Technical FAQ

• Is there a machine-readable API description? Yes — an OpenAPI 3.1 document served by the platform.
• Can a partner self-issue a key? Sandbox only: an authorized Health Company member can issue a Sandbox key for an active client with an active Sandbox Program grant. Production keys are never self-issued from membership or Program existence.
• Do Sandbox and Production share data? Never. Environment is part of authorization.
• Does a laboratory keep Sandbox after go-live? Yes. Activation establishes a paired Production workspace and preserves the companion Sandbox for synthetic testing; credentials, adapters, Programs and operational data remain isolated.
• Can a laboratory activate Production by itself today? No. A founder can start and complete the guided setup and Sandbox testing, but Production promotion is currently paused in the platform and release-gated: it requires server-derived technical readiness, a separately approved business activation and Solia's release authorization. No screen, payment or click makes a laboratory live.
• Can I connect any LIS without code today? No. The executable self-service path is the HTTPS/JSON Solia Lab Contract. Native REST, FHIR R4, HL7 v2/MLLP, SFTP and the Edge agent are implemented and tested locally but not enabled, and no installation is approved. Each future installation needs its own endpoint, license where applicable, mappings, security review and clinical sign-off.
• Does a passing connection test mean my LIS accepts orders? No. It proves the endpoint is reachable and authenticated. Acceptance of real orders is shown by the laboratory's acknowledgement and later lifecycle events; validation proves the full path.
• Is a transport acknowledgement the same as specimen acceptance or release? No. Transport ACK (for HL7, CA), application ACK (AA), accession, specimen acceptance and clinical release are separate states. Only released results reach the Partner API.
• What happens to a corrected result? It is recorded as a new version; earlier released versions are never silently overwritten. Treat the highest released version as current.
• What if a send is uncertain? Native source paths suppress automatic resend after possible delivery. HTTPS/JSON retains classified retries and does not yet provide the same guarantee. Preserve the original transmission and reconcile it with the laboratory; do not create a replacement order.
• Does paying, or an authorized complimentary plan, make a laboratory live? No. It satisfies only the commercial requirement; every technical readiness requirement is still enforced.
• Is the consumer Experience required? No. It is an optional secondary surface on the same canonical ordering infrastructure.
• Does enabling Solia On Demand publish a listing? No. Each offering must become ready and be published explicitly; DTC and Partner API states remain independent.
• Are webhooks required? No. They are a notification channel; the API remains the source of truth.
• Are deliveries exactly-once? No. Deliveries and events are at-least-once; deduplicate.

Missing Program/native code, stale revision, wrong environment, private price, rejected specimen, unknown ACK and unreleased result require scoped investigation, not relaxed validation. Future reference compatibility remains disabled even when fully described.