The Data Sharing Framework (DSF) implements a distributed process engine based on the BPMN 2.0 and FHIR R4 standards. The DSF is used to support biomedical research with real-world data. Every participating site runs a FHIR endpoint (dsf-fhir) accessible by other sites and a business process engine (dsf-bpe) in the local secured network. Authentication between sites is handled using X.509 client/server certificates. The process engines execute BPMN processes in order to coordinate local and remote steps necessary to enable cross-site data sharing and feasibility analyses. This includes access to local data repositories, use-and-access-committee decision support, consent filtering, and privacy preserving record-linkage and pseudonymization.

For installation instructions, tutorials, publications, and other information about the DSF, visit https://dsf.dev.

Development

Branching follows the git-flow model, for the latest development version see branch develop.

License

All code from the Data Sharing Framework is published under the Apache-2.0 License.

Public Funding

The DSF is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the Data Sharing Framework Community project of the German Medical Informatics Initiative, grant IDs 01ZZ2307A, 01ZZ2307B and 01ZZ2307C.

Earlier Versions

Earlier versions of the DSF, developed as part of the HiGHmed research consortium, can be found at highmed/highmed-dsf.