Release 5 Preview #2

This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v4.4.0: R5 Preview #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

FHIR Infrastructure Work GroupMaturity Level: 0 Trial UseSecurity Category: Business Compartments: Device, Patient, Practitioner

Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Group resource.

Group
Element IdGroup
Definition

Represents a defined collection of entities that may be discussed or acted upon collectively but which are not expected to act collectively, and are not formally or legally recognized; i.e. a collection of entities that isn't an Organization.

Cardinality0..*
TypeDomainResource
Comments

If both Group.characteristic and Group.member are present, then the members are the individuals who were found who met the characteristic. It's possible that there might be other candidate members who meet the characteristic and aren't (yet) in the list. All members SHALL have the listed characteristics.

Invariants
Defined on this element
grp-1Rule Can only have members if group is "actual"member.empty() or (actual = true)
Group.identifier
Element IdGroup.identifier
Definition

A unique business identifier for this group.

NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Cardinality0..*
TypeIdentifier
Requirements

Allows the group to be referenced from external specifications.

Summarytrue
Group.active
Element IdGroup.active
Definition

Indicates whether the record for the group is available for use or is merely being retained for historical purposes.

Cardinality0..1
Typeboolean
Meaning if MissingThis resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
Requirements

Need to be able to mark a group record as not to be used because it was created in error or is otherwise no longer available (e.g. a herd that no longer exists).

Summarytrue
Group.type
Element IdGroup.type
Definition

Identifies the broad classification of the kind of resources the group includes.

Cardinality1..1
Terminology BindingGroupType (Required)
Typecode
Requirements

Identifies what type of resources the group is made up of.

Summarytrue
Comments

Group members SHALL be of the appropriate resource type (Patient for person or animal; or Practitioner, Device, Medication or Substance for the other types.).

Group.actual
Element IdGroup.actual
Definition

If true, indicates that the resource refers to a specific group of real individuals. If false, the group defines a set of intended individuals.

Cardinality1..1
Typeboolean
Requirements

There are use-cases for groups that define specific collections of individuals, and other groups that define "types" of intended individuals. The requirements for both kinds of groups are similar, so we use a single resource, distinguished by this flag.

Summarytrue
Invariants
Affect this element
grp-1Rule Can only have members if group is "actual"member.empty() or (actual = true)
Group.code
Element IdGroup.code
Definition

Provides a specific type of resource the group includes; e.g. "cow", "syringe", etc.

Cardinality0..1
Terminology BindingGroupKind:
TypeCodeableConcept
Summarytrue
Comments

This would generally be omitted for Person resources.

Group.name
Element IdGroup.name
Definition

A label assigned to the group for human identification and communication.

Cardinality0..1
Typestring
Requirements

Used to identify the group in human communication.

Summarytrue
Group.quantity
Element IdGroup.quantity
Definition

A count of the number of resource instances that are part of the group.

Cardinality0..1
TypeunsignedInt
Requirements

Group size is a common defining characteristic.

Summarytrue
Comments

Note that the quantity may be less than the number of members if some of the members are not active.

Group.managingEntity
Element IdGroup.managingEntity
Definition

Entity responsible for defining and maintaining Group characteristics and/or registered members.

Cardinality0..1
TypeReference(Organization | RelatedPerson | Practitioner | PractitionerRole)
PatternsReference(Organization,RelatedPerson,Practitioner,PractitionerRole): Common patterns = Participant
Summarytrue
Comments

This does not strictly align with ownership of a herd or flock, but may suffice to represent that relationship in simple cases. More complex cases will require an extension.

Group.characteristic
Element IdGroup.characteristic
Definition

Identifies traits whose presence r absence is shared by members of the group.

Cardinality0..*
Requirements

Needs to be a generic mechanism for identifying what individuals can be part of a group.

Comments

All the identified characteristics must be true for an entity to a member of the group.

Group.characteristic.code
Element IdGroup.characteristic.code
Definition

A code that identifies the kind of trait being asserted.

Cardinality1..1
Terminology BindingGroupCharacteristicKind:
TypeCodeableConcept
Requirements

Need a formal way of identifying the characteristic being described.

Group.characteristic.value[x]
Element IdGroup.characteristic.value[x]
Definition

The value of the trait that holds (or does not hold - see 'exclude') for members of the group.

Cardinality1..1
Terminology BindingGroupCharacteristicValue:
TypeCodeableConcept|boolean|Quantity|Range|Reference
[x] NoteSee Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x]
Requirements

The value of the characteristic is what determines group membership.

Comments

For Range, it means members of the group have a value that falls somewhere within the specified range.

Group.characteristic.exclude
Element IdGroup.characteristic.exclude
Definition

If true, indicates the characteristic is one that is NOT held by members of the group.

Cardinality1..1
Typeboolean
Requirements

Sometimes group membership is determined by characteristics not possessed.

Comments

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications cannot wrongly include excluded members as included or vice versa.

Group.characteristic.period
Element IdGroup.characteristic.period
Definition

The period over which the characteristic is tested; e.g. the patient had an operation during the month of June.

Cardinality0..1
TypePeriod
Group.member
Element IdGroup.member
Definition

Identifies the resource instances that are members of the group.

Cardinality0..*
Requirements

Often the only thing of interest about a group is "who's in it".

Invariants
Affect this element
grp-1Rule Can only have members if group is "actual"member.empty() or (actual = true)
Group.member.entity
Element IdGroup.member.entity
Definition

A reference to the entity that is a member of the group. Must be consistent with Group.type. If the entity is another group, then the type must be the same.

Cardinality1..1
TypeReference(Patient | Practitioner | PractitionerRole | Device | Medication | Substance | Group)
PatternsReference(Patient,Practitioner,PractitionerRole,Device,Medication,Substance,Group): No common pattern
Group.member.period
Element IdGroup.member.period
Definition

The period that the member was in the group, if known.

Cardinality0..1
TypePeriod
Meaning if MissingThe member is in the group at this time
Requirements

Need to track who was in a group at a particular time.

Group.member.inactive
Element IdGroup.member.inactive
Definition

A flag to indicate that the member is no longer in the group, but previously may have been a member.

Cardinality0..1
Typeboolean
Meaning if MissingMembers are considered active unless explicitly specified otherwise
Requirements

Sometimes you don't know when someone stopped being in a group, but not when.