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 Substance resource.
| Substance | |
| Definition | A homogeneous material with a definite composition. |
| Control | 1..1 |
| Substance.identifier | |
| Definition | Unique identifier for the substance. |
| Note | This is a business identifer, not a resource identifier (see discussion) |
| Control | 0..* |
| Type | Identifier |
| Summary | true |
| Comments | This identifier is associated with the kind of substance in contrast to the Substance.instance.identifier which is associated with the package/container. |
| Substance.category | |
| Definition | A code that classifies the general type of substance. This is used for searching, sorting and display purposes. |
| Control | 0..* |
| Binding | Substance Category Codes: Category or classification of substance (Extensible) |
| Type | CodeableConcept |
| Summary | true |
| Comments | The level of granularity is defined by the category concepts in the value set. More fine-grained filtering can be performed using the metadata and/or terminology hierarchy in Substance.code. |
| Substance.code | |
| Definition | A code (or set of codes) that identify this substance. |
| Control | 1..1 |
| Binding | Substance Code: Substance codes (Example) |
| Type | CodeableConcept |
| Summary | true |
| Comments | This could be a reference to an externally defined code. It could also be a locally assigned code (e.g. a formulary), optionally with translations to the standard drug codes. |
| Substance.description | |
| Definition | A description of the substance - its appearance, handling requirements, and other usage notes. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | string |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.instance | |
| Definition | Substance may be used to describe a kind of substance, or a specific package/container of the substance: an instance. |
| Control | 0..* |
| Meaning if Missing | If this element is not present, then the substance resource describes a kind of substance |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.instance.identifier | |
| Definition | Identifier associated with the package/container (usually a label affixed directly). |
| Note | This is a business identifer, not a resource identifier (see discussion) |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Identifier |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.instance.expiry | |
| Definition | When the substance is no longer valid to use. For some substances, a single arbitrary date is used for expiry. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | dateTime |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.instance.quantity | |
| Definition | The amount of the substance. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | SimpleQuantity |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.ingredient | |
| Definition | A substance can be composed of other substances. |
| Control | 0..* |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.ingredient.quantity | |
| Definition | The amount of the ingredient in the substance - a concentration ratio. |
| Control | 0..1 |
| Type | Ratio |
| Summary | true |
| Substance.ingredient.substance | |
| Definition | Another substance that is a component of this substance. |
| Control | 1..1 |
| Type | Reference(Substance) |
| Summary | true |