search patient resources on a FHIR R4 server using search parameters, _include, and bundle pagination

Steps

1. Send a GET request to {base}/Patient with query parameters such as family, given, birthdate, or identifier to filter results.
2. Add _include=Patient:general-practitioner or similar to pull related resources into the same Bundle response.
3. Parse the returned Bundle (type: searchset) and iterate over entry[].resource for each matched Patient.
4. Check Bundle.link[] for a rel='next' URL and follow it to retrieve subsequent pages; repeat until no next link is present.
5. Use _count to control page size and _total=accurate if you need the total match count (note: may be expensive on large servers).
6. Prefer POST to {base}/Patient/_search if query strings are long or contain sensitive data, sending parameters as application/x-www-form-urlencoded.