API referenceCare categories
One care category
GET /v1/care-categories/{slug}
GET https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/care-categories/{slug}A care category with its parent, path, children and how many active records each system has in it or in any category below it. List them with /v1/care-categories/{slug}/codes?system=.
Requires an API key: Authorization: Bearer hdev_live_.... See Authentication.
Path parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
slug | string | yes | Category slug | knee-replacement |
Query parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
view | "compact" | "standard" | "full" | no | How much of each record to return (default full). compact: slug, name, parent, children, counts (fewest tokens, for agents). standard: every field except description. full: every field. | compact |
fields | string | no | Comma-separated fields to return instead of a view. Valid fields: slug, name, description, parent, path, children, counts. | slug,name,parent |
Examples
curl
curl "https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/care-categories/knee-replacement" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $HDEV_API_KEY"TypeScript
const res = await fetch("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/care-categories/knee-replacement", {
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.HDEV_API_KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();Python
import os
import requests
res = requests.get("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/care-categories/knee-replacement", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['HDEV_API_KEY']}"})
body = res.json()Try it
Response
The category
{
"data": {
"slug": "string",
"name": "string",
"description": "string",
"parent": "string",
"path": [
"string"
],
"children": [
"string"
],
"counts": {
"icd10cm": 1,
"icd10pcs": 1,
"hcpcs": 1,
"ndc": 1
}
},
"meta": {
"source": "cms-icd10",
"data_version": "2026.1",
"retrieved_at": "2026-10-24T12:00:00Z",
"license": "Public domain (CMS). Reference data, not medical advice."
},
"links": {
"self": "/v1/care-categories/knee-replacement",
"next": null
}
}Fields
| Field | Type | Always present | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
slug | string | yes | Stable handle, e.g. knee-replacement |
name | string | yes | Plain-English name, e.g. Knee replacement |
description | string | null | yes | What the group covers (top-level groups only) |
parent | string | null | yes | Parent's slug, or null for a top-level group |
path | string[] | yes | Slugs from the top-level group down to this category, e.g. ["bones-joints-and-muscles", "joint-replacement", "knee-replacement"] |
children | string[] | yes | Slugs of the categories directly below this one |
counts | CareCategoryCounts | yes | Active records in this category or any category below it, per system; null while a system has no published version or its care categories aren't built yet |
Errors
Errors are application/problem+json (RFC 9457). Branch on type, not on title. See Errors.
| Status | type | When |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | invalid-request | A parameter or the body failed validation; errors lists each field. |
| 401 | unauthorized | Missing, malformed or revoked API key. |
| 404 | not-found | No record with that id (retired records are still returned). |
| 429 | rate-limited / quota-exceeded | Too many requests per second (retry after Retry-After), or the monthly quota is used up. |
| 503 | dataset-unavailable / unavailable | The dataset has no published version yet, or the service is degraded. |