Typed primary-source lookups

Connectors

Every connector this pipeline can call, what question it answers, and whether it can actually answer one in this environment, right now — a live check of an API key or a cached data file, not a description of the code.

connectors

available now

need a key or a cache file

unverifiable by design

Read this before the table. A connector is called only by the Verifier (Stage 3, checking a claim already on file) or a Scout (Stage 0 / 0.5, scanning for what changed) — never by the Scorer, which has no network access at all. A source being unavailable here does not weaken a claim; the claim simply keeps whatever tag it already has, usually unconfirmed — meaning nothing was searched, not searched and found nothing.

Command	Called from	Answers	Primary source	Status
`510k`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — a predicate clearance exists	openFDA device/510k	available No key or cached file needed.
`classification`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — device class and regulation number	openFDA device/classification	available No key or cached file needed.
`clearance-summary`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — the Indications for Use text a predicate was actually cleared for	FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) 510(k) (premarket notification) summary PDF repository (accessdata.fda.gov)	available No key or cached file needed.
`denovo`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — a De Novo (De Novo classification request) grant exists	FDA De Novo database (no live endpoint; openFDA carries none)	needs configuration Missing data/fda_denovo.csv. See data/README.md.
`pma`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — a premarket approval exists	openFDA device/pma	available No key or cached file needed.
`regulation`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory — CFR section text	eCFR versioner API	available No key or cached file needed.
`policy`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory/payment policy — a Federal Register document	Federal Register API; full text from GovInfo (GPO)	available No key or cached file needed.
`policy-scan`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — new Federal Register documents	Federal Register API	available No key or cached file needed.
`policy-eu`	Stage 3 · Verifier	regulatory/payment policy (EU) — a EUR-Lex document	EUR-Lex	available No key or cached file needed.
`policy-eu-scan`	Stage 0.5 · Seed Scout	signal — new EUR-Lex documents	EUR-Lex	available No key or cached file needed.
`maude`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — adverse-event reports	openFDA device/event (MAUDE (Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience))	available No key or cached file needed.
`recalls`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — device recalls	openFDA device/recall	available No key or cached file needed.
`clearances`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — newly cleared 510(k)s	openFDA device/510k	available No key or cached file needed.
`trials`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — clinical trial registrations	ClinicalTrials.gov API v2	available No key or cached file needed.
`trial-detail`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — full protocol for one trial	ClinicalTrials.gov API v2	available No key or cached file needed.
`literature`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — published literature	PubMed E-utilities	available Optional: NCBI_EMAIL / NCBI_API_KEY unset — runs at the free rate limit.
`literature-detail`	Stage 0 · Scout	signal — structured abstract	PubMed E-utilities	available Optional: NCBI_EMAIL / NCBI_API_KEY unset — runs at the free rate limit.
`research-funding`	Stage 3 · Verifier	academia — a specific NIH award	NIH RePORTER API	available No key or cached file needed.
`research-funding-scan`	Stage 0.5 · Seed Scout	signal — new NIH awards	NIH RePORTER API	available No key or cached file needed.
`patent`	Stage 3 · Verifier	IP (intellectual property)/FTO — a patent's filing, publication and status	EPO (European Patent Office) Open Patent Services (OPS)	needs configuration Set EPO_OPS_KEY and EPO_OPS_SECRET.
`patent-scan`	Stage 0 · Scout / Stage 3 lead-finding	IP/FTO — which patent families sit in a field (CPC, applicant, keywords)	EPO Open Patent Services (OPS) search	needs configuration Set EPO_OPS_KEY and EPO_OPS_SECRET.
`hcpcs`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — a HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) Level II code exists	CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) HCPCS Level II Alpha-Numeric file	needs configuration Missing data/hcpcs_level_ii.csv. See data/README.md.
`payment`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — the payment rate for a code	CMS fee schedules — CLFS (clinical laboratory fee schedule), and DMEPOS (durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies) (per state, rental/purchase lines)	needs configuration Missing data/hcpcs_payment_rates.csv (+1 more). See data/README.md.
`coverage`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — a Medicare coverage determination exists	CMS Medicare Coverage Database (NCD (national coverage determination)/LCD)	needs configuration Missing data/medicare_coverage_policies.csv. See data/README.md.
`ncd`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — what a National Coverage Determination actually says	CMS Pub. 100-3 National Coverage Determinations Manual (chapter 1, parts 1-4)	available No key or cached file needed.
`procedures`	Stage 3 · Verifier	TAM (total addressable market) — how often a procedure is actually performed	CMS Physician & Other Practitioners, and DMEPOS, by Geography and Service	needs configuration Missing data/medicare_procedure_volumes.csv (+1 more). See data/README.md.
`rvu`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — the practice-expense split under PFS (physician fee schedule)	CMS Physician Fee Schedule RVU (relative value unit) release	needs configuration Missing data/pfs_rvu.csv. See data/README.md.
`drg`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — inpatient DRG weight and length of stay	CMS IPPS Table 5 (MS-DRG)	needs configuration Missing data/ms_drg_weights.csv. See data/README.md.
`apc`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — outpatient APC status indicator	CMS OPPS Addendum B	needs configuration Missing data/opps_addendum_b.csv. See data/README.md.
`icd`	Stage 3 · Verifier	TAM — a diagnosis code exists (population, never payment)	CMS/NCHS ICD-10-CM	needs configuration Missing data/icd10cm.csv. See data/README.md.
`cpt`	Stage 3 · Verifier	reimbursement — a CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) code	none — AMA-licensed, cannot be scraped or reproduced	unverifiable by design Refuses to return verified/refuted under any circumstance, by design.
`market`	Stage 3 · Verifier	TAM — a market-size figure	none — no free authoritative source exists	unverifiable by design Only becomes verified if a human attaches a licensed report and hand-edits the tag.
`adoption`	Stage 3 · Verifier	stakeholder adoption / preference	none — needs primary market research this repo does not have	unverifiable by design No primary source exists for this claim type.

Three of these will never turn green, on purpose. cpt, market and adoption return unverifiable by design — CPT codes are AMA-licensed and cannot be scraped or reproduced, no free authoritative source prices a market, and no database records what a surgeon or a payer would do. That is a correct, permanent result, not a missing integration.

Regenerate this table's data any time with python3 engine/scripts/connector_status.py. Add a missing cache file per data/README.md; register the one API key (EPO_OPS_KEY / EPO_OPS_SECRET) at developers.epo.org — free, no US residency required.

Words on this page15 abbreviation(s) and code(s), with what each stands for — copied from _shared/plain-language.md

510(k): premarket notification — the FDA route for a device shown to be as safe and effective as one already on the market; months, no clinical trial as a rule
CLFS: clinical laboratory fee schedule — the Medicare price list for laboratory tests
CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — the US agency that runs Medicare, and so decides what Medicare pays for
CPT: Current Procedural Terminology — the US billing codes for what a clinician does; owned by the American Medical Association
De Novo: De Novo classification request — the FDA route for a new, lower-risk device with no comparable product to point at; longer than a 510(k), usually needs clinical data
DMEPOS: durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies — the Medicare benefit and fee schedule that home equipment is paid under
EPO: European Patent Office — the European patent office
FDA: US Food and Drug Administration — the US regulator that clears or approves a device before it can be sold
HCPCS: Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System — the US billing codes for equipment, supplies and some services; a code is how a payer recognises what to pay for
IP: intellectual property — patents and the other rights that let a company stop others copying it
MAUDE: Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience — the FDA's public database of reported device problems
NCD: national coverage determination — a Medicare rule, valid everywhere in the US, saying whether and when something is covered
PFS: physician fee schedule — the Medicare price list for what clinicians do
RVU: relative value unit — the unit Medicare uses to price a clinician's work
TAM: total addressable market — how much money the whole market would be worth if every possible buyer bought

Generated from connectors/CONTEXT.md by engine/scripts/build_review.py on 2026-10-04. This page is a view — edit the source file and rebuild, never edit here.