This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v1.4.0: STU 3 Ballot 3). 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

Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Communication resource.
| Communication | |
| Definition | An occurrence of information being transmitted; e.g. an alert that was sent to a responsible provider, a public health agency was notified about a reportable condition. |
| Control | 1..1 |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.identifier | |
| Definition | Identifiers associated with this Communication that are defined by business processes and/ or used to refer to it when a direct URL reference to the resource itself is not appropriate (e.g. in CDA documents, or in written / printed documentation). |
| Note | This is a business identifer, not a resource identifier (see discussion) |
| Control | 0..* |
| Type | Identifier |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.category | |
| Definition | The type of message conveyed such as alert, notification, reminder, instruction, etc. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Binding | CommunicationCategory: Codes for general categories of communications such as alerts, instruction, etc. |
| Type | CodeableConcept |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.sender | |
| Definition | The entity (e.g. person, organization, clinical information system, or device) which was the source of the communication. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Reference(Device | Organization | Patient | Practitioner | RelatedPerson) |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.recipient | |
| Definition | The entity (e.g. person, organization, clinical information system, or device) which was the target of the communication. If receipts need to be tracked by individual, a separate resource instance will need to be created for each recipient. Multiple recipient communications are intended where either a receipt(s) is not tracked (e.g. a mass mail-out) or is captured in aggregate (all emails confirmed received by a particular time). |
| Control | 0..* |
| Type | Reference(Device | Organization | Patient | Practitioner | RelatedPerson | Group) |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.payload | |
| Definition | Text, attachment(s), or resource(s) that was communicated to the recipient. |
| Control | 0..* |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.payload.content[x] | |
| Definition | A communicated content (or for multi-part communications, one portion of the communication). |
| Control | 1..1 |
| Type | string|Attachment|Reference(Any) |
| [x] Note | See Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x] |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.medium | |
| Definition | A channel that was used for this communication (e.g. email, fax). |
| Control | 0..* |
| Binding | v3 Code System ParticipationMode: Codes for communication mediums such as phone, fax, email, in person, etc. (Example) |
| Type | CodeableConcept |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.status | |
| Definition | The status of the transmission. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Binding | CommunicationStatus: The status of the communication. (Required) |
| Type | code |
| Is Modifier | true |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.encounter | |
| Definition | The encounter within which the communication was sent. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Reference(Encounter) |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.sent | |
| Definition | The time when this communication was sent. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | dateTime |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.received | |
| Definition | The time when this communication arrived at the destination. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | dateTime |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.reason | |
| Definition | The reason or justification for the communication. |
| Control | 0..* |
| Binding | CommunicationReason: Codes for describing reasons for the occurrence of a communication. |
| Type | CodeableConcept |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.subject | |
| Definition | The patient who was the focus of this communication. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Reference(Patient) |
| Summary | true |
| Communication.requestDetail | |
| Definition | The communication request that was responsible for producing this communication. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Reference(CommunicationRequest) |
| Summary | true |