Introduction to the CDS Hooks Connection Broker

The CDS Hooks protocol standardizes the synchronous communication and authentication process between client applications and clinical decision support service providers. The client application invokes the Hooks service via API call, and receives a response. For example, the order-select CDS Hooks service can be invoked when a medical provider is prescribing a medication in their EMR. If there is a cheaper version of this medication, the CDS Hooks server returns a card containing this information to the provider.

The connections between a client and CDS Hooks service providers are more complex than simple one-to-one connections; they also involve connections to authorization servers and FHIR® servers. As this CDS Hooks ecosystem increases in complexity, managing these connections becomes more technically and administratively challenging.

The CDS Hooks Connection Broker eases the managerial burden of these connections for a client. As opposed to requiring different API calls to different endpoints, a client can access all CDS Hooks services, across all servers in your ecosystem, via the single connection to the broker.