Da Vinci Project

standard organization technical fhirinteroperabilityhealthcare
Source: HL7 System: https://www.hl7.org/about/davinci/ Code: Da Vinci Reviewed: 24/01/2026 License: CC-BY-4.0

Da Vinci Project

One-sentence definition: The Da Vinci Project is an HL7 FHIR accelerator — a collaborative program of payers, providers, and vendors — that produces implementation guides for value-based care data exchange, most notably the CRD, DTR, and PAS IGs for electronic prior authorization.

Full Definition

HL7 FHIR defines the technical building blocks for healthcare data exchange, but it does not prescribe solutions for specific use cases. The Da Vinci Project fills that gap for payer-provider workflows. It is one of several HL7 FHIR Accelerators — industry coalitions that develop use-case-specific IGs faster than the standard HL7 balloting process allows.

Da Vinci’s membership includes major US payers (Cigna, Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans), EHR vendors (Epic, Cerner, Meditech), and provider organizations. Members fund and govern the program jointly and have a commercial interest in the IGs succeeding in production. This industry-driven structure is what distinguishes an accelerator from a traditional HL7 working group.

Da Vinci’s core focus is payer-provider exchange: the transactions that occur when providers need to know what payers will cover, obtain prior authorization, and exchange clinical documentation. Its three flagship IGs — CRD, DTR, and PAS — form an integrated workflow for electronic prior authorization. Beyond PA, Da Vinci publishes IGs for payer-to-payer exchange (PDex), provider directory queries, member attribution, and more.

Context and Usage

Where This Term Appears

  • Prior authorization discussions: “Da Vinci PA” refers to the CRD/DTR/PAS workflow collectively
  • CMS rulemaking: CMS references Da Vinci IGs in electronic PA requirements for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid
  • EHR vendor certifications: EHRs announcing Da Vinci support indicate readiness for the CRD/DTR/PAS workflow
  • Payer API documentation: Payers publishing FHIR APIs for providers often reference Da Vinci IG conformance

Common Usage Examples

In conversation: “Are you doing Da Vinci CRD or just PAS? CRD fires at order time; PAS is the actual submission.”

In documentation: “This endpoint conforms to the Da Vinci Coverage Requirements Discovery IG, version 2.1.0.”

Relationship to Other Terms

  • FHIR — the technical foundation all Da Vinci IGs build on
  • HL7 — the standards body that hosts the Da Vinci accelerator program
  • Implementation Guide — each Da Vinci use case is expressed as a FHIR IG
  • CRD — Coverage Requirements Discovery: surfaces PA requirements at order time
  • DTR — Documentation Templates and Rules: gathers clinical documentation for PA
  • PAS — Prior Authorization Support: submits the PA request via FHIR

Common Misconceptions

Misconception: Da Vinci Is a FHIR Version or Specification

  • Incorrect belief: “Supporting Da Vinci” means supporting a particular FHIR version or profile set.
  • Reality: Da Vinci is an HL7 accelerator program, not a FHIR version. It produces individual IGs, each with its own version and conformance requirements. A system might support Da Vinci CRD but not PDex.
  • Why it matters: “Da Vinci support” is meaningless without specifying which IG and version — the program produces more than a dozen distinct specifications.

Misconception: Da Vinci IGs Are Optional for Payers

  • Incorrect belief: Da Vinci IGs are industry best-practice documents that payers can adopt at their discretion.
  • Reality: CMS has incorporated Da Vinci IG requirements into federal rulemaking. The CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization rule (CMS-0057-F) mandates specific Da Vinci IG conformance for impacted payers.
  • Why it matters: For Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans, Da Vinci PA IGs are a regulatory requirement, not a voluntary initiative.

Why Da Vinci Matters

Electronic prior authorization is one of the most administratively burdensome processes in US healthcare. The AMA estimates that prior auth requires an average of 12 hours of physician and staff time per week per practice. Da Vinci’s CRD/DTR/PAS workflow replaces fax, phone, and proprietary portal-based PA with FHIR APIs — surfacing requirements at the point of order, collecting documentation through EHR-embedded forms, and submitting the request electronically in real time.

Cross-References

  • FHIR — the technical foundation all Da Vinci IGs build on
  • HL7 — the standards body that hosts the Da Vinci accelerator program
  • CRD — Coverage Requirements Discovery, a core Da Vinci IG
  • DTR — Documentation Templates and Rules, a core Da Vinci IG
  • PAS — Prior Authorization Support, a core Da Vinci IG

Last reviewed: January 24, 2026 Definition authority: HL7 International Content status: Canonical reference