Plan content CMS Connectathon

[preston]

[aks129]

Strawman for our CMS Connectathon content — edit freely, this is a starting point.

Format

• Slot: 15 min live demo + 5 min Q&A (adjust to whatever slot we get)
• Setting: laptop, no backend, full pipeline runs in the browser via PGlite

Audience pitch (1-2 min)

Why this matters: CQL is the standard authoring language; ELM interpreters work but are slow on realistic populations and require JVM. SQL-on-FHIR is now widely implemented (DuckDB, ClickHouse, BigQuery, Postgres, …). What if SQL-on-FHIR views were the execution layer for CQL? Same ViewDefinition standard, set-based execution, runs everywhere SQL runs. The CQL Studio implementation makes the approach hands-on for the community.

(Most of this language is already in doc/sql-on-fhir/vision.md — we can lift the framing directly.)

Live demo (8-10 min) — CMS125

1. Open CQL Studio on a laptop, navigate to /sql.
2. Click Load CMS125 demo — Library, synthetic bundle, value sets load.
3. Step through the panels: FHIR Library → Decoded CQL → ELM Translation → Generated SQL.
4. Click Execute SQL — PGlite runs the SQL in-browser, ~2-4 ms.
5. Click Generate FHIR MeasureReport — show the real R4 resource with:
   • Initial Population: 3
   • Denominator: 3
   • Denominator Exclusion: 1 (Linda — bilateral mastectomy)
   • Numerator: 1 (Jane — 2024 mammography)
   • Measure Score: 0.5

Architecture deep-dive (3-5 min)

• One slide / diagram from doc/sql-on-fhir/architecture.md
• Show the actual emitted SQL — CTEs, tstzrange @>, value-set joins
• Mention the upstream path: same SQL runs against HAPI FHIR JPA via scripts/hapi-fhir-sql-on-fhir/ views (Add server boot scripts to install and/or update SQL views #20 on-demand UI installation)

Q&A talking points

• ELM coverage today (the common eCQM subset — list in elm-to-sql/FAQ.md)
• Multi-dialect: today Postgres; DuckDB/BigQuery via per-dialect adapters (M5 in the roadmap)
• This complements, not replaces, production ELM interpreters

Division of labor (proposal — change as you see fit)

• Eugene: pipeline mechanics, transpiler walkthrough, live demo driving
• Preston: positioning vs the ELM ecosystem, CQL Studio roadmap framing, intro/outro
• Either of us handles Q&A

Open scoping questions (your call)

• Demo against a live HAPI? Currently the demo runs in-browser against the bundled patient bundle. Demoing against a real HAPI requires your Add server boot scripts to install and/or update SQL views #20 on-demand view installation. Lower-risk for the connectathon to stay in-browser; nice-to-have to show the server path if Add server boot scripts to install and/or update SQL views #20 is ready.
• Second measure? CMS130 (Colorectal Cancer Screening) ELM fixture is already in the repo. Adding it as a second "Load demo" button is ~half a day. Useful if we want to show generality, skippable if we want to keep it tight.
• Show authoring upstream? I.e., open the CQL in the IDE first, edit, hit a button, then jump to /sql. Or just load the Library directly. Authoring upstream is more impressive but adds 2-3 min and a coordination point.
• Demo video (Create CQL to SQL demo video #24): record from the dry-run, post-event? Or pre-record and play in the slot? My vote: live demo + post-event polish for Create CQL to SQL demo video #24.

Pre-event polish wish list (#23/#24)

• Make non-built-in examples work — user picks a Library from a server, pipeline runs against attached/uploaded patient data
• One round of UI copy polish on /sql
• One end-to-end Playwright happy-path test so we have CI confidence going in

Date / venue

You probably have these locked — fill in and I'll calendar.

---

Reply / edit inline and I'll adjust. Goal: have the demo flow locked ~2 weeks before the connectathon so we have time for one full dry-run together.

[aks129]

@preston — want to grab coffee at Dev Days to walk through this Connectathon plan in person? I'm free Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday — pick whatever window works for you and I'll be there. Easier to settle the open scoping questions above (live HAPI vs in-browser, second measure, demo video timing) over coffee than over async comments.

[preston]

@aks129 Yes, though I won't know if I'm approved to travel until Friday, unfortunately. :-/

[preston]

Also note that for several reasons I'm planning on remote attendance but to circulate a demo video outside the event, as well as post via the website. It would be nice if the implementation supported more CQL functions though so people could play with making their own basic measures to run with SQL on FHIR.