This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v3.2.0: R4 Ballot 1). 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
Clinical Decision Support Work Group | Maturity Level: 2 | Trial Use | Compartments: Not linked to any defined compartments |
Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the PlanDefinition resource.
PlanDefinition | |
Definition | This resource allows for the definition of various types of plans as a sharable, consumable, and executable artifact. The resource is general enough to support the description of a broad range of clinical artifacts such as clinical decision support rules, order sets and protocols. |
Control | 1..1 |
PlanDefinition.url | |
Definition | An absolute URI that is used to identify this plan definition when it is referenced in a specification, model, design or an instance. This SHOULD be globally unique, and SHOULD be a literal address at which this plan definition is (or will be) published. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | uri |
Requirements | Allows the plan definition to be referenced by a single globally unique identifier. |
Summary | true |
Comments | Can be a urn:uuid: or a urn:oid:, but real http: addresses are preferred. Multiple instances may share the same URL if they have a distinct version. The URL SHOULD include the major version of the plan definition. For more information see Technical and Business Versions. |
PlanDefinition.identifier | |
Definition | A formal identifier that is used to identify this plan definition when it is represented in other formats, or referenced in a specification, model, design or an instance. |
Note | This is a business identifer, not a resource identifier (see discussion) |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Identifier |
Requirements | Allows externally provided and/or usable business identifiers to be easily associated with the module. |
Summary | true |
Comments | Typically, this is used for identifiers that can go in an HL7 V3 II (instance identifier) data type, e.g., to identify this plan definition outside of FHIR, where it is not possible to use the logical URI. |
PlanDefinition.version | |
Definition | The identifier that is used to identify this version of the plan definition when it is referenced in a specification, model, design or instance. This is an arbitrary value managed by the plan definition author and is not expected to be globally unique. For example, it might be a timestamp (e.g. yyyymmdd) if a managed version is not available. There is also no expectation that versions can be placed in a lexicographical sequence. To provide a version consistent with the Decision Support Service specification, use the format Major.Minor.Revision (e.g. 1.0.0). For more information on versioning knowledge assets, refer to the Decision Support Service specification. Note that a version is required for non-experimental active artifacts. |
Note | This is a business versionId, not a resource version id (see discussion) |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Summary | true |
Comments | There may be different plan definition instances that have the same identifier but different versions. The version can be appended to the url in a reference to allow a reference to a particular business version of the plan definition with the format [url]|[version]. |
PlanDefinition.name | |
Definition | A natural language name identifying the plan definition. This name should be usable as an identifier for the module by machine processing applications such as code generation. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Requirements | Support human navigation and code generation. |
Summary | true |
Comments | The name is not expected to be globally unique. The name should be a simple alpha-numeric type name to ensure that it is computable friendly. |
PlanDefinition.title | |
Definition | A short, descriptive, user-friendly title for the plan definition. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Summary | true |
Comments | This name does not need to be machine-processing friendly and may contain punctuation, white-space, etc. |
PlanDefinition.type | |
Definition | The type of artifact the plan definition represents, e.g. an order set, protocol, or event-condition-action rule. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | PlanDefinitionType (Extensible) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Summary | true |
PlanDefinition.status | |
Definition | The status of this plan definition. Enables tracking the life-cycle of the content. |
Control | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | PublicationStatus (Required) |
Type | code |
Is Modifier | true |
Summary | true |
Comments | Allows filtering of plan definitions that are appropriate for use vs. not. |
PlanDefinition.experimental | |
Definition | A boolean value to indicate that this plan definition is authored for testing purposes (or education/evaluation/marketing), and is not intended to be used for genuine usage. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | boolean |
Is Modifier | true |
Requirements | Enables experimental content to be developed following the same lifecycle that would be used for a production-level plan definition. |
Summary | true |
Comments | Allows filtering of plan definition that are appropriate for use vs. not. This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications should not use an experimental plan definition in production. |
PlanDefinition.date | |
Definition | The date (and optionally time) when the plan definition was published. The date must change if and when the business version changes and it must change if the status code changes. In addition, it should change when the substantive content of the plan definition changes. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | dateTime |
Alternate Names | Revision Date |
Summary | true |
Comments | Note that this is not the same as the resource last-modified-date, since the resource may be a secondary representation of the plan definition. Additional specific dates may be added as extensions or be found by consulting Provenances associated with past versions of the resource. |
PlanDefinition.publisher | |
Definition | The name of the individual or organization that published the plan definition. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Requirements | Helps establish the "authority/credibility" of the plan definition. May also allow for contact. |
Summary | true |
Comments | Usually an organization, but may be an individual. The publisher (or steward) of the plan definition is the organization or individual primarily responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the plan definition. This is not necessarily the same individual or organization that developed and initially authored the content. The publisher is the primary point of contact for questions or issues with the plan definition. This item SHOULD be populated unless the information is available from context. |
PlanDefinition.description | |
Definition | A free text natural language description of the plan definition from a consumer's perspective. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | markdown |
Summary | true |
Comments | This description can be used to capture details such as why the plan definition was built, comments about misuse, instructions for clinical use and interpretation, literature references, examples from the paper world, etc. It is not a rendering of the plan definition as conveyed in the 'text' field of the resource itself. This item SHOULD be populated unless the information is available from context (e.g. the language of the profile is presumed to be the predominant language in the place the profile was created). |
PlanDefinition.purpose | |
Definition | Explaination of why this plan definition is needed and why it has been designed as it has. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | markdown |
Comments | This element does not describe the usage of the plan definition Instead it provides traceability of ''why'' the resource is either needed or ''why'' it is defined as it is. This may be used to point to source materials or specifications that drove the structure of this plan definition. |
PlanDefinition.usage | |
Definition | A detailed description of how the plan definition is used from a clinical perspective. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.approvalDate | |
Definition | The date on which the resource content was approved by the publisher. Approval happens once when the content is officially approved for usage. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | date |
Comments | The 'date' element may be more recent than the approval date because of minor changes / editorial corrections. |
PlanDefinition.lastReviewDate | |
Definition | The date on which the resource content was last reviewed. Review happens periodically after approval, but doesn't change the original approval date. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | date |
Requirements | Gives a sense of how "current" the content is. Resources that have not been reviewed in a long time may have a risk of being less appropriate/relevant. |
Comments | If specified, this is usually after the approval date. |
PlanDefinition.effectivePeriod | |
Definition | The period during which the plan definition content was or is planned to be in active use. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Period |
Requirements | Allows establishing a transition before a resource comes into effect and also allows for a sunsetting process when new versions of a the plan definition are or are expected to be used instead. |
Summary | true |
Comments | The effective period for a plan definition determines when the content is applicable for usage and is independent of publication and review dates. For example, a measure intended to be used for the year 2016 might be published in 2015. |
PlanDefinition.useContext | |
Definition | The content was developed with a focus and intent of supporting the contexts that are listed. These terms may be used to assist with indexing and searching for appropriate plan definition instances. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | UsageContext |
Requirements | Assist in searching for appropriate content. |
Summary | true |
Comments | When multiple useContexts are specified, there is no expectation whether all or any of the contexts apply. |
PlanDefinition.jurisdiction | |
Definition | A legal or geographic region in which the plan definition is intended to be used. |
Control | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | Jurisdiction ValueSet (Extensible) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Summary | true |
Comments | It may be possible for the plan definition to be used in jurisdictions other than those for which it was originally designed or intended. |
PlanDefinition.topic | |
Definition | Descriptive topics related to the content of the plan definition. Topics provide a high-level categorization of the definition that can be useful for filtering and searching. |
Control | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | DefinitionTopic (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Requirements | Repositories must be able to determine how to categorize the plan definition so that it can be found by topical searches. |
PlanDefinition.contributor | |
Definition | A contributor to the content of the plan definition, including authors, editors, reviewers, and endorsers. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Contributor |
Requirements | Consumers of the content must be able to quickly determine who contributed to the content of the plan definition. |
PlanDefinition.contact | |
Definition | Contact details to assist a user in finding and communicating with the publisher. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | ContactDetail |
Summary | true |
Comments | May be a web site, an email address, a telephone number, etc. |
PlanDefinition.copyright | |
Definition | A copyright statement relating to the plan definition and/or its contents. Copyright statements are generally legal restrictions on the use and publishing of the plan definition. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | markdown |
Requirements | Consumers must be able to determine any legal restrictions on the use of the plan definition and/or its content. |
Alternate Names | License; Restrictions |
PlanDefinition.relatedArtifact | |
Definition | Related artifacts such as additional documentation, justification, or bibliographic references. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | RelatedArtifact |
Requirements | Plan definitions must be able to provide enough information for consumers of the content (and/or interventions or results produced by the content) to be able to determine and understand the justification for and evidence in support of the content. |
Comments | Each related artifact is either an attachment, or a reference to another resource, but not both. |
PlanDefinition.library | |
Definition | A reference to a Library resource containing any formal logic used by the plan definition. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Library) |
PlanDefinition.goal | |
Definition | Goals that describe what the activities within the plan are intended to achieve. For example, weight loss, restoring an activity of daily living, obtaining herd immunity via immunization, meeting a process improvement objective, etc. |
Control | 0..* |
Requirements | Goal information needs to be captured for order sets, protocols, and care plan definitions to better describe the objectives of the protocol activities and to guide the creation of specific goals within the derived care plans and orders. |
PlanDefinition.goal.category | |
Definition | Indicates a category the goal falls within. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | GoalCategory (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.goal.description | |
Definition | Human-readable and/or coded description of a specific desired objective of care, such as "control blood pressure" or "negotiate an obstacle course" or "dance with child at wedding". |
Control | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | SNOMED CT Clinical Findings (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Comments | If no code is available, use CodeableConcept.text. |
PlanDefinition.goal.priority | |
Definition | Identifies the expected level of importance associated with reaching/sustaining the defined goal. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | GoalPriority (Preferred) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.goal.start | |
Definition | The event after which the goal should begin being pursued. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | GoalStartEvent (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.goal.addresses | |
Definition | Identifies problems, conditions, issues, or concerns the goal is intended to address. |
Control | 0..* |
Terminology Binding | Condition/Problem/Diagnosis Codes (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.goal.documentation | |
Definition | Didactic or other informational resources associated with the goal that provide further supporting information about the goal. Information resources can include inline text commentary and links to web resources. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | RelatedArtifact |
PlanDefinition.goal.target | |
Definition | Indicates what should be done and within what timeframe. |
Control | 0..* |
PlanDefinition.goal.target.measure | |
Definition | The parameter whose value is to be tracked, e.g. body weigth, blood pressure, or hemoglobin A1c level. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | LOINC Codes (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.goal.target.detail[x] | |
Definition | The target value of the measure to be achieved to signify fulfillment of the goal, e.g. 150 pounds or 7.0%. Either the high or low or both values of the range can be specified. Whan a low value is missing, it indicates that the goal is achieved at any value at or below the high value. Similarly, if the high value is missing, it indicates that the goal is achieved at any value at or above the low value. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Quantity|Range|CodeableConcept |
[x] Note | See Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x] |
PlanDefinition.goal.target.due | |
Definition | Indicates the timeframe after the start of the goal in which the goal should be met. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Duration |
PlanDefinition.action | |
Definition | An action to be taken as part of the plan. |
Control | 0..* |
PlanDefinition.action.prefix | |
Definition | A user-visible prefix for the action. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.title | |
Definition | The title of the action displayed to a user. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.description | |
Definition | A short description of the action used to provide a summary to display to the user. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.textEquivalent | |
Definition | A text equivalent of the action to be performed. This provides a human-interpretable description of the action when the definition is consumed by a system that might not be capable of interpreting it dynamically. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.code | |
Definition | A code that provides meaning for the action or action group. For example, a section may have a LOINC code for a the section of a documentation template. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.action.reason | |
Definition | A description of why this action is necessary or appropriate. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | CodeableConcept |
Comments | This is different than the clinical evidence documentation, it's an actual business description of the reason for performing the action. |
PlanDefinition.action.documentation | |
Definition | Didactic or other informational resources associated with the action that can be provided to the CDS recipient. Information resources can include inline text commentary and links to web resources. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | RelatedArtifact |
PlanDefinition.action.goalId | |
Definition | Identifies goals that this action supports. The reference must be to a goal element defined within this plan definition. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | id |
PlanDefinition.action.triggerDefinition | |
Definition | A description of when the action should be triggered. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | TriggerDefinition |
PlanDefinition.action.condition | |
Definition | An expression that describes applicability criteria, or start/stop conditions for the action. |
Control | 0..* |
PlanDefinition.action.condition.kind | |
Definition | The kind of condition. |
Control | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionConditionKind (Required) |
Type | code |
Comments | Applicability criteria are used to determine immediate applicability when a plan definition is applied to a given context. Start and stop criteria are carried through application and used to describe when enter/exit criteria for an action. |
PlanDefinition.action.condition.description | |
Definition | A brief, natural language description of the condition that effectively communicates the intended semantics. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.condition.language | |
Definition | The media type of the language for the expression. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.condition.expression | |
Definition | An expression that returns true or false, indicating whether or not the condition is satisfied. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Comments | The expression may be inlined, or may be a reference to a named expression within a logic library referenced by the library element. |
PlanDefinition.action.input | |
Definition | Defines input data requirements for the action. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | DataRequirement |
PlanDefinition.action.output | |
Definition | Defines the outputs of the action, if any. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | DataRequirement |
PlanDefinition.action.relatedAction | |
Definition | A relationship to another action such as "before" or "30-60 minutes after start of". |
Control | 0..* |
Comments | When an action depends on multiple actions, the meaning is that all actions are dependencies, rather than that any of the actions are a dependency. |
PlanDefinition.action.relatedAction.actionId | |
Definition | The element id of the related action. |
Control | 1..1 |
Type | id |
PlanDefinition.action.relatedAction.relationship | |
Definition | The relationship of this action to the related action. |
Control | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionRelationshipType (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.relatedAction.offset[x] | |
Definition | A duration or range of durations to apply to the relationship. For example, 30-60 minutes before. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Duration|Range |
[x] Note | See Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x] |
PlanDefinition.action.timing[x] | |
Definition | An optional value describing when the action should be performed. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | dateTime|Age|Period|Duration|Range|Timing |
[x] Note | See Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x] |
PlanDefinition.action.participant | |
Definition | Indicates who should participate in performing the action described. |
Control | 0..* |
PlanDefinition.action.participant.type | |
Definition | The type of participant in the action. |
Control | 1..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionParticipantType (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.participant.role | |
Definition | The role the participant should play in performing the described action. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionParticipantRole (Example) |
Type | CodeableConcept |
PlanDefinition.action.type | |
Definition | The type of action to perform (create, update, remove). |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionType (Required) |
Type | Coding |
PlanDefinition.action.groupingBehavior | |
Definition | Defines the grouping behavior for the action and its children. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionGroupingBehavior (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.selectionBehavior | |
Definition | Defines the selection behavior for the action and its children. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionSelectionBehavior (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.requiredBehavior | |
Definition | Defines the requiredness behavior for the action. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionRequiredBehavior (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.precheckBehavior | |
Definition | Defines whether the action should usually be preselected. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionPrecheckBehavior (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.cardinalityBehavior | |
Definition | Defines whether the action can be selected multiple times. |
Control | 0..1 |
Terminology Binding | ActionCardinalityBehavior (Required) |
Type | code |
PlanDefinition.action.definition | |
Definition | A reference to an ActivityDefinition that describes the action to be taken in detail, or a PlanDefinition that describes a series of actions to be taken. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(ActivityDefinition | PlanDefinition) |
Comments | Note that the definition is optional, and if no definition is specified, a dynamicValue with a root (~) path can be used to define the entire resource dynamically. |
PlanDefinition.action.transform | |
Definition | A reference to a StructureMap resource that defines a transform that can be executed to produce the intent resource using the ActivityDefinition instance as the input. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(StructureMap) |
PlanDefinition.action.dynamicValue | |
Definition | Customizations that should be applied to the statically defined resource. For example, if the dosage of a medication must be computed based on the patient's weight, a customization would be used to specify an expression that calculated the weight, and the path on the resource that would contain the result. |
Control | 0..* |
PlanDefinition.action.dynamicValue.description | |
Definition | A brief, natural language description of the intended semantics of the dynamic value. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.dynamicValue.path | |
Definition | The path to the element to be customized. This is the path on the resource that will hold the result of the calculation defined by the expression. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.dynamicValue.language | |
Definition | The media type of the language for the expression. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
PlanDefinition.action.dynamicValue.expression | |
Definition | An expression specifying the value of the customized element. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | string |
Comments | The expression may be inlined, or may be a reference to a named expression within a logic library referenced by the library element. |
PlanDefinition.action.action | |
Definition | Sub actions that are contained within the action. The behavior of this action determines the functionality of the sub-actions. For example, a selection behavior of at-most-one indicates that of the sub-actions, at most one may be chosen as part of realizing the action definition. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | See PlanDefinition.action |