CH EMR (R4)
0.1.0 - ci-build
CH EMR (R4), published by HL7 Switzerland. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 0.1.0 built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/ehealthsuisse/ch-emr/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions
| Official URL: http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-emr/ImplementationGuide/ch.fhir.ig.ch-emr | Version: 0.1.0 | |||
| Draft as of 2025-06-05 | Computable Name: CH_EMR | |||
Copyright/Legal: CC0-1.0 |
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The emergency record contains all the important medical information needed in situations in which quick access or a quick overview of medical data is required. For example, in cases of unconsciousness, language barriers or limited health literacy.
The emergency record combines key administrative and clinical data such as patient details, emergency contacts, medication, allergies, vaccinations, implants, diagnose, CPR status and references to living wills and other relevant documents.
The CH EMR implementation guide describes the FHIR representation of the electronic emergency record in Switzerland. It is dependent on CH Core and CH Term, which describe the Swiss-specific context, particularly in relation to the Swiss Electronic Patient Record (EPR).
This implementation guide is based on the concept for the exchange format of the electronic emergency record (de, fr).
The CH EMR (Emergency Record) implementation guide builds upon several Swiss FHIR specifications. The following diagram illustrates the relationships between these implementation guides:
Fig. 1: Schematic representation of the dependency mechanism of the implementation guides
The CH EMR is primarily derived from the CH IPS (International Patient Summary), which provides the foundational clinical profiles for patient summaries in Switzerland. CH IPS itself is based on the international IPS UV specification by HL7, ensuring cross-border interoperability.
Both CH EMR and CH IPS depend on CH Core, which defines the Swiss-specific base profiles (e.g. patient, practitioner, organization) including Swiss identifiers such as AHV, GLN and EPR-SPID. CH Term provides the shared Swiss terminologies, value sets and code systems used across all Swiss FHIR implementation guides.
For the medication content, CH EMR additionally depends on CH EMED, the Swiss eMedikation specification. CH EMR's Medication Statement reuses the CH EMED dosage profiles (ch-emed-dosage and ch-emed-dosage-split) so that dosing schedules in the Emergency Record follow the same structure as the rest of the Swiss eMedikation ecosystem.
Where CH IPS profiles were available and applicable, CH EMR profiles inherit from them (e.g. Patient, Medication, AllergyIntolerance, Condition, Immunization). For emergency-specific content not covered by IPS, such as resuscitation status, emergency contacts, risk factors and disabilities, CH EMR defines its own profiles based on CH Core or FHIR base resources.
This implementation guide is under STU ballot by HL7 Switzerland from August 4th, 2026 until end of 2026.
Please add your feedback via the ‘Propose a change’-link in the footer on the page where you have comments.
Changelog with significant changes, open and closed issues.
Download: You can download this implementation guide in the npm package format from here.
The emergency report is designed to give medical professionals quick and structured access to a patient's most important medical information in emergency situations. However, this medical information can also be used in unforeseen patient contacts where, for example, language barriers exist or health literacy is limited.
The Implementation Guide defines the following main profiles:
| Profile | Description | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| CH Emergency Record Bundle | Bundle profile for Emergency Record. | CH IPS Document |
| CH Emergency Record Composition | Swiss Emergency Record based on International Patient Summary. | CH IPS Composition |
| CH Emergency Record Device Use Statement | Use of an implanted device in the Emergency Record. | IPS DeviceUseStatement |
| CH Emergency Record Device | Device profile for implants in the Emergency Record. | IPS Device |
| CH Emergency Record Body Structure | Structured anatomical location of an implant, carrying an unlateralised body site and the laterality qualifier. | BodyStructure (FHIR R4) |
| CH Emergency Record RelatedPerson | RelatedPerson profile for emergency contacts and family members in the Emergency Record. | CH Core RelatedPerson |
| CH Emergency Record Observation Resuscitation Status | Observation profile for documenting the patient's resuscitation (code) status. | Observation (FHIR R4) |
| CH Emergency Record Advance Directive DocumentReference | Reference to advance directives and emergency medical orders. | CH Core DocumentReference |
| CH Emergency Record Risk to Healthcare Personnel | Risk to healthcare personnel emanating from the patient (e.g. communicable disease). | IPS Flag (alert) |
| CH Emergency Record DocumentReference | DocumentReference profile for information on documents in the Emergency Record. | CH Core DocumentReference |
| CH Emergency Record Observation Cognitive Disability | Observation profile for cognitive disability in the Emergency Record. | Observation (FHIR R4) |
| CH Emergency Record Physical Disability Observation | Observation profile for physical disability in the Emergency Record. | Observation (FHIR R4) |
| CH Emergency Record MedicationStatement | MedicationStatement profile for medication in the Emergency Record. | CH IPS MedicationStatement |
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This implementation guide contains and references intellectual property owned by third parties ("Third Party IP"). Acceptance of these License Terms does not grant any rights with respect to Third Party IP. The licensee alone is responsible for identifying and obtaining any necessary licenses or authorizations to utilize Third Party IP in connection with the specification or otherwise.
This publication includes IP covered under the following statements.
This is an R4 IG. None of the features it uses are changed in R4B, so it can be used as is with R4B systems. Packages for both R4 (ch.fhir.ig.ch-emr.r4) and R4B (ch.fhir.ig.ch-emr.r4b) are available.
Package hl7.fhir.uv.extensions.r4#5.2.0 This IG defines the global extensions - the ones defined for everyone. These extensions are always in scope wherever FHIR is being used (built Mon, Feb 10, 2025 21:45+1100+11:00) |
Package hl7.fhir.uv.extensions.r4#5.3.0-ballot-tc1 This IG defines the global extensions - the ones defined for everyone. These extensions are always in scope wherever FHIR is being used (built Sun, Aug 3, 2025 06:28+1000+10:00) |
Package ch.fhir.ig.ch-core#6.0.0 FHIR implementation guide CH Core (built Tue, Dec 16, 2025 07:58+0000+00:00) |
Package ihe.formatcode.fhir#1.4.0 Implementation Guide for IHE defined FormatCode vocabulary. (built Tue, May 20, 2025 09:01-0500-05:00) |
Package ch.fhir.ig.ch-term#3.3.0 Implementation Guide for Swiss Terminology (built Mon, Dec 15, 2025 10:36+0000+00:00) |
Package hl7.fhir.uv.ipa#1.1.0 This IG describes how an application acting on behalf of a patient can access information about the patient from an clinical records system using a FHIR based API. The clinical records system may be supporting a clinical care provider (e.g. a hospital, or a general practitioner), or a health data exchange, including a national health record system. (built Wed, Mar 19, 2025 14:34+0000+00:00) |
Package ch.fhir.ig.ch-ips#2.0.0 The FHIR implementation guide CH IPS is derived from the Swiss Core IG (CH Core) and ensures conformity with the International Patient Summary (IPS). (built Tue, Dec 16, 2025 11:58+0000+00:00) |
Package ch.fhir.ig.ch-emed#6.0.0 Implementation Guide for the eMedication in Switzerland. (built Tue, Dec 16, 2025 11:07+0000+00:00) |
Package hl7.fhir.uv.tools.r4#1.1.2 This IG defines the extensions that the tools use internally. Some of these extensions are content that are being evaluated for elevation into the main spec, and others are tooling concerns (built Tue, Mar 24, 2026 11:13+1100+11:00) |
There are no Global profiles defined