Incrementing FHIR bundles limit of 500 entries

[proxsys]

Hello,

How can the FHIR bundles entries be raised?

This error occurs when trying to POST a bundle:

"issue": [
    {
        "severity": "error",
        "code": "invalid",
        "diagnostics": "The number of entries in the bundle exceeded the configured limit of 500."
    }
]

[EXPEkesheth]

@proxsys - Today the limit is set to 500. In future, we can look into expanding the limit, there is no plan in near term
Can you please share more details on why this limit is a concern/ blocks you?

[proxsys]

Thank you for your prompt response.

The current limit of 500 entries in the FHIR bundle significantly hinders the use of the FHIR server for various critical healthcare use cases and emulations. Here are some reasons why this limit is a concern:

Large Data Sets in Healthcare: In real-world healthcare scenarios, especially within large healthcare systems and research institutions, the volume of data is extensive. For instance, when dealing with patient records, clinical trial data, or population health analytics, it's common to work with bundles that exceed the 500-entry limit. This limit restricts the ability to efficiently manage and process large data sets.

Interoperability Testing: Healthcare organizations often need to test the interoperability of their systems with extensive data sets. Emulating real-world data flow and integration scenarios, including large bundles, is crucial for validating the interoperability and robustness of the system. The current limit impedes such testing and could lead to inadequate preparation for real-world deployment.

Regulatory and Compliance Requirements: Healthcare providers must comply with various regulatory and compliance requirements, such as those set forth by HIPAA, HITECH, and the 21st Century Cures Act. These regulations often necessitate comprehensive data audits and reporting, which may involve processing large FHIR bundles. The 500-entry limit makes it challenging to meet these requirements efficiently.

Clinical Research and Analytics: Researchers and data scientists frequently work with large-scale data for clinical research and analytics. Bundles containing more than 500 entries are common when aggregating data across multiple sources and time periods. Limiting the number of entries hampers the ability to conduct thorough analyses and derive meaningful insights.

Use Cases in Population Health Management: Effective population health management requires analyzing large datasets to identify trends, predict outcomes, and develop intervention strategies. Limiting bundle entries constrains the capacity to manage and analyze population-level data comprehensively.

Considering the critical need to handle large volumes of healthcare data effectively, I strongly urge the development team to prioritize increasing the FHIR bundle entry limit. This enhancement will significantly improve the utility and applicability of the FHIR server for a wide range of healthcare applications.

This should not be difficult to achieve unless there are underlying technical and architectural issues that impede it.

So far the only use I can see of this FHIR service is educational, experimental or for simplistic proof of concepts.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Best regards,

proxsys

[EXPEkesheth]

Thanks for details, we have added the ask in our backlog.

[proxsys]

Great news! Let us know when it's projected to be in development.

If you support this, among other things, this service may gain serious traction from implementors.