[ARCHIVE] Mandatory Fields with no value present

Archived 2022-10-11. Content moved to CDS Guide, Data formats - schemas.

Question

For Mandatory fields that are not present in Data Holder (DH) core systems - can a Data Holder pass an empty string "" in this scenario, based on payload conventions section within the Consumer Data Standards (CDS) page.

If yes to the above question, in this similar scenario, how are DHs expected to handle a mandatory field with enumerated values expected to be surfaced out?

Answers

Q: For Mandatory fields that are not present in Data Holder (DH) core systems - can a Data Holder pass an empty string "" in this scenario, based on payload conventions section within the Consumer Data Standards (CDS) page.

A: In general no.  This is only acceptable in specific scenarios where the mandatory field represents free form descriptive text.  In general, however, this would be a non-compliant response for a mandatory field.

Q: If yes to the above question, in this similar scenario, how are DHs expected to handle a mandatory field with enumerated values expected to be surfaced out?

A: This is one of the reasons the answer to the first question is no.

If you have a valid scenario where a mandatory field cannot be supplied, even with a default, then please raise a change request in the maintenance repository.