This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v4.0.1: R4 - Mixed Normative and STU) in it's permanent home (it will always be available at this URL). The current version which supercedes this version is 5.0.0. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions . Page versions: R5 R4B R4 R3 R2
Patient Care Work Group | Maturity Level: 2 | Trial Use | Security Category: Patient | Compartments: Device, Encounter, Patient, Practitioner, RelatedPerson |
Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Communication resource.
Communication | |
Element Id | Communication |
Definition | An occurrence of information being transmitted; e.g. an alert that was sent to a responsible provider, a public health agency that was notified about a reportable condition. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | DomainResource |
Communication.identifier | |
Element Id | Communication.identifier |
Definition | Business identifiers assigned to this communication by the performer or other systems which 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) |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Identifier |
Requirements | Allows identification of the communication as it is known by various participating systems and in a way that remains consistent across servers. |
Summary | true |
Comments | This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion). It is best practice for the identifier to only appear on a single resource instance, however business practices may occasionally dictate that multiple resource instances with the same identifier can exist - possibly even with different resource types. For example, multiple Patient and a Person resource instance might share the same social insurance number. |
Communication.instantiatesCanonical | |
Element Id | Communication.instantiatesCanonical |
Definition | The URL pointing to a FHIR-defined protocol, guideline, orderset or other definition that is adhered to in whole or in part by this Communication. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | canonical(PlanDefinition | ActivityDefinition | Measure | OperationDefinition | Questionnaire) |
Summary | true |
Communication.instantiatesUri | |
Element Id | Communication.instantiatesUri |
Definition | The URL pointing to an externally maintained protocol, guideline, orderset or other definition that is adhered to in whole or in part by this Communication. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | uri |
Summary | true |
Comments | This might be an HTML page, PDF, etc. or could just be a non-resolvable URI identifier. |
Communication.basedOn | |
Element Id | Communication.basedOn |
Definition | An order, proposal or plan fulfilled in whole or in part by this Communication. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Any) |
Alternate Names | fulfills |
Summary | true |
Comments | This must point to some sort of a 'Request' resource, such as CarePlan, CommunicationRequest, ServiceRequest, MedicationRequest, etc. |
Communication.partOf | |
Element Id | Communication.partOf |
Definition | Part of this action. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Any) |
Alternate Names | container |
Summary | true |
Communication.inResponseTo | |
Element Id | Communication.inResponseTo |
Definition | Prior communication that this communication is in response to. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Communication) |
Communication.status | |
Element Id | Communication.status |
Definition | The status of the transmission. |
Cardinality | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | EventStatus (Required) |
Type | code |
Is Modifier | true (Reason: This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that contains status entered-in-error which means that the resource should not be treated as valid) |
Summary | true |
Comments | This element is labeled as a modifier because the status contains the codes aborted and entered-in-error that mark the communication as not currently valid. |
Communication.statusReason | |
Element Id | Communication.statusReason |
Definition | Captures the reason for the current state of the Communication. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | CommunicationNotDoneReason (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Alternate Names | Suspended Reason; Cancelled Reason |
Summary | true |
Comments | This is generally only used for "exception" statuses such as "not-done", "suspended" or "aborted". The reason for performing the event at all is captured in reasonCode, not here. |
Communication.category | |
Element Id | Communication.category |
Definition | The type of message conveyed such as alert, notification, reminder, instruction, etc. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | CommunicationCategory (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Comments | There may be multiple axes of categorization and one communication may serve multiple purposes. |
Communication.priority | |
Element Id | Communication.priority |
Definition | Characterizes how quickly the planned or in progress communication must be addressed. Includes concepts such as stat, urgent, routine. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | Request priority (Required) |
Type | code |
Meaning if Missing | If missing, this communication should be treated with normal priority |
Summary | true |
Comments | Used to prioritize workflow (such as which communication to read first) when the communication is planned or in progress. |
Communication.medium | |
Element Id | Communication.medium |
Definition | A channel that was used for this communication (e.g. email, fax). |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | v3 Code System ParticipationMode (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Communication.subject | |
Element Id | Communication.subject |
Definition | The patient or group that was the focus of this communication. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(Patient | Group) |
Alternate Names | patient |
Summary | true |
Communication.topic | |
Element Id | Communication.topic |
Definition | Description of the purpose/content, similar to a subject line in an email. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | CommunicationTopic (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Comments | Communication.topic.text can be used without any codings. |
Communication.about | |
Element Id | Communication.about |
Definition | Other resources that pertain to this communication and to which this communication should be associated. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Any) |
Comments | Don't use Communication.about element when a more specific element exists, such as basedOn or reasonReference. |
Communication.encounter | |
Element Id | Communication.encounter |
Definition | The Encounter during which this Communication was created or to which the creation of this record is tightly associated. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(Encounter) |
Summary | true |
Comments | This will typically be the encounter the event occurred within, but some activities may be initiated prior to or after the official completion of an encounter but still be tied to the context of the encounter. |
Communication.sent | |
Element Id | Communication.sent |
Definition | The time when this communication was sent. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Type | dateTime |
Communication.received | |
Element Id | Communication.received |
Definition | The time when this communication arrived at the destination. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Type | dateTime |
Communication.recipient | |
Element Id | Communication.recipient |
Definition | The entity (e.g. person, organization, clinical information system, care team or device) which was the target of the communication. If receipts need to be tracked by an individual, a separate resource instance will need to be created for each recipient. Multiple recipient communications are intended where either receipts are not tracked (e.g. a mass mail-out) or a receipt is captured in aggregate (all emails confirmed received by a particular time). |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Device | Organization | Patient | Practitioner | PractitionerRole | RelatedPerson | Group | CareTeam | HealthcareService) |
Communication.sender | |
Element Id | Communication.sender |
Definition | The entity (e.g. person, organization, clinical information system, or device) which was the source of the communication. |
Cardinality | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(Device | Organization | Patient | Practitioner | PractitionerRole | RelatedPerson | HealthcareService) |
Communication.reasonCode | |
Element Id | Communication.reasonCode |
Definition | The reason or justification for the communication. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | SNOMED CT Clinical Findings (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Summary | true |
Comments | Textual reasons can be captured using reasonCode.text. |
Communication.reasonReference | |
Element Id | Communication.reasonReference |
Definition | Indicates another resource whose existence justifies this communication. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Condition | Observation | DiagnosticReport | DocumentReference) |
Summary | true |
Communication.payload | |
Element Id | Communication.payload |
Definition | Text, attachment(s), or resource(s) that was communicated to the recipient. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Communication.payload.content[x] | |
Element Id | Communication.payload.content[x] |
Definition | A communicated content (or for multi-part communications, one portion of the communication). |
Cardinality | 1..1 |
Type | string|Attachment|Reference(Any) |
[x] Note | See Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x] |
Communication.note | |
Element Id | Communication.note |
Definition | Additional notes or commentary about the communication by the sender, receiver or other interested parties. |
Cardinality | 0..* |
Type | Annotation |