This profile defines how to represent Respiratory Rate observations in FHIR using a standard LOINC code and UCUM units of measure.

Used for simple observations such as device measurements, laboratory atomic results, vital signs, height, weight, smoking status, comments, etc. Other resources are used to provide context for observations such as lab reports, etc.

The logical id of the resource, as used in the URL for the resource. Once assigned, this value never changes.

The only time that a resource does not have an id is when it is being submitted to the server using a create operation.

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content may not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content.

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element as much as possible.

The base language in which the resource is written.

Language is provided to support indexing and accessibility (typically, services such as text to speech use the language tag). The html language tag in the narrative applies to the narrative. The language tag on the resource may be used to specify the language of other presentations generated from the data in the resource Not all the content has to be in the base language. The Resource.language should not be assumed to apply to the narrative automatically. If a language is specified, it should it also be specified on the div element in the html (see rules in HTML5 for information about the relationship between xml:lang and the html lang attribute).

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource, and may be used to represent the content of the resource to a human. The narrative need not encode all the structured data, but is required to contain sufficient detail to make it "clinically safe" for a human to just read the narrative. Resource definitions may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety.

Contained resources do not have narrative. Resources that are not contained SHOULD have a narrative. In some cases, a resource may only have text with little or no additional discrete data (as long as all minOccurs=1 elements are satisfied). This may be necessary for data from legacy systems where information is captured as a "text blob" or where text is additionally entered raw or narrated and encoded in formation is added later.

These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, and nor can they have their own independent transaction scope.

This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

A unique identifier for the simple observation instance.

Allows observations to be distinguished and referenced.

The status of the result value.

Need to track the status of individual results. Some results are finalized before the whole report is finalized.

A code that classifies the general type of observation being made.

Used for filtering what observations are retreived and displayed.

There may be multiple axis of categoriization depending on the context or use case for retrieving or displaying the resource. 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 Observation.code.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labelled as UserSelected = true.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

The identification of the code system that defines the meaning of the symbol in the code.

Need to be unambiguous about the source of the definition of the symbol.

The URI may be an OID (urn:oid:...) or a UUID (urn:uuid:...). OIDs and UUIDs SHALL be references to the HL7 OID registry. Otherwise, the URI should come from HL7's list of FHIR defined special URIs or it should de-reference to some definition that establish the system clearly and unambiguously.

The version of the code system which was used when choosing this code. Note that a well-maintained code system does not need the version reported, because the meaning of codes is consistent across versions. However this cannot consistently be assured. and when the meaning is not guaranteed to be consistent, the version SHOULD be exchanged.

Where the terminology does not clearly define what string should be used to identify code system versions, the recommendation is to use the date (expressed in FHIR date format) on which that version was officially published as the version date.

A symbol in syntax defined by the system. The symbol may be a predefined code or an expression in a syntax defined by the coding system (e.g. post-coordination).

Need to refer to a particular code in the system.

A representation of the meaning of the code in the system, following the rules of the system.

Need to be able to carry a human-readable meaning of the code for readers that do not know the system.

Indicates that this coding was chosen by a user directly - i.e. off a pick list of available items (codes or displays).

This has been identified as a clinical safety criterium - that this exact system/code pair was chosen explicitly, rather than inferred by the system based on some rules or language processing.

Amongst a set of alternatives, a directly chosen code is the most appropriate starting point for new translations. There is some ambiguity about what exactly 'directly chosen' implies, and trading partner agreement may be needed to clarify the use of this element and its consequences more completely.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

Respiratory Rate.

Knowing what kind of observation is being made is essential to understanding the observation.

additional codes that translate or map to this code are allowed. For example a more granular LOINC code or code that is used locally in a system.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labelled as UserSelected = true.

• unordered
• Open
• discriminators: code

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labelled as UserSelected = true.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

The identification of the code system that defines the meaning of the symbol in the code.

Need to be unambiguous about the source of the definition of the symbol.

The URI may be an OID (urn:oid:...) or a UUID (urn:uuid:...). OIDs and UUIDs SHALL be references to the HL7 OID registry. Otherwise, the URI should come from HL7's list of FHIR defined special URIs or it should de-reference to some definition that establish the system clearly and unambiguously.

The version of the code system which was used when choosing this code. Note that a well-maintained code system does not need the version reported, because the meaning of codes is consistent across versions. However this cannot consistently be assured. and when the meaning is not guaranteed to be consistent, the version SHOULD be exchanged.

Where the terminology does not clearly define what string should be used to identify code system versions, the recommendation is to use the date (expressed in FHIR date format) on which that version was officially published as the version date.

A symbol in syntax defined by the system. The symbol may be a predefined code or an expression in a syntax defined by the coding system (e.g. post-coordination).

Need to refer to a particular code in the system.

A representation of the meaning of the code in the system, following the rules of the system.

Need to be able to carry a human-readable meaning of the code for readers that do not know the system.

Indicates that this coding was chosen by a user directly - i.e. off a pick list of available items (codes or displays).

This has been identified as a clinical safety criterium - that this exact system/code pair was chosen explicitly, rather than inferred by the system based on some rules or language processing.

Amongst a set of alternatives, a directly chosen code is the most appropriate starting point for new translations. There is some ambiguity about what exactly 'directly chosen' implies, and trading partner agreement may be needed to clarify the use of this element and its consequences more completely.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The patient, or group of patients, location, or device whose characteristics (direct or indirect) are described by the observation and into whose record the observation is placed. Comments: Indirect characteristics may be those of a specimen, fetus, donor, other observer (for example a relative or EMT), or any observation made about the subject.

Observations have no value if you don't know who or what they're about.

One would expect this element to be a cardinality of 1..1. The only circumstance in which the subject can be missing is when the observation is made by a device that does not know the patient. In this case, the observation SHALL be matched to a patient through some context/channel matching technique, and at this point, the observation should be updated.

If the target of the observation is different than the subject, the general extension observation-focal-subject. may be used. However, the distinction between the patient's own value for an observation versus that of the fetus, or the donor or blood product unit, etc., are often specified in the observation code.

The healthcare event (e.g. a patient and healthcare provider interaction) during which this observation is made.

For some observations it may be important to know the link between an observation and a particular encounter.

Often just a dateTime for Vital Signs.

Knowing when an observation was deemed true is important to its relevance as well as determining trends.

At least a date should be present unless this observation is a historical report.

The date and time this observation was made available to providers, typically after the results have been reviewed and verified.

Updated when the result is updated.

Who was responsible for asserting the observed value as "true".

May give a degree of confidence in the observation and also indicates where follow-up questions should be directed.

Vital Sign Value recorded with UCUM.

An observation exists to have a value, though it may not if it is in error, or it represents a group of observations.

Normally, an observation will have either a value or a set of related observations. A few observations (e.g. Apgar score) may have both a value and related observations (for an Apgar score, the observations from which the measure is derived). If a value is present, the datatype for this element should be determined by Observation.code. This element has a variable name depending on the type as follows: valueQuantity, valueCodeableConcept, valueString, valueRange, valueRatio, valueSampledData, valueAttachment, valueTime, valueDateTime, or valuePeriod. (The name format is "'value' + the type name" with a capital on the first letter of the type).

If the data element is usually coded or if the type associated with the Observation.value defines a coded value, use CodeableConcept instead of string datatype even if the value is uncoded text. A value set is bound to the ValueCodeableConcept element. For boolean values use valueCodeableConcept and select codes from HL7 Version 2 Table 0136. These "yes/no" concepts can be mapped to the display name "true/false" or other mutually exclusive terms that may be needed. For further discussion and examples see the notes section below.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

The value of the measured amount. The value includes an implicit precision in the presentation of the value.

Precision is handled implicitly in almost all cases of measurement.

The implicit precision in the value should always be honored. Monetary values have their own rules for handling precision (refer to standard accounting text books).

How the value should be understood and represented - whether the actual value is greater or less than the stated value due to measurement issues; e.g. if the comparator is "<" , then the real value is < stated value.

Need a framework for handling measures where the value is <5ug/L or >400mg/L due to the limitations of measuring methodology.

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because the comparator modifies the interpretation of the value significantly. If there is no comparator, then there is no modification of the value.

A human-readable form of the unit.

There are many representations for units of measure and in many contexts, particular representations are fixed and required. I.e. mcg for micrograms.

The identification of the system that provides the coded form of the unit.

Need to know the system that defines the coded form of the unit.

Coded responses from the common UCUM units for vital signs value set.

Need a computable form of the unit that is fixed across all forms. UCUM provides this for quantities, but SNOMED CT provides many units of interest.

The preferred system is UCUM, but SNOMED CT can also be used (for customary units) or ISO 4217 for currency. The context of use may additionally require a code from a particular system.

Provides a reason why the expected value in the element Observation.value[x] is missing.

For many results it is necessary to handle exceptional values in measurements.

If there is no numeric result then you have to supply a reason.

The assessment made based on the result of the observation. Intended as a simple compact code often placed adjacent to the result value in reports and flow sheets to signal the meaning/normalcy status of the result. Otherwise known as abnormal flag.

For some results, particularly numeric results, an interpretation is necessary to fully understand the significance of a result.

May include statements about significant, unexpected or unreliable values, or information about the source of the value where this may be relevant to the interpretation of the result.

Need to be able to provide free text additional information.

Indicates the site on the subject's body where the observation was made (i.e. the target site).

Knowing where the observation is made is important for tracking if multiple sites are possible.

Only used if not implicit in code found in Observation.code. In many systems, this may be represented as a related observation instead of an inline component. If the use case requires BodySite to be handled as a separate resource (e.g. to identify and track separately) then use The standard extension body-site-instance.

Indicates the mechanism used to perform the observation.

In some cases, method can impact results and is thus used for determining whether results can be compared or determining significance of results.

Only used if not implicit in code for Observation.code.

The specimen that was used when this observation was made.

Observations are not made on specimens themselves; they are made on a subject, but usually by the means of a specimen. Note that although specimens are often involved, they are not always tracked and reported explicitly. Also note that observation resources may be used in contexts that track the specimen explicitly (e.g. Diagnostic Report).

The device used to generate the observation data.

An extension should be used if further typing of the device is needed. Devices used to support obtaining an observation can be represented using either extension or through the Observation.related element.

Guidance on how to interpret the value by comparison to a normal or recommended range.

Knowing what values are considered "normal" can help evaluate the significance of a particular result. Need to be able to provide multiple reference ranges for different contexts.

Most observations only have one generic reference range. Systems MAY choose to restrict to only supplying the relevant reference range based on knowledge about the patient (e.g. specific to the patient's age, gender, weight and other factors), but this may not be possible or appropriate. Whenever more than one reference range is supplied, the differences between them SHOULD be provided in the reference range and/or age properties.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

The comparator is not used on a SimpleQuantity

The context of use may frequently define what kind of quantity this is and therefore what kind of units can be used. The context of use may also restrict the values for the comparator.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

The value of the measured amount. The value includes an implicit precision in the presentation of the value.

Precision is handled implicitly in almost all cases of measurement.

The implicit precision in the value should always be honored. Monetary values have their own rules for handling precision (refer to standard accounting text books).

Not allowed to be used in this context

Need a framework for handling measures where the value is <5ug/L or >400mg/L due to the limitations of measuring methodology.

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because the comparator modifies the interpretation of the value significantly. If there is no comparator, then there is no modification of the value.

A human-readable form of the unit.

There are many representations for units of measure and in many contexts, particular representations are fixed and required. I.e. mcg for micrograms.

The identification of the system that provides the coded form of the unit.

Need to know the system that defines the coded form of the unit.

A computer processable form of the unit in some unit representation system.

Need a computable form of the unit that is fixed across all forms. UCUM provides this for quantities, but SNOMED CT provides many units of interest.

The preferred system is UCUM, but SNOMED CT can also be used (for customary units) or ISO 4217 for currency. The context of use may additionally require a code from a particular system.

The comparator is not used on a SimpleQuantity

The context of use may frequently define what kind of quantity this is and therefore what kind of units can be used. The context of use may also restrict the values for the comparator.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

The value of the measured amount. The value includes an implicit precision in the presentation of the value.

Precision is handled implicitly in almost all cases of measurement.

The implicit precision in the value should always be honored. Monetary values have their own rules for handling precision (refer to standard accounting text books).

Not allowed to be used in this context

Need a framework for handling measures where the value is <5ug/L or >400mg/L due to the limitations of measuring methodology.

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because the comparator modifies the interpretation of the value significantly. If there is no comparator, then there is no modification of the value.

A human-readable form of the unit.

There are many representations for units of measure and in many contexts, particular representations are fixed and required. I.e. mcg for micrograms.

The identification of the system that provides the coded form of the unit.

Need to know the system that defines the coded form of the unit.

A computer processable form of the unit in some unit representation system.

Need a computable form of the unit that is fixed across all forms. UCUM provides this for quantities, but SNOMED CT provides many units of interest.

The preferred system is UCUM, but SNOMED CT can also be used (for customary units) or ISO 4217 for currency. The context of use may additionally require a code from a particular system.

Codes to indicate the the target population this reference range applies to. For example, a reference range may be based on the normal population or a particular sex, race, therapeutic status, or endocrine or reproductive status.

Need to be able to say what kind of reference range this is - normal, recommended, therapeutic, etc - for proper interpretation.

This SHOULD be populated if there is more than one range. If this element is not present then the norma population is assumed.

The age at which this reference range is applicable. This is a neonatal age (e.g. number of weeks at term) if the meaning says so.

Some analytes vary greatly over age.

Text based reference range in an observation which may be used when a quantitative range is not appropriate for an observation. An example would be a reference value of "Negative" or a list or table of 'normals'.

A reference to another resource (usually another Observation) whose relationship is defined by the relationship type code.

Normally, an observation will have either a value or a set of related observations. A few observations (e.g. Apgar score) may have both a value and a set of related observations or sometimes QuestionnaireResponse from which the measure is derived.

For a discussion on the ways Observations can assembled in groups together see Notes below.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

A code specifying the kind of relationship that exists with the target resource.

A relationship type SHOULD be provided.

"derived-from" is only logical choice when referencing QuestionnaireAnswer resource.

A reference to the observation or QuestionnaireResponse resource that is related to this observation.

Some observations have multiple component observations. These component observations are expressed as separate code value pairs that share the same attributes. Examples include systolic and diastolic component observations for blood pressure measurement and multiple component observations for genetics observations.

Component observations share the same attributes in the Observation resource as the primary observation and are always treated a part of a single observation (they are not separable). However, the reference range for the primary observation value is not inherited by the component values and is required when appropriate for each component observation.

For a discussion on the ways Observations can assembled in groups together see Notes below.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

Describes what was observed. Sometimes this is called the observation "code".

Knowing what kind of observation is being made is essential to understanding the observation.

The information determined as a result of making the observation, if the information has a simple value.

An observation exists to have a value, though it may not if it is in error, or it represents a group of observations.

Normally, an observation will have either a value or a set of related observations. A few observations (e.g. Apgar score) may have both a value and related observations (for an Apgar score, the observations from which the measure is derived). If a value is present, the datatype for this element should be determined by Observation.code. A CodeableConcept with just a text would be used instead of a string if the field was usually coded, or if the type associated with the Observation.code defines a coded value. For boolean values use valueCodeableConcept and select codes from <http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/v2-0136> (These "yes/no" concepts can be mapped to the display name "true/false" or other mutually exclusive terms that may be needed"). The element, Observation.value[x], has a variable name depending on the type as follows: valueQuantity, valueCodeableConcept, valueRatio, valueChoice, valuePeriod, valueSampleData, or valueString (The name format is "'value' + the type name" with a capital on the first letter of the type).

Provides a reason why the expected value in the element Observation.value[x] is missing.

For many results it is necessary to handle exceptional values in measurements.

"Null" or exceptional values can be represented two ways in FHIR Observations. One way is to simply include them in the value set and represent the exceptions in the value. For example, measurement values for a serology test could be "detected", "not detected", "inconclusive", or "test not done". The alternate way is to use the value element for actual observations and use the explicit dataAbsentReason element to record exceptional values. For example, the dataAbsentReason code "error" could be used when the measurement was not completed. Because of these options, use-case agreements are required to interpret general observations for exceptional values.

The assessment made based on the result of the observation. Intended as a simple compact code often placed adjacent to the result value in reports and flow sheets to signal the meaning/normalcy status of the result. Otherwise known as abnormal flag.

For some results, particularly numeric results, an interpretation is necessary to fully understand the significance of a result.

The component interpretation is applies only to the indivual component value. For an overall interpretation all components together use Observation.interpretation element.

Guidance on how to interpret the value by comparison to a normal or recommended range.

Knowing what values are considered "normal" can help evaluate the significance of a particular result. Need to be able to provide multiple reference ranges for different contexts.

Most observations only have one generic reference range. Systems MAY choose to restrict to only supplying the relevant reference range based on knowledge about the patient (e.g. specific to the patient's age, gender, weight and other factors), but this may not be possible or appropriate. Whenever more than one reference range is supplied, the differences between them SHOULD be provided in the reference range and/or age properties.