CreateCCDA

Last updated: 11 Mar 2026

The CreateCCDA effect creates a C-CDA document for a patient with the provided XML content. This effect allows plugins to store C-CDA XML documents, which can be used for clinical document exchange, patient summaries, or referrals.

This effect stores a C-CDA document, generating or otherwise sourcing that document is the responsibility of the plugin.

Attributes #

Name	Type	Required	Description
patient_id	str	Yes	The patient’s key (UUID).
content	str	Yes	The C-CDA XML content as a string. Must be valid XML.
document_type	DocumentType	No	Type of C-CDA document. Defaults to DocumentType.CCD.

DocumentType Enum #

Value	Description
CCD	Continuity of Care Document (default)
REFERRAL	Referral document

Validation #

The effect performs the following validations before execution:

• Patient Exists: Verifies that a patient with the given patient_id exists in the system.
• Valid XML: Validates that the content field contains well-formed XML. Malformed XML will result in a validation error.
• Required Fields: Both patient_id and content must be non-empty strings.

Example Usage #

Basic CCD Creation #

from canvas_sdk.effects import Effect
from canvas_sdk.effects.ccda import CreateCCDA, DocumentType
from canvas_sdk.events import EventType
from canvas_sdk.handlers import BaseHandler


class MyHandler(BaseHandler):
    RESPONDS_TO = [EventType.Name(EventType.PATIENT_UPDATED)]

    def compute(self) -> list[Effect]:
        # Sample C-CDA XML content
        ccda_xml = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
        <ClinicalDocument xmlns="urn:hl7-org:v3">
            <typeId root="2.16.840.1.113883.1.3" extension="POCD_HD000040"/>
            <templateId root="2.16.840.1.113883.10.20.22.1.1"/>
            <id root="document-id"/>
            <code code="34133-9" displayName="Summarization of Episode Note"
                  codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1"/>
            <title>Patient Summary</title>
            <effectiveTime value="20240101120000"/>
            <confidentialityCode code="N" codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.5.25"/>
            <languageCode code="en-US"/>
        </ClinicalDocument>"""

        effect = CreateCCDA(
            patient_id="a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
            content=ccda_xml,
            document_type=DocumentType.CCD,
        )

        return [effect.apply()]

Creating a Referral Document #

from canvas_sdk.effects import Effect
from canvas_sdk.effects.ccda import CreateCCDA, DocumentType
from canvas_sdk.events import EventType
from canvas_sdk.handlers import BaseHandler


class MyHandler(BaseHandler):
    RESPONDS_TO = [EventType.Name(EventType.PATIENT_UPDATED)]

    def compute(self) -> list[Effect]:
        referral_xml_content = "<ClinicalDocument>...</ClinicalDocument>"

        effect = CreateCCDA(
            patient_id="a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
            content=referral_xml_content,
            document_type=DocumentType.REFERRAL,
        )

        return [effect.apply()]

Using Default Document Type #

When document_type is not specified, it defaults to CCD:

from canvas_sdk.effects import Effect
from canvas_sdk.effects.ccda import CreateCCDA
from canvas_sdk.events import EventType
from canvas_sdk.handlers import BaseHandler


class MyHandler(BaseHandler):
    RESPONDS_TO = [EventType.Name(EventType.PATIENT_UPDATED)]

    def compute(self) -> list[Effect]:
        ccda_xml = "<ClinicalDocument>...</ClinicalDocument>"

        effect = CreateCCDA(
            patient_id="a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
            content=ccda_xml,
        )

        # document_type defaults to DocumentType.CCD
        return [effect.apply()]

Use Cases #

• Clinical Document Exchange: Generate C-CDAs for sharing patient information with external systems or providers.
• Patient Summaries: Create Continuity of Care Documents containing a patient’s clinical summary.
• Referral Documentation: Generate referral documents when referring patients to specialists.
• Integration with External Systems: Produce standardized C-CDA documents for healthcare interoperability.

Notes #

• The C-CDA XML content is stored as a file on the patient’s record.
• The created document can be accessed via the FHIR DocumentReference endpoint.