This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v3.5.0: R4 Ballot #2). 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 | 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 was notified about a reportable condition. |
Control | 1..1 |
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 identifer, not a resource identifier (see discussion) |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Communication) |
Communication.status | |
Element Id | Communication.status |
Definition | The status of the transmission. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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). |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Reference(Any) |
Comments | Don't use Communication.about element when a more specific element exists, such as basedOn or reasonReference. |
Communication.context | |
Element Id | Communication.context |
Definition | The encounter within which the communication was sent. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | Reference(Encounter | EpisodeOfCare) |
Alternate Names | encounter |
Summary | true |
Communication.sent | |
Element Id | Communication.sent |
Definition | The time when this communication was sent. |
Control | 0..1 |
Type | dateTime |
Communication.received | |
Element Id | Communication.received |
Definition | The time when this communication arrived at the destination. |
Control | 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 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 | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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. |
Control | 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). |
Control | 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. |
Control | 0..* |
Type | Annotation |