Django API Enpoint for GP Instructions

• This project provides a RESTful API endpoint that lists GP instructions.

Features

• List, retrieve and create GP instructions
• Optional filtering by instruction type, date range (start_date, end_date), patient name, and GP name.
• A nested JSON output that includes date, patient name, instruction type, GP name and GP surgery name.
• An admin interface to manage GP instructions.
• Swagger documentation for the API using drf-spectacular.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Django 3.2 or higher
• Django REST Framework
• Django Filter
• drf-spectacular for API documentation
• Django Admin for managing GP instructions

Setup Instructions

1. Create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

2. Install dependencies:

pip install django djangorestframework django-filter drf-spectacular

3. Run migrations:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

4. Run tests:

python manage.py test core/tests/api_tests.py

4. Start the server:

python manage.py runserver

5. Access the API endpoint to see the list of GP instructions in JSON format:

http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/

Example Output

• This is an example of an instruction

[
    {
        "instruction_id": 2,
        "date": "2025-07-01",
        "patient": {
            "id": 2,
            "full_name": "Rex Kamp"
        },
        "instruction_type": {
            "id": 2,
            "name": "POA"
        },
        "gp": {
            "id": 2,
            "name": "Laura",
            "surgery": {
                "id": 2,
                "name": "Medicare"
            }
        }
    }        
]

Query Parameters

• You can filter the results using the following query parameters:

• instruction_type: Filter by instruction type e.g; AMRA, SARS, POA, VACCINE

  For example;

  http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/?instruction_type=AMRA
  
  

• date range(start_date, end_date): Use the format YYYY-MM-DD.

  For example;

  http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/?start_date=2025-06-10&end_date=2025-07-01
  
  

• patient_name: Filter by patient's full name.

  For example;

  http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/?patient_name=John Doe 
  
  

• gp_name: Filter by GP name.

  For example;

  http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/?gp_name=Alex
  
  

• You can also combine the query parameters to refine your search.

  • For example;

  http://localhost:8000/api/instructions/?instruction_type=SARS&start_date=2025-06-01&end_date=2025-06-30&patient_name=John Doe&gp_name=Smith
  
  

6. On a new terminal, activate the virtual environment and create a superuser to access the admin interface.

python manage.py createsuperuser 

• The admin interface allows you to manage GP instructions, including adding, editing, and deleting records.

Access the admin interface at:

http://localhost:8000/admin/

API Documentation

The API documentation is generated using drf-spectacular and is available at:

http://localhost:8000/api/docs/

Design Decisions

• I used a DRF ViewSet to encapsulate logic for listing and retrieving instructions. It makes it easy to extend the endpoint and also allows automatic routing.

• I used a nested serializer for the GP model. A GP belongs to a surgery, therefore the surgery should be nested in the gp field. This makes the JSON output look more structured and readable.

• I used django-filters to implement filtering because it allows flexibility of query parameters such as instruction_type and date range.

• I used the Django's built-in admin to create, update and delete instructions because it provides an interface for quick data management.

• I added unit tests to check whether the endpoint returns the correct data. This ensures accuracy.

Areas of improvement

• Pagination - This would be useful for large datasets. It improves scalability by limited the amount of data returned in each response.

• More complex query logic - Allow filtering patients' full name instead of their first name only. It improves usability and accuracy.

• Authentication/ Role based access - This ensures that the instructions are only accessed by authorized personnel.

• Error handling - Provide more detailed responses incase a user tries to use and invalid filter.

• Custom validation - Add validation for the date range logic, e.g; the start date should be before the end date.