Flatten Nested Healthcare JSON | Dataford Interview Questions

Write a Python function to parse a deeply nested JSON payload from a third-party healthcare API and flatten it into a relational format for Heliosx Group.

Implement flatten_healthcare_payload(payload). The input is a JSON-compatible Python value. Return a list containing one dictionary, where nested object keys use dot notation and array elements use zero-based bracket indices. Preserve scalar values and input traversal order. Represent a root scalar with the key $; preserve empty objects and arrays as values.

Contract

Input: a JSON-compatible dict, list, or scalar.
Output: list[dict] containing one flattened row.

Constraints

The input is valid JSON represented by Python dictionaries, lists, strings, numbers, booleans, or None.
Keys are strings or values convertible to strings.
The nesting depth is at most 1000.
The total number of JSON nodes is at most 10000.
The output contains exactly one dictionary.

Function Signature

def flatten_healthcare_payload(payload):

Your question is Flatten Nested Healthcare JSON. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem