HL7 BE Laboratory WG Implementation Guide
1.0.1 - STU

HL7 BE Laboratory WG Implementation Guide, published by eHealth Platform. This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 1.0.1 built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/hl7-be/lab/ and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions

## Data Type Profile: BeCodedAnnotation - Detailed Descriptions

Draft as of 2026-03-25

Definitions for the coded-annotation data type profile.

- Key Elements Table
- Differential Elements Table
- Snapshot Elements Table

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be foundhere

0. Annotation
Definition | A text note which also contains information about who made the statement and when.
Short | Text node with attribution
Comments | For systems that do not have structured annotations, they can simply communicate a single annotation with no author or time. This element may need to be included in narrative because of the potential for modifying information. Annotations SHOULD NOT be used to communicate "modifying" information that could be computable. (This is a SHOULD because enforcing user behavior is nearly impossible).
Control | 0..* This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
Is Modifier | false
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
2. Annotation.extension:code
Slice Name | code
Definition | Codifies the content of an Annotation
Short | Annotation Code
Control | 0..1
Type | Extension(Annotation Code) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
Is Modifier | false
Summary | false
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())) ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
4. Annotation.text
Definition | The text of the annotation in markdown format.
Short | The annotation - plain text without markdown is strongly recommendedThe annotation - text content (as markdown)
Control | 1..1
Type | markdown
Is Modifier | false
Primitive Value | This primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summary | true
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be foundhere

0. Annotation
2. Annotation.extension:code
Slice Name | code
Control | 0..1
Type | Extension(Annotation Code) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
4. Annotation.text
Short | The annotation - plain text without markdown is strongly recommended

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be foundhere

0. Annotation
Definition | A text note which also contains information about who made the statement and when.
Short | Text node with attribution
Comments | For systems that do not have structured annotations, they can simply communicate a single annotation with no author or time. This element may need to be included in narrative because of the potential for modifying information. Annotations SHOULD NOT be used to communicate "modifying" information that could be computable. (This is a SHOULD because enforcing user behavior is nearly impossible).
Control | 0..* This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
Is Modifier | false
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`)
2. Annotation.id
Definition | Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
Short | Unique id for inter-element referencing
Control | 0..1
Type | string
Is Modifier | false
XML Format | In the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summary | false
4. Annotation.extension
Definition | 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 manageable, 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.
Short | Additional content defined by implementations
Comments | 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.
Control | 0..*
Type | Extension
Is Modifier | false
Summary | false
Alternate Names | extensions, user content
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`) ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (`extension.exists() != value.exists()`)
Slicing | This element introduces a set of slices on `Annotation.extension`. The slices areUnordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators: value @ url
6. Annotation.extension:code
Slice Name | code
Definition | Codifies the content of an Annotation
Short | Annotation Code
Control | 0..1
Type | Extension(Annotation Code) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
Is Modifier | false
Summary | false
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`) ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (`extension.exists() != value.exists()`)
8. Annotation.author[x]
Definition | The individual responsible for making the annotation.
Short | Individual responsible for the annotation
Comments | Organization is used when there's no need for specific attribution as to who made the comment.
Control | 0..1
Type | Choice of: Reference(Practitioner, Patient, RelatedPerson, Organization), string
[x] Note | SeeChoice of Data Typesfor further information about how to use [x]
Is Modifier | false
Primitive Value | This primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summary | true
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`)
10. Annotation.time
Definition | Indicates when this particular annotation was made.
Short | When the annotation was made
Control | 0..1
Type | dateTime
Is Modifier | false
Primitive Value | This primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summary | true
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`)
12. Annotation.text
Definition | The text of the annotation in markdown format.
Short | The annotation - plain text without markdown is strongly recommended
Control | 1..1
Type | markdown
Is Modifier | false
Primitive Value | This primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summary | true
Invariants | ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (`hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count())`)