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2.1.27.4.8.1 Operation $validate on Resource

FHIR Infrastructure Work Group

Maturity Level: N

Normative

Compartments: N/A

The validate operation checks whether the attached content would be acceptable either generally, as a create, an update or as a delete to an existing resource. The action the server takes depends on the mode parameter:

• [mode not provided]: The server checks the content of the resource against any schema, constraint rules, and other general terminology rules
• create: The server checks the content, and then checks that the content would be acceptable as a create (e.g. that the content would not violate any uniqueness constraints)
• update: The server checks the content, and then checks that it would accept it as an update against the nominated specific resource (e.g. that there are no changes to immutable fields the server does not allow to change, and checking version integrity if appropriate)
• delete: The server ignores the content, and checks that the nominated resource is allowed to be deleted (e.g. checking referential integrity rules)

Modes update and delete can only be used when the operation is invoked at the resource instance level. The return from this operation is an OperationOutcome

Note that this operation is not the only way to validate resources - see Validating Resources for further information.

The canonical URL for this operation definition is

 http://hl7.org/fhir/OperationDefinition/Resource-validate

Formal Definition (as a OperationDefinition).

URL: [base]/$validate

URL: [base]/[Resource]/$validate

URL: [base]/[Resource]/[id]/$validate

This is an idempotent operation

In Parameters:
Name	Scope	Cardinality	Type	Binding	Profile	Documentation
resource		0..1	Resource			Must be present unless the mode is "delete" or the operation is invoked at the instance level
mode		0..1	code	Resource Validation Mode (Required)		Default is 'no action'; (e.g. general validation). If the mode is create, the operation cannot be invoked on a particular resource.
profile		0..1	canonical(StructureDefinition)			If this is nominated, then the resource is validated against this specific profile. If a profile is nominated, and the server cannot validate against the nominated profile, it SHALL return an error. The profile parameter is required for mode=profile, and may be present in other modes
graph TU		0..1	canonical(GraphDefinition)			Indicates that the referenced resource should be treated as the 'root' as the specified graph, validating all references for the resource to ensure they follow the rules. This parameter is not widely supported.
profile		0..1	canonical(StructureDefinition)			If this is nominated, then the resource is validated against this specific profile. If a profile is nominated, and the server cannot validate against the nominated profile, it SHALL return an error. The profile parameter is required for mode=profile, and may be present in other modes
usageContext TU		0..*	UsageContext			Indicates an implementation context that applies to this validation. Influences which additionalBindings are relevant. NOTE: Expectations around subsumption testing, etc. are not yet defined and may be server-specific.
language TU		0..1	string			One or more language codes (W3C Language tags, with sub-tags). This has the same format as the HTTP accept header, and defaults to the value of the header
jurisdiction TU		0..1	code	Jurisdiction ValueSet (Extensible)		The jurisdiction is used for validating in some profiles where country specific bindings are defined. The default jurisdiction is at the discretion of the server. If you want to specify No jurisdiction, this is functionally equivalent to a jurisdiction of the 'the whole world', which is jurisdiction=uv
hintAboutNonMustSupport TU		0..1	boolean			In some cases (e.g. when creating examples for implementation guides or when checking for potential interoperability issues with a new communication partner), it can be useful to know when data elements are present in an instance when those elements are not mustSupport in the profile(s) the instance is being validated against. Identifying situations where this occurs might drive a change to the profile or cause a designer to drop an element from the instance. In other cases, the presence of the element can be fine and the information message ignored.
extension TU		0..*	string			The extension parameter controls how extensions are validated. It allows extensions from the specified domain (by matching the URL for the extension), and also has the special values 'any' and 'none'. It is up to the server to choose default settings for this parameter
questionnaire TU		0..1	code			Whether to validate the questionnaire in QuestionnaireResponse. Values: none - ignore, check - validate if a questionnaire is specified, and require - a questionnaire must be specified, and will be checked.
extensible-binding-warnings TU		0..1	boolean			When the validator encounters a code that is not part of an extensible binding, add a warning to suggest that the code be reviewed. This turns the warning on or off. It's up to the server to decide what the default is.
display-issues-are-warnings TU		0..1	boolean			Whether it's an error or just a warning when the validator encounters a coding or CodeableConcept where the display value isn't consistent with the display(s) defined by the code systems. It's up to the server to decide what the default is.
unknown-codesystems-cause-errors TU		0..1	boolean			Whether it's an error or just a warning when the validator encounters a unknown CodeSystem. It's up to the server to decide what the default is.
level TU		0..1	code	null (Required)		The minimum level to report issues - e.g. ignore hints and warnings. By default, all issues are returned
best-practice TU		0..1	code	null (Required)		The level to treat best-practice invariants etc as. By default these are treated as warnings
current TU		0..1	boolean			If this is true, additional bindings marked as 'current' will also be enforced
forPublication TU		0..1	boolean			If this is true, additional validation regarding suitability for 'publishing' are also enforced. Note that HL7 defines a set of rules, but the meaning and use of 'publishing' is at the discretion of the server.
html-in-markdown TU		0..1	code			What to do when HTML is found in markdown fields. Values = ignore, warning, and error. It's server discretion what the default is, and servers may choose to ignore turning this off (for security consideration reasons)
no_unicode_bidi_control_chars TU		0..1	boolean			Whether the existence of hidden bidi control characters is treated as a warning or an error. See CVE-2021-42574 . Server discretion for the default value, and servers can ignore this setting.
verbose-mode TU		0..1	boolean			Turns on verbose output, which servers may use to provide explanation of the validation process (e.g. slicing decisions).
allow-example-urls TU		0..1	boolean			Allow references in resources to refer to example.org, which are understood to be example URLs. Server discretion for the default value
Out Parameters:
Name	Scope	Cardinality	Type	Binding	Profile	Documentation
return		1..1	OperationOutcome			If the operation outcome does not list any errors, and a mode was specified, then this is an indication that the operation would be expected to succeed (excepting for transactional integrity issues, see below) Note: as this is the only out parameter, it is a resource, and it has the name 'return', the result of this operation is returned directly as a resource

This operation may be used during design and development to validate application design. It can also be used at run-time. One possible use might be that a client asks the server whether a proposed update is valid as the user is editing a dialog and displays an updated error to the user. The operation can be used as part of a light-weight two phase commit protocol but there is no expectation that the server will hold the content of the resource after this operation is used, or that the server guarantees to successfully perform an actual create, update or delete after the validation operation completes.

This operation returns a 200 Ok provided that it was possible to perform validation, irrespective of whether validation issues were found. However, it is possible that certain errors in the validated content (e.g. invalid character set, broken JSON, etc.) may cause the overall validation operation to fail with a 4xx or 5xx series response.

Note: the correct behavior of validation with regard to language (especially for Coding.display) is currently undefined, and further development and testing may lead to specific requirements or recommendations in subsequent releases

Future versions of this specifcation may add additional validation parameters. A candidate list is maintained with the FHIR Validator Documentation

2.1.27.4.8.2.1 Examples

Request: Validate a Patient against the DAF patient profile using POST directly.

POST /open/Patient/$validate?profile=http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/daf-patient
[other headers]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Patient xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
	<id value="us01"/>
	<text>
		<status value="generated"/>
		<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
			<p>
				<b>Generated Narrative with Details</b>
			</p>
			<p>
				<b>id</b>: us01</p>
			<p>
				<b>active</b>: true</p>
				<p>
				<b>birthsex</b>: Male</p>
			<p>
				<b>name</b>: Peter James Chalmers (OFFICIAL)</p>
			<p>
				<b>telecom</b>: ph: (03) 5555 6473(WORK), person@example.org(WORK)</p>
			<p>
				<b>address</b>: 534 Erewhon St PleasantVille Vic 3999 (HOME)</p>
			<p>
				<b>race</b>: White, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Shoshone, Filipino</p>
			<p>
				<b>ethnicity</b>: Hispanic or Latino, Dominican, Mexican</p>
		</div>
	</text>
	<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/us-core-race">
		<extension url="ombCategory">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Race"/>
				<code value="2106-3"/>
				<display value="White"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="ombCategory">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Race"/>
				<code value="1002-5"/>
				<display value="American Indian or Alaska Native"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="ombCategory">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Race"/>
				<code value="2028-9"/>
				<display value="Asian"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="detailed">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Race"/>
				<code value="1586-7"/>
				<display value="Shoshone"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="detailed">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Race"/>
				<code value="2036-2"/>
				<display value="Filipino"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
	</extension>
	<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/us/core/StructureDefinition/us-core-ethnicity">
		<extension url="ombCategory">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Ethnicity"/>
				<code value="2135-2"/>
				<display value="Hispanic or Latino"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="detailed">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Ethnicity"/>
				<code value="2184-0"/>
				<display value="Dominican"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
		<extension url="detailed">
			<valueCoding>
				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-Ethnicity"/>
				<code value="2148-5"/>
				<display value="Mexican"/>
			</valueCoding>
		</extension>
	</extension>
	<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/us-core-birthsex">
		<valueCode value="M"/>
	</extension>
	<active value="true"/>
	<!--  Peter James Chalmers, but called "Jim"  -->
	<name>
		<use value="official"/>
		<family value="Chalmers"/>
		<given value="Peter"/>
		<given value="James"/>
	</name>
	<telecom>
		<system value="phone"/>
		<value value="(03) 5555 6473"/>
		<use value="work"/>
	</telecom>
	<telecom>
		<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/us-core-direct">
			<valueBoolean value="true"/>
		</extension>
		<system value="email"/>
		<value value="person@example.org"/>
		<use value="work"/>
	</telecom>
	<address>
		<use value="home"/>
		<line value="534 Erewhon St"/>
		<city value="PleasantVille"/>
		<district value="Orange County"/>
		<state value="Vic"/>
		<postalCode value="3999"/>
	</address>
</Patient>

---

Request: Validate a proposed patient update - and for this example, using the Parameters syntax

POST /open/Patient/example/$validate
[other headers]

<Parameters xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <parameter>
    <name value="mode"/>
    <valueCode value="update"/>
  </parameter>
  <parameter>
    <name value="resource"/>
    <resource>
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
      <Patient xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
      	<id value="example"/>
      	<!--  MRN assigned by ACME healthcare on 6-May 2001  -->
      	<identifier>
      		<use value="usual"/>
      		<type>
      			<coding>
      				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v2-0203"/>
      				<code value="MR"/>
      			</coding>
      		</type>
      		<system value="urn:oid:1.2.36.146.595.217.0.1"/>
      		<value value="12345"/>
      		<period>
      			<start value="2001-05-06"/>
      		</period>
      		<assigner>
      			<display value="Acme Healthcare"/>
      		</assigner>
      	</identifier>
      	<active value="true"/>
      	<!--  Peter James Chalmers, but called "Jim"  -->
      	<name>
      		<use value="official"/>
      		<family value="Chalmers"/>
      		<given value="Peter"/>
      		<given value="James"/>
      	</name>
      	<name>
      		<use value="usual"/>
      		<given value="Jim"/>
      	</name>
      	<name>
          <!-- Maiden names apply for anyone whose name changes as a result of marriage - irrespective of gender -->
          <use value="maiden"/>
          <family value="Windsor"/>
      		<given value="Peter"/>
      		<given value="James"/>
          <period>
            <end value="2002"/>
          </period>
      	</name>
      	<telecom>
      		<use value="home"/>
      		<!--  home communication details aren't known  -->
      	</telecom>
      	<telecom>
      		<system value="phone"/>
      		<value value="(03) 5555 6473"/>
      		<use value="work"/>
      		<rank value="1"/>
      	</telecom>
      	<telecom>
      		<system value="phone"/>
      		<value value="(03) 3410 5613"/>
      		<use value="mobile"/>
      		<rank value="2"/>
      	</telecom>
      	<telecom>
      		<system value="phone"/>
      		<value value="(03) 5555 8834"/>
      		<use value="old"/>
      		<period>
            <end value="2014"/>
      		</period>
      	</telecom>
      	<!--  use FHIR code system for male / female  -->
      	<gender value="male"/>
      	<birthDate value="1974-12-25">
      		<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/patient-birthTime">
      			<valueDateTime value="1974-12-25T14:35:45-05:00"/>
      		</extension>
      	</birthDate>
      	<deceasedBoolean value="false"/>
      	<address>
      		<use value="home"/>
      		<type value="both"/>
      		<text value="534 Erewhon St
      PeasantVille, Rainbow, Vic  3999"/>
      		<line value="534 Erewhon St"/>
      		<city value="PleasantVille"/>
      		<district value="Rainbow"/>
      		<state value="Vic"/>
      		<postalCode value="3999"/>
      		<period>
      			<start value="1974-12-25"/>
      		</period>
      	</address>
      	<contact>
      		<relationship>
      			<coding>
      				<system value="http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v2-0131"/>
      				<code value="N"/>
      			</coding>
      		</relationship>
      		<name>
      			<family value="du Marché">
      				<!--  the "du" part is a family name prefix (VV in iso 21090)  -->
      				<extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/humanname-own-prefix">
      					<valueString value="VV"/>
      				</extension>
      			</family>
      			<given value="Bénédicte"/>
      		</name>
      		<additionalName>
      			<use value="nickname"/>
      			<given value="Béné"/>
      		</additionalName>
      		<telecom>
      			<system value="phone"/>
      			<value value="+33 (237) 998327"/>
      		</telecom>
      		<address>
      			<use value="home"/>
      			<type value="both"/>
      			<line value="534 Erewhon St"/>
      			<city value="PleasantVille"/>
      			<district value="Rainbow"/>
      			<state value="Vic"/>
      			<postalCode value="3999"/>
      			<period>
      				<start value="1974-12-25"/>
      			</period>
      		</address>
      		<additionalAddress>
      			<use value="work"/>
      			<line value="123 Smart St"/>
      			<city value="PleasantVille"/>
      			<state value="Vic"/>
      			<postalCode value="3999"/>
      		</additionalAddress>
      		<gender value="female"/>
      		<period>
      			<!--  The contact relationship started in 2012  -->
      			<start value="2012"/>
      		</period>
      	</contact>
      	<managingOrganization>
      		<reference value="Organization/1"/>
      	</managingOrganization>
      </Patient>
    </resource>
  </parameter>
</Parameters>

---

Response: Returned when the resource is valid

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
[other headers]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<OperationOutcome xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <id value="allok"/>
  <text>
    <status value="generated"/>
    <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
      <p>All OK</p>
    </div>
  </text>
  <issue> 
    <severity value="information"/>
    <code value="informational"/>
    <details>
      <text value="All OK"/>
    </details>
 </issue>
</OperationOutcome>

---

Response: Returned when the resource is not valid

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
[other headers]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<OperationOutcome xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <id value="validationfail"/>
  <text>
    <status value="generated"/>
    <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
      <p>Error parsing resource XML (Unknown Content &quot;label&quot; @ /Patient/identifier/label) at Patient.identifier</p>
    </div>
  </text>
  <issue>
    <severity value="error"/>
    <code value="structure"/>
    <details>
      <text value="Error parsing resource XML (Unknown Content &quot;label&quot;"/>
    </details> 
    <location value="/f:Patient/f:identifier"/>
    <expression value="Patient.identifier"/>
  </issue>
</OperationOutcome>

 

For more information about operations, including how they are invoked, see Operations.