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
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Official URL: http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-emr/ImplementationGuide/ch.fhir.ig.ch-emr
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).
Dependencies Overview
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.
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 until September 30th, 2025 midnight.
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.
Objective
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.
Content scope
Core units
Patient information: Demographic data and contact information
Emergency contacts: Family and trusted persons
Care Team: Treating Health care professional
Resuscitation status: Patient's wishes regarding resuscitation measures in emergency situations
Current medication: Information and dosage of medications
Vaccinations: Current vaccinations
Allergies and intolerances: Known allergic reactions and intolerances
Risk factors: Risks relevant to treatment
Problem list: Diagnoses and problems
Advance directive: Information on advance directives or medical directives
Other documents: Other documents like organ donor cards
Implants: Medical devices
Pregnancy: Current pregnancy information
Disability: Information about disabilities
Profiles
The Implementation Guide defines the following main profiles:
Profile for documenting pregnancy status in the emergency record
IPS Observation Pregnancy - Status
IP Statements
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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.
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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)
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)
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 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)
® are trademarks owned by Health Level Seven International, registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
