FHIR CI-Build

This is the Continuous Integration Build of FHIR (will be incorrect/inconsistent at times).
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Patient Administration icon Work GroupMaturity Level: N Normative (from v4.0.0)Security Category: Patient Compartments: Patient, Practitioner, RelatedPerson

Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Patient resource.

Patient
Element Id Patient
Definition

Demographics and other administrative information about an individual or animal that is the subject of potential, past, current, or future health-related care, services, or processes.

Short Display Information about an individual or animal receiving health care services
Cardinality 0..*
Type DomainResource
Requirements

Tracking patient is the center of the healthcare process.

Alternate Names SubjectOfCare Client Resident
Summary false
Patient.identifier
Element Id Patient.identifier
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

Short Display An identifier for this patient
Note This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Cardinality 0..*
Type Identifier
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Summary true
Patient.active
Element Id Patient.active
Definition

Whether this patient record is in active use. Many systems use this property to mark as non-current patients, such as those that have not been seen for a period of time based on an organization's business rules.

It is often used to filter patient lists to exclude inactive patients

Deceased patients may also be marked as inactive for the same reasons, but may be active for some time after death.

Short Display Whether this patient's record is in active use
Cardinality 0..1
Type boolean
Is Modifier true (Reason: This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that can indicate that a record should not be treated as valid)
Meaning if Missing This resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
Requirements

Need to be able to mark a patient record as not to be used because it was created in error.

Summary true
Comments

If a record is inactive, and linked to an active record, then future patient/record updates should occur on the other patient.

Patient.name
Element Id Patient.name
Definition

A name associated with the individual.

Short Display A name associated with the patient
Cardinality 0..*
Type HumanName
Requirements

Need to be able to track the patient by multiple names. Examples are your official name and a partner name.

Summary true
Comments

A patient may have multiple names with different uses or applicable periods. For animals, the name is a "HumanName" in the sense that is assigned and used by humans and has the same patterns. Animal names may be communicated as given names, and optionally may include a family name.

Patient.telecom
Element Id Patient.telecom
Definition

A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

Short Display A contact detail for the individual
Cardinality 0..*
Type ContactPoint
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Summary true
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Patient.gender
Element Id Patient.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the patient is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

See the Patient Gender and Sex section for additional information about communicating patient gender and sex.

Short Display male | female | other | unknown
Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding AdministrativeGender (Required)
Type code
Requirements

Needed for identification of the individual, in combination with (at least) name and birth date.

Summary true
Comments

The gender might not match the biological sex as determined by genetics or the individual's preferred identification. Note that for both humans and particularly animals, there are other legitimate possibilities than male and female, though the vast majority of systems and contexts only support male and female. Systems providing decision support or enforcing business rules should ideally do this on the basis of Observations dealing with the specific sex or gender aspect of interest (anatomical, chromosomal, social, etc.) However, because these observations are infrequently recorded, defaulting to the administrative gender is common practice. Where such defaulting occurs, rule enforcement should allow for the variation between administrative and biological, chromosomal and other gender aspects. For example, an alert about a hysterectomy on a male should be handled as a warning or overridable error, not a "hard" error.

Patient.birthDate
Element Id Patient.birthDate
Definition

The date of birth for the individual.

Short Display The date of birth for the individual
Cardinality 0..1
Type date
Requirements

Age of the individual drives many clinical processes.

Summary true
Comments

Partial dates are allowed if the specific date of birth is unknown. There is a standard extension "patient-birthTime" available that should be used where Time is required (such as in maternity/infant care systems).

LOINC Code 21112-8
Patient.deceased[x]
Element Id Patient.deceased[x]
Definition

Indicates the date when the individual died, or, if the date is not known or cannot be estimated, a flag indicating the patient is known to be deceased.

Short Display Indicates if/when the individual is deceased
Cardinality 0..1
Type boolean|dateTime
[x] Note See Choice of Datatypes for further information about how to use [x]
Is Modifier true (Reason: This element is labeled as a modifier because once a patient is marked as deceased, the actions that are appropriate to perform on the patient may be significantly different.)
Requirements

The fact that a patient is deceased influences the clinical process. Also, in human communication and relation management it is necessary to know whether the person is alive.

Summary true
Comments

If there's no value in the instance, it means there is no statement on whether or not the individual is deceased. Most systems will interpret the absence of a value as a sign of the person being alive.

Patient.address
Element Id Patient.address
Definition

An address for the individual.

Short Display An address for the individual
Cardinality 0..*
Type Address
Requirements

May need to keep track of patient addresses for contacting, billing or reporting requirements and also to help with identification.

Summary true
Comments

Patient may have multiple addresses with different uses or applicable periods.

Patient.maritalStatus
Element Id Patient.maritalStatus
Definition

This field contains a patient's most recent marital (civil) status.

Short Display Marital (civil) status of a patient
Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding Marital Status Codes (Extensible)
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Most, if not all systems capture it.

Summary false
Patient.multipleBirth[x]
Element Id Patient.multipleBirth[x]
Definition

Indicates whether the patient is part of a multiple (boolean) or indicates the actual birth order (integer). This count is relative to the total of live births and fetal losses.

Short Display Whether patient is part of a multiple birth
Cardinality 0..1
Type boolean|integer
[x] Note See Choice of Datatypes for further information about how to use [x]
Requirements

For disambiguation of multiple-birth children, especially relevant where the care provider doesn't meet the patient, such as labs.

Summary false
Comments

Where the valueInteger is provided, the number is the birth number in the sequence. E.g. The middle birth in triplets would be valueInteger=2 and the third born would have valueInteger=3 If a boolean value was provided for this triplets example, then all 3 patient records would have valueBoolean=true (the ordering is not indicated).

Patient.photo
Element Id Patient.photo
Definition

Image of the patient.

Short Display Image of the patient
Cardinality 0..*
Type Attachment
Requirements

Many EHR systems have the capability to capture an image of the patient. Fits with newer social media usage too.

Summary false
Comments

Guidelines:

  • Use id photos, not clinical photos.
  • Limit dimensions to thumbnail.
  • Keep byte count low to ease resource updates.
Patient.contact
Element Id Patient.contact
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

Short Display A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient
Cardinality 0..*
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Summary false
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Invariants
Defined on this element
pat-1Rule SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organizationname.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists()
Patient.contact.relationship
Element Id Patient.contact.relationship
Definition

The nature of the personal relationship between the patient and the contact person.

Short Display The kind of personal relationship
Cardinality 0..*
Terminology Binding PersonalRelationshipRoleType icon (Preferred)
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Used to determine the nature of the personal relationship between the patient and the contact person.

Summary false
Comments

This property is for personal relationships. Functional relationships would be represented in Patient.contact.role.

Patient.contact.role
Element Id Patient.contact.role
Definition

The nature of the functional role between the patient and the contact person.

Short Display The kind of functional role
Cardinality 0..*
Terminology Binding Patient Relationship Type (Preferred)
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Summary false
Comments

This property is for functional relationships. Personal relationships would be represented in Patient.contact.relationship.

Patient.contact.name
Element Id Patient.contact.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact person. Alternate/additional names for this contact can be found in the additionalName property.

Short Display A name associated with the contact person
Cardinality 0..1
Type HumanName
Requirements

Contact persons need to be identified by name. Where multiple names are required, such as legal name and usual (Name to Use) name, also refer to the additionalName property.

Summary false
Invariants
Affect this element
pat-1Rule SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organizationname.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists()
Patient.contact.additionalName
Element Id Patient.contact.additionalName
Definition

Additional names for the contact person.

Short Display Additional names for the contact person
Cardinality 0..*
Type HumanName
Summary false
Comments

To maintain backward compatibility, additionalName was added as a way to express names beyond the single name that can be represented in Patient.contact.name.

When looking for an name of a given type, implementers should inspect both Patient.contact.name and Patient.contact.additionalName, and treat those two properties as a single combined logical list of names.

Patient.contact.telecom
Element Id Patient.contact.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the person, e.g. a telephone number or an email address.

Short Display A contact detail for the person
Cardinality 0..*
Type ContactPoint
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Summary false
Comments

Contact may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently, and also to help with identification.

Invariants
Affect this element
pat-1Rule SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organizationname.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists()
Patient.contact.address
Element Id Patient.contact.address
Definition

Address for the contact person. Alternate/additional addresses for this contact can be found in the additionalAddress property.

Short Display Address for the contact person
Cardinality 0..1
Type Address
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Summary false
Invariants
Affect this element
pat-1Rule SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organizationname.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists()
Patient.contact.additionalAddress
Element Id Patient.contact.additionalAddress
Definition

Additional addresses for the contact person.

Short Display Additional addresses for the contact person
Cardinality 0..*
Type Address
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Summary false
Comments

To maintain backward compatibility, additionalAddress was added as a way to express addresses beyond the single address that can be represented in Patient.contact.address.

When looking for an address of a given type, implementers should inspect both Patient.contact.address and Patient.contact.additionalAddress, and treat those two properties as a single combined logical list of addresses.

Patient.contact.gender
Element Id Patient.contact.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the contact person is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Short Display male | female | other | unknown
Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding AdministrativeGender (Required)
Type code
Requirements

Needed to address the person correctly.

Summary false
Patient.contact.organization
Element Id Patient.contact.organization
Definition

Organization on behalf of which the contact is acting or for which the contact is working.

Short Display Organization that is associated with the contact
Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference(Organization)
Requirements

For guardians or business related contacts, the organization is relevant.

Summary false
Invariants
Affect this element
pat-1Rule SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organizationname.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists()
Patient.contact.period
Element Id Patient.contact.period
Definition

The period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient.

Short Display The period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient
Cardinality 0..1
Type Period
Summary false
Patient.communication
Element Id Patient.communication
Definition

A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health.

Short Display A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Cardinality 0..*
Requirements

If a patient does not speak the local language, interpreters may be required, so languages spoken and proficiency are important things to keep track of both for patient and other persons of interest.

Summary false
Comments

If no language is specified, this implies that the default local language is spoken. If you need to convey proficiency for multiple modes, then you need multiple Patient.Communication associations. For animals, language is not a relevant field, and should be absent from the instance. If the Patient does not speak the default local language, then the Interpreter Required Standard can be used to explicitly declare that an interpreter is required.

Patient.communication.language
Element Id Patient.communication.language
Definition

The language which may be used to communicate with the individual.

Short Display The language which can be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Cardinality 1..1
Terminology Binding All Languages (Required)
Additional BindingsPurpose
Common Languages Starter Set
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Most systems in multilingual countries will want to convey language. Not all systems actually need the regional dialect.

Summary false
Comments

The language is commonly represented using the ISO-639-1 alpha code in lower case for the language, optionally followed by a hyphen and the ISO-3166-1 alpha code for the region in upper case. For example, "en" for English, or "en-US" for American English versus "en-AU" for Australian English, sgn-US for American Sign Language, sgn-NL for Dutch Sign Language, etc.

Not all systems actually code this but instead have it as free text. Hence CodeableConcept instead of code as the data type.

Patient.communication.preferred
Element Id Patient.communication.preferred
Definition

Indicates whether or not the patient prefers this language (over other languages he masters up a certain level).

Short Display Language preference indicator
Cardinality 0..1
Type boolean
Requirements

People that master multiple languages up to certain level may prefer one or more, i.e. feel more confident in communicating in a particular language making other languages sort of a fall back method.

Summary false
Comments

This language is specifically identified for communicating healthcare information.

Patient.generalPractitioner
Element Id Patient.generalPractitioner
Definition

Patient's nominated care provider.

Short Display Patient's nominated primary care provider
Cardinality 0..*
Type Reference(Organization | Practitioner | PractitionerRole)
Alternate Names careProvider
Summary false
Comments

This may be the primary care provider (in a GP context), or it may be a patient nominated care manager in a community/disability setting, or even organization that will provide people to perform the care provider roles. It is not to be used to record Care Teams, these should be in a CareTeam resource that may be linked to the CarePlan or EpisodeOfCare resources. Multiple GPs may be recorded against the patient for various reasons, such as a student that has his home GP listed along with the GP at university during the school semesters, or a "fly-in/fly-out" worker that has the onsite GP also included with his home GP to remain aware of medical issues.

Jurisdictions may decide that they can profile this down to 1 if desired, or 1 per type.

Patient.managingOrganization
Element Id Patient.managingOrganization
Definition

Organization that is the custodian of the patient record.

Short Display Organization that is the custodian of the patient record
Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference(Organization)
Requirements

Need to know who recognizes this patient record, manages and updates it.

Summary true
Comments

There is only one managing organization for a specific patient record. Other organizations will have their own Patient record, and may use the Link property to join the records together (or a Person resource which can include confidence ratings for the association).

Patient.link
Element Id Patient.link
Definition

Link to a Patient or RelatedPerson resource that concerns the same actual individual.

Short Display Link to a Patient or RelatedPerson resource that concerns the same actual individual
Cardinality 0..*
Is Modifier true (Reason: This element is labeled as a modifier because it might not be the main Patient resource, and the referenced patient should be used instead of this Patient record. This is when the link.type value is 'replaced-by')
Requirements

There are multiple use cases:

  • Duplicate patient records due to the clerical errors associated with the difficulties of identifying humans consistently, and
  • Distribution of patient information across multiple servers.
Summary true
Comments

There is no assumption that linked patient records have mutual links.

Patient.link.other
Element Id Patient.link.other
Definition

Link to a Patient or RelatedPerson resource that concerns the same actual individual.

Short Display The other patient or related person resource that the link refers to
Cardinality 1..1
Type Reference(Patient | RelatedPerson)
Hierarchy This reference may point back to the same instance (including transitively)
Summary true
Comments

Referencing a RelatedPerson here removes the need to use a Person record to associate a Patient and RelatedPerson as the same individual.

Patient.link.type
Element Id Patient.link.type
Definition

The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

Short Display replaced-by | replaces | refer | seealso
Cardinality 1..1
Terminology Binding Link Type (Required)
Type code
Summary true