A structured set of questions and their answers. The questions are ordered and grouped into coherent subsets, corresponding to the structure of the grouping of the questionnaire being responded to.

The QuestionnaireResponse contains enough information about the questions asked and their organization that it can be interpreted somewhat independently from the Questionnaire it is based on. I.e. You don't need access to the Questionnaire in order to extract basic information from a QuestionnaireResponse.

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content might not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

The version specific identifier, as it appears in the version portion of the URL. This value changes when the resource is created, updated, or deleted.

The server assigns this value, and ignores what the client specifies, except in the case that the server is imposing version integrity on updates/deletes.

When the resource last changed - e.g. when the version changed.

This element is generally omitted in instances submitted in a PUT or POST. Instead, it is populated in the response instance and when retrieving information using a GET. The server / resource manager sets this value; what a client provides is irrelevant. This is equivalent to the HTTP Last-Modified and SHOULD have the same value on a read interaction.

A list of profiles (references to StructureDefinition resources) that this resource claims to conform to. The URL is a reference to StructureDefinition.url.

It is up to the server and/or other infrastructure of policy to determine whether/how these claims are verified and/or updated over time. The list of profile URLs is a set.

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc.

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of its narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.

These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, nor can they have their own independent transaction scope. This is allowed to be a Parameters resource if and only if it is referenced by a resource that provides context/meaning.

This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again. Contained resources may have profiles and tags in their meta elements, but SHALL NOT have security labels.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

The purpose of this identifier.

Applications can assume that an identifier is permanent unless it explicitly says that it is temporary.

Identifies the purpose for this identifier, if known .

Allows the appropriate identifier for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of identifiers.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

The purpose of this identifier.

Applications can assume that an identifier is permanent unless it explicitly says that it is temporary.

Identifies the purpose for this identifier, if known .

Allows the appropriate identifier for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of identifiers.

The Questionnaire that defines and organizes the questions for which answers are being provided.

If a QuestionnaireResponse references a Questionnaire that can be resolved, then the QuestionnaireResponse structure must be consistent with the Questionnaire (i.e. questions must be organized into the same groups, nested questions must still be nested, etc.). It is possible to have a QuestionnaireResponse whose 'questionnaire' element does not resolve. It is also possible for the questionnaire element to not have a value but only extensions (e.g. conveying the title or identifier for the questionnaire). This may happen for legacy data. If there is no formally defined Questionnaire, it is undefined what the 'correct' values for the linkId elements should be and it is possible that linkIds might be inconsistent for QuestionnaireResponses for the same form if captured by distinct systems.

Needed to allow editing of the questionnaire response in a manner that enforces the constraints of the original form.

The current state of the questionnaire response.

Unknown does not represent "other" - one of the defined statuses must apply. Unknown is used when the authoring system is not sure what the current status is.

Lifecycle status of the questionnaire response.

The information on Questionnaire resources may possibly be gathered during multiple sessions and altered after considered being finished.

The individual or device that received the answers to the questions in the QuestionnaireResponse and recorded them in the system.

Mapping a subject's answers to multiple choice options and determining what to put in the textual answer is a matter of interpretation. Authoring by device would indicate that some portion of the questionnaire had been auto-populated. Device should only be used if it directly determined the answers, not if it was merely used as a capture tool to record answers provided by others. In the latter case, information about the physical device, software, etc. would be captured using Provenance.

Need to know who interpreted the subject's answers to the questions in the questionnaire, and selected the appropriate options for answers.

A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.

Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries. Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure "[type]/[id]" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.

The individual or device that answered the questions about the subject.

If not specified, no inference can be made about who provided the data. Device should only be used if it directly determined the answers, not if it was merely used as a capture tool to record answers provided by others. In the latter case, information about the physical device, software, etc. would be captured using Provenance.

When answering questions about a subject that is minor, incapable of answering or an animal, another human source may answer the questions.

A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.

Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries. Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure "[type]/[id]" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.

A group or question item from the original questionnaire for which answers are provided.

Groups cannot have answers and therefore must nest directly within item. When dealing with questions, nesting must occur within each answer because some questions may have multiple answers (and the nesting occurs for each answer).\nWhen dealing with repeating items, each group repetition will be handled by a separate item. However, repeating questions are handled with a single question item and potentially multiple answers.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

The item from the Questionnaire that corresponds to this item in the QuestionnaireResponse resource.

Items can repeat in the answers, so a direct 1..1 correspondence by position might not exist - requiring correspondence by identifier.

Text that is displayed above the contents of the group or as the text of the question being answered.

The text for an item SHOULD be identical to the text from the corresponding Questionnaire.item. This can't be strictly enforced because it's possible for the Questionnaire to be updated subsequent to the QuestionnaireResponse having been created, however the intention is that the text in the QuestionnaireResponse reflects what the user saw when completing the Questionnaire.

Allows the questionnaire response to be read without access to the questionnaire.

This is an equivalent of the string on which the extension is sent, but includes additional XHTML markup, such as bold, italics, styles, tables, etc. Existing restrictions on XHTML content apply. Note that using markdown allows for greater flexibility of display.

For questionnaires, see additional guidance and examples in the SDC implementation guide.

The respondent's answer(s) to the question.

The value is nested because we cannot have a repeating structure that has variable type.

This is an equivalent of the string on which the extension is sent, but includes additional XHTML markup, such as bold, italics, styles, tables, etc. Existing restrictions on XHTML content apply. Note that using markdown allows for greater flexibility of display.

For questionnaires, see additional guidance and examples in the SDC implementation guide.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

The answer (or one of the answers) provided by the respondent to the question.

More complex structures (Attachment, Resource and Quantity) will typically be limited to electronic forms that can expose an appropriate user interface to capture the components and enforce the constraints of a complex data type. Additional complex types can be introduced through extensions. Must match the datatype specified by Questionnaire.item.type in the corresponding Questionnaire. Note that a question is answered using one of the possible choices defined with answerOption, answerValueSet or some other means and the answer has a complex data type, all elements within the answer in the QuestionnaireResponse SHOULD match the elements defined corresponding choice value in the Questionnaire. However, it is possible that not all elements will be propagated. Also, some systems might use language translations resulting in different displays. Comparison of value to the values defined in the Questionnaire (whether by answerOption, answerValueSet or answerExpression) SHALL NOT pay attention to Coding.display, Reference.display, Quantity.unit unless those are the only elements present. As well, systems are not required to check for a match on any extensions (e.g. ordinal values, translations, etc.). Systems MAY enforce that if extensions such as ordinal values are present in both Questionnaire and QuestionnaireResponse, they match.

Binding this is problematic because one value set can't apply to both codes and quantities.

Ability to retain a single-valued answer to a question.

The answer (or one of the answers) provided by the respondent to the question.

More complex structures (Attachment, Resource and Quantity) will typically be limited to electronic forms that can expose an appropriate user interface to capture the components and enforce the constraints of a complex data type. Additional complex types can be introduced through extensions. Must match the datatype specified by Questionnaire.item.type in the corresponding Questionnaire. Note that a question is answered using one of the possible choices defined with answerOption, answerValueSet or some other means and the answer has a complex data type, all elements within the answer in the QuestionnaireResponse SHOULD match the elements defined corresponding choice value in the Questionnaire. However, it is possible that not all elements will be propagated. Also, some systems might use language translations resulting in different displays. Comparison of value to the values defined in the Questionnaire (whether by answerOption, answerValueSet or answerExpression) SHALL NOT pay attention to Coding.display, Reference.display, Quantity.unit unless those are the only elements present. As well, systems are not required to check for a match on any extensions (e.g. ordinal values, translations, etc.). Systems MAY enforce that if extensions such as ordinal values are present in both Questionnaire and QuestionnaireResponse, they match.

Ability to retain a single-valued answer to a question.

A structured set of questions and their answers. The questions are ordered and grouped into coherent subsets, corresponding to the structure of the grouping of the questionnaire being responded to.

The QuestionnaireResponse contains enough information about the questions asked and their organization that it can be interpreted somewhat independently from the Questionnaire it is based on. I.e. You don't need access to the Questionnaire in order to extract basic information from a QuestionnaireResponse.

The logical id of the resource, as used in the URL for the resource. Once assigned, this value never changes.

Within the context of the FHIR RESTful interactions, the resource has an id except for cases like the create and conditional update. Otherwise, the use of the resouce id depends on the given use case.

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content might not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

The version specific identifier, as it appears in the version portion of the URL. This value changes when the resource is created, updated, or deleted.

The server assigns this value, and ignores what the client specifies, except in the case that the server is imposing version integrity on updates/deletes.

When the resource last changed - e.g. when the version changed.

This element is generally omitted in instances submitted in a PUT or POST. Instead, it is populated in the response instance and when retrieving information using a GET. The server / resource manager sets this value; what a client provides is irrelevant. This is equivalent to the HTTP Last-Modified and SHOULD have the same value on a read interaction.

A uri that identifies the source system of the resource. This provides a minimal amount of Provenance information that can be used to track or differentiate the source of information in the resource. The source may identify another FHIR server, document, message, database, etc.

The exact use of the source (and the possible implied Provenance.entity.role and agent.role) is left to implementer discretion. Only one nominated source is allowed; for additional provenance details, a full Provenance resource should be used. The source may correspond to Provenance.entity.what[x] or Provenance.agent.who[x], though it may be a more general or abstract reference.

This element can be used to indicate where the current master source of a resource that has a canonical URL if the resource is no longer hosted at the canonical URL.

A list of profiles (references to StructureDefinition resources) that this resource claims to conform to. The URL is a reference to StructureDefinition.url.

It is up to the server and/or other infrastructure of policy to determine whether/how these claims are verified and/or updated over time. The list of profile URLs is a set.

Security labels applied to this resource. These tags connect specific resources to the overall security policy and infrastructure.

The security labels can be updated without changing the stated version of the resource. The list of security labels is a set. Uniqueness is based the system/code, and version and display are ignored.

Security Labels from the Healthcare Privacy and Security Classification System.

Tags applied to this resource. Tags are intended to be used to identify and relate resources to process and workflow, and applications are not required to consider the tags when interpreting the meaning of a resource.

The tags can be updated without changing the stated version of the resource. The list of tags is a set. Uniqueness is based the system/code, and version and display are ignored.

Codes that represent various types of tags, commonly workflow-related; e.g. "Needs review by Dr. Jones".

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc.

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of its narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.

The base language in which the resource is written.

Language is provided to support indexing and accessibility (typically, services such as text to speech use the language tag). The html language tag in the narrative applies to the narrative. The language tag on the resource may be used to specify the language of other presentations generated from the data in the resource. Not all the content has to be in the base language. The Resource.language should not be assumed to apply to the narrative automatically. If a language is specified, it should it also be specified on the div element in the html (see rules in HTML5 for information about the relationship between xml:lang and the html lang attribute).

IETF language tag for a human language

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource and can be used to represent the content of the resource to a human. The narrative need not encode all the structured data, but is required to contain sufficient detail to make it "clinically safe" for a human to just read the narrative. Resource definitions may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety.

Contained resources do not have a narrative. Resources that are not contained SHOULD have a narrative. In some cases, a resource may only have text with little or no additional discrete data (as long as all minOccurs=1 elements are satisfied). This may be necessary for data from legacy systems where information is captured as a "text blob" or where text is additionally entered raw or narrated and encoded information is added later.

These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, nor can they have their own independent transaction scope. This is allowed to be a Parameters resource if and only if it is referenced by a resource that provides context/meaning.

This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again. Contained resources may have profiles and tags in their meta elements, but SHALL NOT have security labels.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

The purpose of this identifier.

Applications can assume that an identifier is permanent unless it explicitly says that it is temporary.

Identifies the purpose for this identifier, if known .

Allows the appropriate identifier for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of identifiers.

A coded type for the identifier that can be used to determine which identifier to use for a specific purpose.

This element deals only with general categories of identifiers. It SHOULD not be used for codes that correspond 1..1 with the Identifier.system. Some identifiers may fall into multiple categories due to common usage. Where the system is known, a type is unnecessary because the type is always part of the system definition. However systems often need to handle identifiers where the system is not known. There is not a 1:1 relationship between type and system, since many different systems have the same type.

A coded type for an identifier that can be used to determine which identifier to use for a specific purpose.

Allows users to make use of identifiers when the identifier system is not known.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for alternative encodings within a code system, and translations to other code systems.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Establishes the namespace for the value - that is, an absolute URL that describes a set values that are unique.

Identifier.system is always case sensitive.

There are many sets of identifiers. To perform matching of two identifiers, we need to know what set we're dealing with. The system identifies a particular set of unique identifiers.

The portion of the identifier typically relevant to the user and which is unique within the context of the system.

If the value is a full URI, then the system SHALL be urn:ietf:rfc:3986. The value's primary purpose is computational mapping. As a result, it may be normalized for comparison purposes (e.g. removing non-significant whitespace, dashes, etc.) A value formatted for human display can be conveyed using the http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/rendered-value). Identifier.value is to be treated as case sensitive unless knowledge of the Identifier.system allows the processer to be confident that non-case-sensitive processing is safe.

Time period during which identifier is/was valid for use.

Organization that issued/manages the identifier.

The Identifier.assigner may omit the .reference element and only contain a .display element reflecting the name or other textual information about the assigning organization.

Business identifiers assigned to this questionnaire response by the performer and/or other systems. These identifiers remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server.

Note: This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion).

Allows identification of the questionnaire response as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

The purpose of this identifier.

Applications can assume that an identifier is permanent unless it explicitly says that it is temporary.

Identifies the purpose for this identifier, if known .

Allows the appropriate identifier for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of identifiers.

A coded type for the identifier that can be used to determine which identifier to use for a specific purpose.

This element deals only with general categories of identifiers. It SHOULD not be used for codes that correspond 1..1 with the Identifier.system. Some identifiers may fall into multiple categories due to common usage. Where the system is known, a type is unnecessary because the type is always part of the system definition. However systems often need to handle identifiers where the system is not known. There is not a 1:1 relationship between type and system, since many different systems have the same type.

A coded type for an identifier that can be used to determine which identifier to use for a specific purpose.

Allows users to make use of identifiers when the identifier system is not known.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for alternative encodings within a code system, and translations to other code systems.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Establishes the namespace for the value - that is, an absolute URL that describes a set values that are unique.

Identifier.system is always case sensitive.

There are many sets of identifiers. To perform matching of two identifiers, we need to know what set we're dealing with. The system identifies a particular set of unique identifiers.

The portion of the identifier typically relevant to the user and which is unique within the context of the system.

If the value is a full URI, then the system SHALL be urn:ietf:rfc:3986. The value's primary purpose is computational mapping. As a result, it may be normalized for comparison purposes (e.g. removing non-significant whitespace, dashes, etc.) A value formatted for human display can be conveyed using the http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/rendered-value). Identifier.value is to be treated as case sensitive unless knowledge of the Identifier.system allows the processer to be confident that non-case-sensitive processing is safe.

Time period during which identifier is/was valid for use.

Organization that issued/manages the identifier.

The Identifier.assigner may omit the .reference element and only contain a .display element reflecting the name or other textual information about the assigning organization.

A plan, proposal or order that is fulfilled in whole or in part by this questionnaire response. For example, a ServiceRequest seeking an intake assessment or a decision support recommendation to assess for post-partum depression.

Supports traceability of responsibility for the questionnaire response and allows linkage of the response to the proposals/recommendations acted upon.

A procedure or observation that this questionnaire was performed as part of the execution of. For example, the surgery a checklist was executed as part of.

Not to be used to link an questionnaire response to an Encounter - use 'context' for that.

Composition of questionnaire responses will be handled using the Assemble operation defined in the SDC IG. For relationships to referrals, and other types of requests, use basedOn.

The Questionnaire that defines and organizes the questions for which answers are being provided.

If a QuestionnaireResponse references a Questionnaire that can be resolved, then the QuestionnaireResponse structure must be consistent with the Questionnaire (i.e. questions must be organized into the same groups, nested questions must still be nested, etc.). It is possible to have a QuestionnaireResponse whose 'questionnaire' element does not resolve. It is also possible for the questionnaire element to not have a value but only extensions (e.g. conveying the title or identifier for the questionnaire). This may happen for legacy data. If there is no formally defined Questionnaire, it is undefined what the 'correct' values for the linkId elements should be and it is possible that linkIds might be inconsistent for QuestionnaireResponses for the same form if captured by distinct systems.

Needed to allow editing of the questionnaire response in a manner that enforces the constraints of the original form.

The current state of the questionnaire response.

Unknown does not represent "other" - one of the defined statuses must apply. Unknown is used when the authoring system is not sure what the current status is.

Lifecycle status of the questionnaire response.

The information on Questionnaire resources may possibly be gathered during multiple sessions and altered after considered being finished.

The subject of the questionnaire response. This could be a patient, organization, practitioner, device, etc. This is who/what the answers apply to, but is not necessarily the source of information.

If the Questionnaire declared a subjectType, the resource pointed to by this element must be an instance of one of the listed types.

Links the questionnaire response to the Patient context. May also affect access control.

The Encounter during which this questionnaire response was created or to which the creation of this record is tightly associated.

This will typically be the encounter the questionnaire response was created during, but some questionnaire responses may be initiated prior to or after the official completion of an encounter but still be tied to the context of the encounter (e.g. pre-admission forms). A questionnaire that was initiated during an encounter but not fully completed during the encounter would still generally be associated with the encounter.

Links the questionnaire response to the Encounter context. May also affect access control.

The date and/or time that this questionnaire response was last modified by the user - e.g. changing answers or revising status.

May be different from the lastUpdateTime of the resource itself, because that reflects when the data was known to the server, not when the data was captured.

This element is optional to allow for systems that might not know the value, however it SHOULD be populated if possible.

Clinicians need to be able to check the date that the information in the questionnaire was collected, to derive the context of the answers.

The individual or device that received the answers to the questions in the QuestionnaireResponse and recorded them in the system.

Mapping a subject's answers to multiple choice options and determining what to put in the textual answer is a matter of interpretation. Authoring by device would indicate that some portion of the questionnaire had been auto-populated. Device should only be used if it directly determined the answers, not if it was merely used as a capture tool to record answers provided by others. In the latter case, information about the physical device, software, etc. would be captured using Provenance.

Need to know who interpreted the subject's answers to the questions in the questionnaire, and selected the appropriate options for answers.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.

Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries. Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure "[type]/[id]" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.

The expected type of the target of the reference. If both Reference.type and Reference.reference are populated and Reference.reference is a FHIR URL, both SHALL be consistent.

The type is the Canonical URL of Resource Definition that is the type this reference refers to. References are URLs that are relative to http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/ e.g. "Patient" is a reference to http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Patient. Absolute URLs are only allowed for logical models (and can only be used in references in logical models, not resources).

This element is used to indicate the type of the target of the reference. This may be used which ever of the other elements are populated (or not). In some cases, the type of the target may be determined by inspection of the reference (e.g. a known RESTful URL) or by resolving the target of the reference.

Aa resource (or, for logical models, the URI of the logical model).

An identifier for the target resource. This is used when there is no way to reference the other resource directly, either because the entity it represents is not available through a FHIR server, or because there is no way for the author of the resource to convert a known identifier to an actual location. There is no requirement that a Reference.identifier point to something that is actually exposed as a FHIR instance, but it SHALL point to a business concept that would be expected to be exposed as a FHIR instance, and that instance would need to be of a FHIR resource type allowed by the reference.

When an identifier is provided in place of a reference, any system processing the reference will only be able to resolve the identifier to a reference if it understands the business context in which the identifier is used. Sometimes this is global (e.g. a national identifier) but often it is not. For this reason, none of the useful mechanisms described for working with references (e.g. chaining, includes) are possible, nor should servers be expected to be able resolve the reference. Servers may accept an identifier based reference untouched, resolve it, and/or reject it - see CapabilityStatement.rest.resource.referencePolicy.

When both an identifier and a literal reference are provided, the literal reference is preferred. Applications processing the resource are allowed - but not required - to check that the identifier matches the literal reference

Applications converting a logical reference to a literal reference may choose to leave the logical reference present, or remove it.

Reference is intended to point to a structure that can potentially be expressed as a FHIR resource, though there is no need for it to exist as an actual FHIR resource instance - except in as much as an application wishes to actual find the target of the reference. The content referred to be the identifier must meet the logical constraints implied by any limitations on what resource types are permitted for the reference. For example, it would not be legitimate to send the identifier for a drug prescription if the type were Reference(Observation|DiagnosticReport). One of the use-cases for Reference.identifier is the situation where no FHIR representation exists (where the type is Reference (Any).

This element only allows for a single identifier. In the case where additional identifers are required, use the http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/additionalIdentifier extension.

Plain text narrative that identifies the resource in addition to the resource reference.

This is generally not the same as the Resource.text of the referenced resource. The purpose is to identify what's being referenced, not to fully describe it.

The individual or device that answered the questions about the subject.

If not specified, no inference can be made about who provided the data. Device should only be used if it directly determined the answers, not if it was merely used as a capture tool to record answers provided by others. In the latter case, information about the physical device, software, etc. would be captured using Provenance.

When answering questions about a subject that is minor, incapable of answering or an animal, another human source may answer the questions.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.

Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries. Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure "[type]/[id]" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.

The expected type of the target of the reference. If both Reference.type and Reference.reference are populated and Reference.reference is a FHIR URL, both SHALL be consistent.

The type is the Canonical URL of Resource Definition that is the type this reference refers to. References are URLs that are relative to http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/ e.g. "Patient" is a reference to http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Patient. Absolute URLs are only allowed for logical models (and can only be used in references in logical models, not resources).

This element is used to indicate the type of the target of the reference. This may be used which ever of the other elements are populated (or not). In some cases, the type of the target may be determined by inspection of the reference (e.g. a known RESTful URL) or by resolving the target of the reference.

Aa resource (or, for logical models, the URI of the logical model).

An identifier for the target resource. This is used when there is no way to reference the other resource directly, either because the entity it represents is not available through a FHIR server, or because there is no way for the author of the resource to convert a known identifier to an actual location. There is no requirement that a Reference.identifier point to something that is actually exposed as a FHIR instance, but it SHALL point to a business concept that would be expected to be exposed as a FHIR instance, and that instance would need to be of a FHIR resource type allowed by the reference.

When an identifier is provided in place of a reference, any system processing the reference will only be able to resolve the identifier to a reference if it understands the business context in which the identifier is used. Sometimes this is global (e.g. a national identifier) but often it is not. For this reason, none of the useful mechanisms described for working with references (e.g. chaining, includes) are possible, nor should servers be expected to be able resolve the reference. Servers may accept an identifier based reference untouched, resolve it, and/or reject it - see CapabilityStatement.rest.resource.referencePolicy.

When both an identifier and a literal reference are provided, the literal reference is preferred. Applications processing the resource are allowed - but not required - to check that the identifier matches the literal reference

Applications converting a logical reference to a literal reference may choose to leave the logical reference present, or remove it.

Reference is intended to point to a structure that can potentially be expressed as a FHIR resource, though there is no need for it to exist as an actual FHIR resource instance - except in as much as an application wishes to actual find the target of the reference. The content referred to be the identifier must meet the logical constraints implied by any limitations on what resource types are permitted for the reference. For example, it would not be legitimate to send the identifier for a drug prescription if the type were Reference(Observation|DiagnosticReport). One of the use-cases for Reference.identifier is the situation where no FHIR representation exists (where the type is Reference (Any).

This element only allows for a single identifier. In the case where additional identifers are required, use the http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/additionalIdentifier extension.

Plain text narrative that identifies the resource in addition to the resource reference.

This is generally not the same as the Resource.text of the referenced resource. The purpose is to identify what's being referenced, not to fully describe it.

A group or question item from the original questionnaire for which answers are provided.

Groups cannot have answers and therefore must nest directly within item. When dealing with questions, nesting must occur within each answer because some questions may have multiple answers (and the nesting occurs for each answer).\nWhen dealing with repeating items, each group repetition will be handled by a separate item. However, repeating questions are handled with a single question item and potentially multiple answers.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

The item from the Questionnaire that corresponds to this item in the QuestionnaireResponse resource.

Items can repeat in the answers, so a direct 1..1 correspondence by position might not exist - requiring correspondence by identifier.

A reference to an ElementDefinition that provides the details for the item.

The ElementDefinition must be in a StructureDefinition, and must have a fragment identifier that identifies the specific data element by its id (Element.id). E.g. http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Observation#Observation.value[x].

There is no need for this element if the item pointed to by the linkId has a definition listed.

A common pattern is to define a set of data elements, and then build multiple different questionnaires for different circumstances to gather the data. This element provides traceability to the common definition.

Text that is displayed above the contents of the group or as the text of the question being answered.

The text for an item SHOULD be identical to the text from the corresponding Questionnaire.item. This can't be strictly enforced because it's possible for the Questionnaire to be updated subsequent to the QuestionnaireResponse having been created, however the intention is that the text in the QuestionnaireResponse reflects what the user saw when completing the Questionnaire.

Allows the questionnaire response to be read without access to the questionnaire.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references)

An Extension

This is an equivalent of the string on which the extension is sent, but includes additional XHTML markup, such as bold, italics, styles, tables, etc. Existing restrictions on XHTML content apply. Note that using markdown allows for greater flexibility of display.

For questionnaires, see additional guidance and examples in the SDC implementation guide.

The actual value

The respondent's answer(s) to the question.

The value is nested because we cannot have a repeating structure that has variable type.

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

An Extension

This is an equivalent of the string on which the extension is sent, but includes additional XHTML markup, such as bold, italics, styles, tables, etc. Existing restrictions on XHTML content apply. Note that using markdown allows for greater flexibility of display.

For questionnaires, see additional guidance and examples in the SDC implementation guide.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and managable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

The answer (or one of the answers) provided by the respondent to the question.

More complex structures (Attachment, Resource and Quantity) will typically be limited to electronic forms that can expose an appropriate user interface to capture the components and enforce the constraints of a complex data type. Additional complex types can be introduced through extensions. Must match the datatype specified by Questionnaire.item.type in the corresponding Questionnaire. Note that a question is answered using one of the possible choices defined with answerOption, answerValueSet or some other means and the answer has a complex data type, all elements within the answer in the QuestionnaireResponse SHOULD match the elements defined corresponding choice value in the Questionnaire. However, it is possible that not all elements will be propagated. Also, some systems might use language translations resulting in different displays. Comparison of value to the values defined in the Questionnaire (whether by answerOption, answerValueSet or answerExpression) SHALL NOT pay attention to Coding.display, Reference.display, Quantity.unit unless those are the only elements present. As well, systems are not required to check for a match on any extensions (e.g. ordinal values, translations, etc.). Systems MAY enforce that if extensions such as ordinal values are present in both Questionnaire and QuestionnaireResponse, they match.

Binding this is problematic because one value set can't apply to both codes and quantities.

Ability to retain a single-valued answer to a question.

The answer (or one of the answers) provided by the respondent to the question.

More complex structures (Attachment, Resource and Quantity) will typically be limited to electronic forms that can expose an appropriate user interface to capture the components and enforce the constraints of a complex data type. Additional complex types can be introduced through extensions. Must match the datatype specified by Questionnaire.item.type in the corresponding Questionnaire. Note that a question is answered using one of the possible choices defined with answerOption, answerValueSet or some other means and the answer has a complex data type, all elements within the answer in the QuestionnaireResponse SHOULD match the elements defined corresponding choice value in the Questionnaire. However, it is possible that not all elements will be propagated. Also, some systems might use language translations resulting in different displays. Comparison of value to the values defined in the Questionnaire (whether by answerOption, answerValueSet or answerExpression) SHALL NOT pay attention to Coding.display, Reference.display, Quantity.unit unless those are the only elements present. As well, systems are not required to check for a match on any extensions (e.g. ordinal values, translations, etc.). Systems MAY enforce that if extensions such as ordinal values are present in both Questionnaire and QuestionnaireResponse, they match.

Ability to retain a single-valued answer to a question.

Nested groups and/or questions found within this particular answer.

Only used when nesting beneath a question - see item.item for nesting beneath groups

It is useful to have "sub-questions", questions which normally appear when certain answers are given and which collect additional details.

Sub-questions, sub-groups or display items nested beneath a group.

Only used when nesting beneath a group - see item.answer.item for nesting beneath questions

Reports can consist of complex nested groups.