General principles
The following principles guide these standards:
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Prioritise user needs.
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Treat APIs as products, with dedicated teams, lifecycles, and roadmaps.
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Make APIs the primary interface for system interactions.
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Build APIs that are easy to learn, use, reuse, and integrate.
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Enable portability with container technologies like Docker.
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Adopt DevOps practices to deliver continuous value.
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Build APIs that conform to HL7 FHIR as a foundational interoperability standard.
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Use REST as the default design style, although you MAY choose alternatives when justified.
Practical tips
Appoint a dedicated API Product Owner to prioritise user needs.
Further reading and information
The API Strategy & Roadmap
HL7 FHIR as a foundational standard in all NHS Wales Bodies | GOV.WALES
Fielding Dissertation: CHAPTER 5: Representational State Transfer (REST) (uci.edu)
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)
APIs MUST conform to the FHIR R4 specification when a relevant FHIR profile exists. Where no suitable profile is available, you may need to model custom resources following FHIR principles.
FHIR R4 already addresses many fundamental aspects of RESTful API design. If your API implementation is based on FHIR, you can jump directly to the API security section.
Further reading and information