searchPractitioners

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why searchPractitioners needs a policy

This tool retrieves or queries practitioner data from a FHIR server without modifying, deleting, or executing operations. Search operations are inherently read-only and return results based on filter criteria. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could retrieve practitioner information it shouldn't access, but cannot alter records or trigger external actions.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'searchPractitioners' and description 'Searches for practitioners based on various criteria like name, specialty, or identifier' indicate a query/search operation with no side effects.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access searchPractitioners gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control searchPractitioners

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Medplum MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for searchPractitioners:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "searchPractitioners": {}
  }
}

searchPractitioners is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register Medplum MCP Server — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

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All 37 Medplum MCP Server tools →

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Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about searchPractitioners

What does the searchPractitioners tool do? +

Searches for practitioners based on various criteria like name, specialty, or identifier. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Medplum MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on searchPractitioners? +

Register the Medplum MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for searchPractitioners: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Medplum MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is searchPractitioners? +

searchPractitioners is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit searchPractitioners? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the searchPractitioners rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block searchPractitioners completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for searchPractitioners. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides searchPractitioners? +

searchPractitioners is provided by the Medplum MCP Server MCP server (rkirkendall/medplum-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Medplum MCP Server tool call.

Start from Medplum MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →