Indicates how the medication is/was taken or should be taken by the patient.

The full representation of the dose of the medication included in all dosage instructions. To be used when multiple dosage instructions are included to represent complex dosing such as increasing or tapering doses.

The content of the renderedInstructions SHALL not be disagree with the dose represented in the dosage structure content. It may contain additional information not found in the dosage content.

Dosage details if it is a simple dose - a single dosage regime with no dependencies or multiple steps.

One step in a sequence of steps that comprise the dosage course.

When the step starts. In the absence of a linked event, the step is assumed to start immediately (or after the previous step).

When the step ends. In the absence of a linked event, the step is assumed to end when the internal timing schedule termnates.

How many times to do this step (if not 1).

A dosage details that is part of this step.

Safety Information about this step of the dose course.

Safety Information about the combined dose course.

Indicates how the medication is/was taken or should be taken by the patient.

Whether the dosage applies (e.g. as a whole). The Disage applies if any of the conditions are true.

Free text dosage instructions e.g. SIG.

Free text dosage instructions can be used for cases where the instructions are too complex to code. The content of this attribute does not include the name or description of the medication. When coded instructions are present, the free text instructions may still be present for display to humans taking or administering the medication. It is expected that the text instructions will always be populated. If the dosage.timing attribute is also populated, then the dosage.text should reflect the same information as the timing. Additional information about administration or preparation of the medication should be included as text.

Supplemental instructions to the patient on how to take the medication (e.g. "with meals" or"take half to one hour before food") or warnings for the patient about the medication (e.g. "may cause drowsiness" or "avoid exposure of skin to direct sunlight or sunlamps").

Additional instruction is intended to be coded, but where no code exists, the element could include text. For example, "Swallow with plenty of water" which might or might not be coded.

Information about administration or preparation of the medication (e.g. "infuse as rapidly as possibly via intraperitoneal port" or take "immediately following drug x") should be populated in dosage.text.

Instructions in terms that are understood by the patient or consumer.

When medication should be administered.

The timing schedule for giving the medication to the patient. This data type allows many different expressions. For example: "Every 8 hours"; "Three times a day"; "1/2 an hour before breakfast for 10 days from 23-Dec 2011:"; "15 Oct 2013, 17 Oct 2013 and 1 Nov 2013". Sometimes, a rate can imply duration when expressed as total volume / duration (e.g. 500mL/2 hours implies a duration of 2 hours). However, when rate doesn't imply duration (e.g. 250mL/hour), then the timing.repeat.duration is needed to convey the infuse over time period.

This attribute might not always be populated while the Dosage.text is expected to be populated. If both are populated, then the Dosage.text should reflect the content of the Dosage.timing.

Indicates whether the Medication is only taken when needed within a specific dosing schedule (Boolean option).

Can express "as needed" without a reason by setting the Boolean = True. In this case the CodeableConcept is not populated.

Indicates whether the Medication is only taken based on a precondition for taking the Medication (CodeableConcept).

Can express "as needed" with a reason by including the CodeableConcept. Based on the invariant, the Dosage.asNeededFor is not populated when Dosage.asNeeded is false. If the Dosage.asNeeded is "false", then the dose is given according to the schedule and is not "prn" or "as needed".

Body site to administer to.

A coded specification of the anatomic site where the medication first enters the body.

If the use case requires attributes from the BodySite resource (e.g. to identify and track separately) then use the standard extension http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/bodySite. May be a summary code, or a reference to a very precise definition of the location, or both.

How drug should enter body.

A code specifying the route or physiological path of administration of a therapeutic agent into or onto a patient's body.

Technique for administering medication.

A coded value indicating the method by which the medication is introduced into or onto the body. Most commonly used for injections. For examples, Slow Push; Deep IV.

Terminologies used often pre-coordinate this term with the route and or form of administration.

Depending on the resource,this is the amount of medication administered, to be administered or typical amount to be administered.

The kind of dose or rate specified, for example, ordered or calculated.

If the type is not populated, assume to be "ordered".

Amount of medication per dose.

The amount of therapeutic or other substance given at one administration event.

Note that this specifies the quantity of the specified medication, not the quantity for each active ingredient(s). Each ingredient amount can be communicated in the Medication resource. For example, if one wants to communicate that a tablet was 375 mg, where the dose was one tablet, you can use the Medication resource to document that the tablet was comprised of 375 mg of drug XYZ. Alternatively if the dose was 375 mg, then you may only need to use the Medication resource to indicate this was a tablet. If the example were an IV such as dopamine and you wanted to communicate that 400mg of dopamine was mixed in 500 ml of some IV solution, then this would all be communicated in the Medication resource. If the administration is not intended to be instantaneous (rate is present or timing has a duration), this can be specified to convey the total amount to be administered over the period of time as indicated by the schedule e.g. 500 ml in dose, with timing used to convey that this should be done over 4 hours. Expression is provided for medications that are e.g. weight dependent, or skin surface are dependent.

Amount of medication per unit of time.

Identifies the speed with which the medication was or will be introduced into the patient. Typically the rate for an infusion e.g. 100 ml per 1 hour or 100 ml/hr. May also be expressed as a rate per unit of time e.g. 500 ml per 2 hours. Other examples: 200 mcg/min or 200 mcg/1 minute; 1 liter/8 hours. Sometimes, a rate can imply duration when expressed as total volume / duration (e.g. 500mL/2 hours implies a duration of 2 hours). However, when rate doesn't imply duration (e.g. 250mL/hour), then the timing.repeat.duration is needed to convey the infuse over time period.

It is possible to supply both a rate and a doseQuantity to provide full details about how the medication is to be administered and supplied. If the rate is intended to change over time, depending on local rules/regulations, each change should be captured as a new version of the MedicationRequest with an updated rate, or captured with a new MedicationRequest with the new rate.

It is possible to specify a rate over time (for example, 100 ml/hour) using either the rateRatio and rateQuantity. The rateQuantity approach requires systems to have the capability to parse UCUM grammar where ml/hour is included rather than a specific ratio where the time is specified as the denominator. Where a rate such as 500ml over 2 hours is specified, the use of rateRatio may be more semantically correct than specifying using a rateQuantity of 250 mg/hour. Expression is provided for medications that are e.g. weight dependent, or skin surface are dependent.

Safety Information about the this dosage instructions.

Safety Details about the usage of the medication.

A dose limit for safe use of the medication.

Quantity that is safe to use.

dosage | period | administration | lifetime - The scope of the dose limitation.

The period over which the quantity is safe to use (if scope = period).

Additional notes about the dose limit.

What to do if the instructions lead to exceeding the dose limits.

DosageCondition expresses a time or time period as relative to the time of an event defined in data types other than dateTime.

The specific event occurrence or resource context used as a base point (reference point) in time. This establishes the context in which the 'path' is evaluated.

Additional details about the event - depends on the code.

How the value is tested.

The value for this critera.

Free-text (human-readable) description.