March was yet another busy month for Medplum. Three patch releases — v5.1.2, v5.1.3, and v5.1.4 — arrived alongside over 100 commits from 20+ contributors, and the work underneath the surface was just as significant as the new features. Spaces gained richer AI tooling. The [communications documentation](/content/docs/communications/index.html) received a full suite of guides covering everything from the data model to automations. Worker infrastructure got a substantial rethink, and [WebSocket subscriptions](/content/docs/subscriptions/index.html) were hardened across the board. All of it continues to advance our [2026 roadmap priorities](/content/blog/2026-roadmap/index.html).

## Features

### Provider App: Spaces and AI

**[David Yanez](https://github.com/techdavidy)**

Spaces continues to advance our [AI roadmap initiative](/content/blog/2026-roadmap/index.html) and the [Provider Application roadmap goal](/content/docs/provider/index.html):

- **System prompts on `Communication` resources** — Spaces stores system prompts as `Communication` resources for clearer modeling and reuse
- **Component preview, code, and FHIR resources** — Previews and visibility into generated UI, code, and underlying resources in the Spaces chat experience
- **Translator tool looping** — The translator can iterate until the user's request is satisfied for more reliable multi-step workflows
- **Updated default language model** — Newer model defaults for improved quality and consistency
- **Spaces demo bots** — Demo bots for Spaces are easier to discover in development environments
- **Tab navigation** — Standardized tabs across high-traffic screens ( [Kevin Wadeshaw](https://github.com/kevinwadeshaw))

### Provider App: Messaging, Scheduling, and Billing

**[David Yanez](https://github.com/techdavidy)**

The [Provider app](https://provider.medplum.com/) gained messaging, calendar, and billing improvements:

- **Communications payload and eFax** — A dedicated payload tab on Communications, eFax integration, and ThreadChat updates (subject on communications, clearer file metadata for uploads and search)
- **Calendar scheduling** — Switch practitioner schedules from the calendar; more robust Find pane when service types omit a system; visit setup right after [`$book`](/content/docs/scheduling/appointment-book/index.html); schedule pickers resolve actors via `Schedule:actor`
- **Candid billing** — Claim status in the Provider app and use of external identifiers when a Candid encounter id is absent
- **SMART App Launch** — `fhirContext` support and respect for an existing `login` query parameter on launch
- **Project-scoped Provider access** — Project membership aligns with who can open the Provider experience ( [Cody Ebberson](https://github.com/codyebberson))
- **Domain rules for external apps** — `DomainConfiguration` can target apps hosted outside the core deployment ( [Cody Ebberson](https://github.com/codyebberson))
- **Charting and sample data** — Controlled-substance documentation updates ( [Maddy Li](https://github.com/maddyli)) and CPT handling fixes on sample data

### Scheduling Operations

**[Noah Silas](https://github.com/noahsilas)**

Server-side scheduling advances the [Scheduling roadmap initiative](/content/docs/scheduling/index.html):

- **`$find` service type matching** — More accurate matching when resolving available slots
- **Wildcard availability removed** — Clearer availability semantics and fewer ambiguous slot definitions
- **[FooMedical scheduling demo](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/tree/main/examples/foomedical)** — Updated patient-facing scheduling showcase
- **Demo schedules** — Refreshed demo schedule content and calendar examples ( [Reshma Khilnani](https://github.com/reshmakh))

### Platform and Infrastructure

**[Cody Ebberson](https://github.com/codyebberson)** and **[Matt Long](https://github.com/mattlong)**

This work advances [Enterprise Scale & Infrastructure](/content/blog/2026-roadmap/index.html):

- **Workers** — Dispatch worker path, configurable background workers, CDK support for worker-only services, and conditional worker deployment
- **`auth/me` project features** — Clients read enabled project features from the authenticated session
- **Marketplace definitions** — Foundation resources for marketplace packages ( [package resource](/content/docs/api/fhir/medplum/package/index.html))
- **Bot `$init` operation** — Initializes Bot content for repeatable deployments ( [Bots overview](/content/docs/bots/index.html))
- **Auth UI extraction** — Shared React components for sign-in and session flows

**[Matt Willer](https://github.com/mattwiller)**

- **Presigned Binary uploads** — Secure, efficient client-side uploads without routing through the server
- **Rate-limit caching** — In-memory tracking of heavily rate-limited IPs for faster enforcement
- **Database tuning** — PostgreSQL transaction idle timeouts and faster login flow
- **Observability** — Broader FHIR interaction metrics from the system repository; transaction consistency fixes in database reads

**[Derrick Farris](https://github.com/ThatOneBro)**

- **WebSocket subscription hardening** — Subscription token lifecycle, stale subscription detection against user limits, and FHIRcast topic key refresh
- **HL7 client resilience** — Clients now warn instead of error on unknown message control IDs

### Developer Experience

- **`ThreadInbox` / ThreadChat** — Optional `allowPatientSelection` for patient-facing apps; prop type exports; QuestionnaireForm fixes for repeated multiple-choice items; questionnaire signature stories ( [David Yanez](https://github.com/techdavidy), [Noah Silas](https://github.com/noahsilas))
- **`useSearch` typing** — Results use `WithId<T>` for safer access to server-assigned ids ( [Noah Silas](https://github.com/noahsilas))
- **SMART launch** — Opens in a new tab by default; respects an existing `login` query parameter on launch ( [Maddy Li](https://github.com/maddyli))
- **Reference display fallback** — UUID fallback when a reference has no display string ( [Maddy Li](https://github.com/maddyli))
- **`ValueSetAutocomplete`** — Configurable count behavior ( [Aditya Suri](https://github.com/adityasuri))
- **MedplumClient retry options** — Configurable maximum retry time and default `maxRetries` ( [Cody Ebberson](https://github.com/codyebberson), [Aditya Suri](https://github.com/adityasuri))
- **CLI healthcheck validation** — Custom base URLs are validated against the server healthcheck when configuring profiles ( [Medplum CLI](/content/docs/cli/index.html), [Rahul Agarwal](https://github.com/rahul1))
- **[SMART on FHIR demo app](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/tree/main/examples/medplum-smart-on-fhir-demo)** — New example app for SMART launch and patient context ( [Alex Lin](https://github.com/alexanderxlin))
- **[Why Open Source](/content/open-source/index.html)** — New page on Medplum's open-source philosophy

## Documentation

March's documentation push emphasizes **communications**, **clinical and scheduling workflows**, and **platform operations** — supporting builders who ship [workflow-heavy provider experiences](/content/docs/provider/index.html).

**Communications and messaging**

**[Everett Williams](https://github.com/everett-williams)**

- **[Thread lifecycle, participants, and access control](/content/docs/communications/thread-lifecycle-participants-access-control/index.html)** — How threads behave over time, who can see them, and how access policies apply
- **[Messaging data model](/content/docs/communications/messaging-data-model/index.html)** — Updated mental model for how conversations are represented and evolve
- **[Task-based message response tracking and routing](/content/docs/communications/message-response-tracking-and-routing/index.html)** — Patterns for tying tasks to message workflows
- **[Searching and querying threads](/content/docs/communications/searching-and-querying-threads/index.html)** — Practical search patterns for threaded communications
- **[Sending messages and attachments](/content/docs/communications/sending-messages-and-attachments/index.html)** — Attachment flows for secure messaging
- **[Read receipts and message status](/content/docs/communications/read-receipts-and-message-status/index.html)** — Delivery and read state for auditing and UX
- **[Messaging automations with Bots](/content/docs/communications/messaging-automations/index.html)** — Automations that react to messaging events
- **Example code** — New messaging snippets aligned with the guides
- **Sidebar reorganization** — Clearer navigation for communications and related topics

Additional communications documentation pages are in the works beyond what shipped in March, so expect the [communications section](/content/docs/communications/index.html) to keep growing.

**Clinical charting and scheduling**

**[Darren Eam](https://github.com/deam65)**

- **[Visit Templates and the SOAP Approach](/content/docs/charting/visit-templates/index.html)** — Visit templates tied to SOAP (structured S/O/P, narrative assessment) in clinical charting
- **[Time zones and timestamps](/content/docs/scheduling/timezones/index.html)** — Scheduling with zones and instants in FHIR and the app ( [Cody Ebberson](https://github.com/codyebberson))
- **Scheduling guides** — Broader refresh of scheduling documentation ( [Finn Bergquist](https://github.com/finnbergquist))
- **[Defining availability](/content/docs/scheduling/defining-availability/index.html)** — Clarified alpha labeling ( [Aditya Suri](https://github.com/adityasuri))

**Platform and operations**

- **[External identity providers](/content/docs/auth/external-identity-providers/index.html)** — Routing strategies for external IdP integrations ( [Rahul Agarwal](https://github.com/rahul1))
- **[Multi-tenant access policies](/content/docs/access/multi-tenant-access-policy/index.html)** — Tenancy guidance in access documentation ( [Maddy Li](https://github.com/maddyli))
- **[Server configuration: maxBatchSize](/content/docs/self-hosting/server-config#maxbatchsize/index.html)** — How `maxBatchSize` interacts with async batches and `maxJsonSize` ( [Rahul Agarwal](https://github.com/rahul1))
- **[Medplum Events Calendar](/content/blog/events-calendar/index.html)** — Updated upcoming events ( [Reshma Khilnani](https://github.com/reshmakh))
- **Lab account onboarding** — Revised instructions for requesting a lab account ( [Reshma Khilnani](https://github.com/reshmakh))

## Bug Fixes

**Server**

- Return HTTP 400 when PostgreSQL rejects date/time values that overflow field bounds, instead of a generic database error (contributed by Léandre Chamberland-Dozois)
- Improved patch behavior when JSON patch operations implicitly create arrays
- Hardened `ProjectMembership.invitedBy` population for consistent invite attribution
- Additional edge cases for subscription token expiry and rebinding
- Fixed basic authentication handling for inactive project memberships

**Clinical and UI**

- Fixed `mapReferenceRange` so numeric reference ranges map cleanly into FHIR `Range` for observations (contributed by [Amanda McGivern](https://github.com/amcgivern))

## Releases

- [**v5.1.2**](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/releases/tag/v5.1.2) — March 7
- [**v5.1.3**](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/releases/tag/v5.1.3) — March 7
- [**v5.1.4**](https://github.com/medplum/medplum/releases/tag/v5.1.4) — March 20

## Looking Ahead

March deepened the Provider app's Spaces, messaging, and scheduling story, while worker and subscription work strengthened the platform's operational backbone. Communications documentation now gives teams a clearer map from threads and tasks to automation — supporting the next wave of patient and clinician-facing workflows.

Join us on [Discord](https://discord.gg/medplum) to share feedback or follow along on [GitHub](https://github.com/medplum/medplum).