Bulk-deleting FHIR resources

This page explains how to bulk-delete FHIR resources from a FHIR store using a long-running operation.

You can delete multiple FHIR resources in a single operation based on filters like resource type and last updated time, or by providing a list of specific resource IDs in a Cloud Storage file. This is useful for data lifecycle management and cost savings.

Before you begin

Before you can bulk-delete FHIR resources, ensure the following:

You must have the healthcare.fhirStores.bulkDelete permission on the FHIR store.
If you specify a gcsDestination, the Cloud Healthcare Service Agent service account must have the roles/storage.objectAdmin role on the destination bucket. For more information, see FHIR store Cloud Storage permissions.
If you specify a gcsSource, the Cloud Healthcare Service Agent service account must have the roles/storage.objectViewer role on the source bucket. For more information, see Bulk-deleting FHIR resources.

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources

To bulk-delete FHIR resources, use the projects.locations.datasets.fhirStores.bulkDelete method.

This method returns a long-running operation (LRO). You can track the status of the LRO using the operation name returned by the API call.

The following sample shows how to make a POST request to bulk-delete all Observation and Encounter resources in a FHIR store that were last updated before a specific timestamp.

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

PROJECT_ID: the ID of your Google Cloud project
LOCATION: the dataset location
DATASET_ID: the FHIR store's parent dataset
FHIR_STORE_ID: the FHIR store ID

Request JSON body:

{
  "type": "Observation,Encounter",
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "until": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "gcsDestination": {
    "uriPrefix": "gs://BUCKET/DIRECTORY"
  }
}

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

cat > request.json << 'EOF'
{
  "type": "Observation,Encounter",
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "until": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "gcsDestination": {
    "uriPrefix": "gs://BUCKET/DIRECTORY"
  }
}
EOF

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/fhirStores/FHIR_STORE_ID:bulkDelete"

PowerShell

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

@'
{
  "type": "Observation,Encounter",
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "until": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "gcsDestination": {
    "uriPrefix": "gs://BUCKET/DIRECTORY"
  }
}
'@  | Out-File -FilePath request.json -Encoding utf8

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/fhirStores/FHIR_STORE_ID:bulkDelete" | Select-Object -Expand Content

The output is the following. The response contains an identifier for a long-running operation. Note the value of OPERATION_ID. You need this value in the next step.

Response

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID"
}

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources by resource ID

To delete a specific list of FHIR resources, set the gcsSource.uri field to the Cloud Storage location of one or more files that contain the resource IDs to delete.

The input files must meet the following requirements:

Each line contains one resource in the format RESOURCE_TYPE/RESOURCE_ID, for example Patient/8af1cf10-0fec-4bb3-bde1-77f56a3d8281. Raw resource IDs without a resource type aren't supported.
The URI must point to a single file, such as gs://BUCKET/ids.txt, or a wildcard pattern, such as gs://BUCKET/DIRECTORY/*.ndjson. The URI can't be a bucket or a directory that ends in /.

The following content is an example of a valid input file:

Patient/8af1cf10-0fec-4bb3-bde1-77f56a3d8281
Observation/2c9d4a3e-6b1f-4e2a-9f0d-1a2b3c4d5e6f
Encounter/7f3e2d1c-0b9a-4c8d-8e7f-6a5b4c3d2e1f

Note the following behavior:

The gcsSource field can't be used together with the type or until filters. If you specify gcsSource together with either filter, the request fails.
You can use gcsSource with versionConfig and gcsDestination.
Blank lines are ignored. Lines that don't match the RESOURCE_TYPE/RESOURCE_ID format or that contain an unsupported resource type are skipped, and the operation continues.
Resource IDs that don't exist in the FHIR store are skipped.
Don't modify or delete the input files until the operation completes.

The following sample shows how to make a POST request to bulk-delete the FHIR resources listed in a Cloud Storage file.

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

PROJECT_ID: the ID of your Google Cloud project
LOCATION: the dataset location
DATASET_ID: the FHIR store's parent dataset
FHIR_STORE_ID: the FHIR store ID
BUCKET/PATH_TO_IDS_FILE: the Cloud Storage location of the file, or wildcard pattern, that lists the resources to delete in the format RESOURCE_TYPE/RESOURCE_ID

Request JSON body:

{
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "gcsSource": {
    "uri": "gs://BUCKET/PATH_TO_IDS_FILE"
  }
}

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

cat > request.json << 'EOF'
{
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "gcsSource": {
    "uri": "gs://BUCKET/PATH_TO_IDS_FILE"
  }
}
EOF

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/fhirStores/FHIR_STORE_ID:bulkDelete"

PowerShell

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

@'
{
  "versionConfig": "ALL",
  "gcsSource": {
    "uri": "gs://BUCKET/PATH_TO_IDS_FILE"
  }
}
'@  | Out-File -FilePath request.json -Encoding utf8

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/fhirStores/FHIR_STORE_ID:bulkDelete" | Select-Object -Expand Content

The output is the following. The response contains an identifier for a long-running operation. Note the value of OPERATION_ID. You need this value in the next step.

Response

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID"
}

Viewing the LRO status

To view the status of the bulk-delete operation, use the operations.get method with the operation name returned from the bulkDelete call.

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

PROJECT_ID: the ID of your Google Cloud project
LOCATION: the dataset location
DATASET_ID: the FHIR store's parent dataset
OPERATION_ID: the ID returned from the long-running operation

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1alpha2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID"

PowerShell

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method GET `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1alpha2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID" | Select-Object -Expand Content

If the request is successful, the server returns a response with the status of the operation in JSON format:

Response

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.healthcare.v1beta1.OperationMetadata",
    "apiMethodName": "google.cloud.healthcare.v1beta1.fhir.FhirStoreService.BulkDelete",
    "createTime": "CREATE_TIME",
    "endTime": "END_TIME",
    "counter": {
      "success": "SUCCESS_COUNT"
    }
  },
  "done": true,
  "response": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.protobuf.Empty"
  }
}

Tracking deleted resources

When the bulk-delete operation completes, if a gcsDestination was specified, a summary file is generated in Cloud Storage. This file contains a list of the resource IDs for the current version resources that were deleted during the operation.

Limitations

Referential integrity is not guaranteed during a bulk-delete operation. It is recommended to use this operation only when referential integrity is not required or is known to be satisfied after the operation.

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Before you begin

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources

REST

curl

PowerShell

Response

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources by resource ID

REST

curl

PowerShell

Response

Viewing the LRO status

REST

curl

PowerShell

Response

Tracking deleted resources

Limitations

Bulk-deleting FHIR resources