperability/data exchange often listed under DPI is eSignet which is focused on user consent and sharing of personal data. Maybe we want to go that route... ?