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This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v5.0.0-ballot: R5 Ballot - see ballot notes). 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

2.11 Resource OperationOutcome - Content

FHIR Infrastructure icon Work GroupMaturity Level: N Normative (from v4.0.0)Security Category: N/A Compartments: Not linked to any defined compartments

A collection of error, warning, or information messages that result from a system action.

2.11.1 Scope and Usage

Operation outcomes are sets of error, warning and information messages that provide detailed information about the outcome of an attempted system operation. They are provided as a direct system response, or component of one, and provide information about the outcome of the operation.

The OperationOutcome resource is used in the following circumstances:

  • When a RESTful interaction or operation fails
  • As the response on a validation operation to provide information about the outcome
  • As part of a message response, usually when the message has not been processed correctly
  • As the response to a batch/transaction, when requested
  • As part of a search's Bundle response containing information about the search

2.11.2 Boundaries and Relationships

This resource is not used for reporting clinical or workflow issues associated with a proposed or ongoing action; these would be handled using DetectedIssue or other resources. OperationOutcome is not designed to be persisted or referenced from other parts of the workflow.

It is possible to have both OperationOutcome and DetectedIssue together, where the OperationOutcome might indicate that a requested action was rejected due to a clinical issue and the DetectedIssue provides the details of the issue.

2.11.3 References to this Resource

2.11.4 Resource Content

Structure

NameFlagsCard.TypeDescription & Constraintsdoco
.. OperationOutcome NDomainResourceInformation about the success/failure of an action

Elements defined in Ancestors: id, meta, implicitRules, language, text, contained, extension, modifierExtension
... issue Σ1..*BackboneElementA single issue associated with the action

.... severity Σ1..1codefatal | error | warning | information
IssueSeverity (Required)
.... code Σ1..1codeError or warning code
IssueType (Required)
.... details Σ0..1CodeableConceptAdditional details about the error
Operation Outcome Codes (Example)
.... diagnostics Σ0..1stringAdditional diagnostic information about the issue
.... location ΣXD0..*stringDeprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue

.... expression Σ0..*stringFHIRPath of element(s) related to issue


doco Documentation for this format

See the Extensions for this resource

UML Diagram (Legend)

OperationOutcome (DomainResource)IssueIndicates whether the issue indicates a variation from successful processingseverity : code [1..1] « null (Strength=Required)IssueSeverity! »Describes the type of the issue. The system that creates an OperationOutcome SHALL choose the most applicable code from the IssueType value set, and may additional provide its own code for the error in the details elementcode : code [1..1] « null (Strength=Required)IssueType! »Additional details about the error. This may be a text description of the error or a system code that identifies the errordetails : CodeableConcept [0..1] « null (Strength=Example)OperationOutcomeCodes?? »Additional diagnostic information about the issuediagnostics : string [0..1]This element is deprecated because it is XML specific. It is replaced by issue.expression, which is format independent, and simpler to parse. For resource issues, this will be a simple XPath limited to element names, repetition indicators and the default child accessor that identifies one of the elements in the resource that caused this issue to be raised. For HTTP errors, will be "http." + the parameter namelocation : string [0..*]A [simple subset of FHIRPath](fhirpath.html#simple) limited to element names, repetition indicators and the default child accessor that identifies one of the elements in the resource that caused this issue to be raisedexpression : string [0..*]An error, warning, or information message that results from a system actionissue[1..*]

XML Template

<OperationOutcome xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> doco
 <!-- from Resource: id, meta, implicitRules, and language -->
 <!-- from DomainResource: text, contained, extension, and modifierExtension -->
 <issue>  <!-- 1..* A single issue associated with the action -->
  <severity value="[code]"/><!-- 1..1 fatal | error | warning | information -->
  <code value="[code]"/><!-- 1..1 Error or warning code -->
  <details><!-- 0..1 CodeableConcept Additional details about the error --></details>
  <diagnostics value="[string]"/><!-- 0..1 Additional diagnostic information about the issue -->
  <location value="[string]"/><!-- 0..* Deprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue -->
  <expression value="[string]"/><!-- 0..* FHIRPath of element(s) related to issue -->
 </issue>
</OperationOutcome>

Turtle Template

@prefix fhir: <http://hl7.org/fhir/> .doco


[ a fhir:OperationOutcome;
  fhir:nodeRole fhir:treeRoot; # if this is the parser root

  # from Resource: .id, .meta, .implicitRules, and .language
  # from DomainResource: .text, .contained, .extension, and .modifierExtension
  fhir:OperationOutcome.issue [ # 1..* A single issue associated with the action
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.severity [ code ]; # 1..1 fatal | error | warning | information
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.code [ code ]; # 1..1 Error or warning code
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.details [ CodeableConcept ]; # 0..1 Additional details about the error
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.diagnostics [ string ]; # 0..1 Additional diagnostic information about the issue
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.location [ string ], ... ; # 0..* Deprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.expression [ string ], ... ; # 0..* FHIRPath of element(s) related to issue
  ], ...;
]

Changes since R4

OperationOutcome
  • No Changes

See the Full Difference for further information

This analysis is available as XML or JSON.

See R3 <--> R4 Conversion Maps (status = 6 tests that all execute ok. All tests pass round-trip testing and all r3 resources are valid.)

Structure

NameFlagsCard.TypeDescription & Constraintsdoco
.. OperationOutcome NDomainResourceInformation about the success/failure of an action

Elements defined in Ancestors: id, meta, implicitRules, language, text, contained, extension, modifierExtension
... issue Σ1..*BackboneElementA single issue associated with the action

.... severity Σ1..1codefatal | error | warning | information
IssueSeverity (Required)
.... code Σ1..1codeError or warning code
IssueType (Required)
.... details Σ0..1CodeableConceptAdditional details about the error
Operation Outcome Codes (Example)
.... diagnostics Σ0..1stringAdditional diagnostic information about the issue
.... location ΣXD0..*stringDeprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue

.... expression Σ0..*stringFHIRPath of element(s) related to issue


doco Documentation for this format

See the Extensions for this resource

UML Diagram (Legend)

OperationOutcome (DomainResource)IssueIndicates whether the issue indicates a variation from successful processingseverity : code [1..1] « null (Strength=Required)IssueSeverity! »Describes the type of the issue. The system that creates an OperationOutcome SHALL choose the most applicable code from the IssueType value set, and may additional provide its own code for the error in the details elementcode : code [1..1] « null (Strength=Required)IssueType! »Additional details about the error. This may be a text description of the error or a system code that identifies the errordetails : CodeableConcept [0..1] « null (Strength=Example)OperationOutcomeCodes?? »Additional diagnostic information about the issuediagnostics : string [0..1]This element is deprecated because it is XML specific. It is replaced by issue.expression, which is format independent, and simpler to parse. For resource issues, this will be a simple XPath limited to element names, repetition indicators and the default child accessor that identifies one of the elements in the resource that caused this issue to be raised. For HTTP errors, will be "http." + the parameter namelocation : string [0..*]A [simple subset of FHIRPath](fhirpath.html#simple) limited to element names, repetition indicators and the default child accessor that identifies one of the elements in the resource that caused this issue to be raisedexpression : string [0..*]An error, warning, or information message that results from a system actionissue[1..*]

XML Template

<OperationOutcome xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> doco
 <!-- from Resource: id, meta, implicitRules, and language -->
 <!-- from DomainResource: text, contained, extension, and modifierExtension -->
 <issue>  <!-- 1..* A single issue associated with the action -->
  <severity value="[code]"/><!-- 1..1 fatal | error | warning | information -->
  <code value="[code]"/><!-- 1..1 Error or warning code -->
  <details><!-- 0..1 CodeableConcept Additional details about the error --></details>
  <diagnostics value="[string]"/><!-- 0..1 Additional diagnostic information about the issue -->
  <location value="[string]"/><!-- 0..* Deprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue -->
  <expression value="[string]"/><!-- 0..* FHIRPath of element(s) related to issue -->
 </issue>
</OperationOutcome>

Turtle Template

@prefix fhir: <http://hl7.org/fhir/> .doco


[ a fhir:OperationOutcome;
  fhir:nodeRole fhir:treeRoot; # if this is the parser root

  # from Resource: .id, .meta, .implicitRules, and .language
  # from DomainResource: .text, .contained, .extension, and .modifierExtension
  fhir:OperationOutcome.issue [ # 1..* A single issue associated with the action
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.severity [ code ]; # 1..1 fatal | error | warning | information
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.code [ code ]; # 1..1 Error or warning code
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.details [ CodeableConcept ]; # 0..1 Additional details about the error
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.diagnostics [ string ]; # 0..1 Additional diagnostic information about the issue
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.location [ string ], ... ; # 0..* Deprecated: Path of element(s) related to issue
    fhir:OperationOutcome.issue.expression [ string ], ... ; # 0..* FHIRPath of element(s) related to issue
  ], ...;
]

Changes since Release 4

OperationOutcome
  • No Changes

See the Full Difference for further information

This analysis is available as XML or JSON.

See R3 <--> R4 Conversion Maps (status = 6 tests that all execute ok. All tests pass round-trip testing and all r3 resources are valid.)

 

Additional definitions: Master Definition XML + JSON, XML Schema/Schematron + JSON Schema, ShEx (for Turtle) + see the extensions, the spreadsheet version & the dependency analysis

2.11.4.1 Terminology Bindings

PathDefinitionTypeReference
OperationOutcome.issue.severity

How the issue affects the success of the action.

RequiredIssueSeverity
OperationOutcome.issue.code

A code that describes the type of issue.

RequiredIssueType
OperationOutcome.issue.details

Operation Outcome codes for translatable phrases used by FHIR test servers (see Implementation file translations.xml)

ExampleOperationOutcomeCodes

2.11.5 Using Operation Outcome Resources

On the RESTful interface, operation outcome resources are only relevant when a level of computable detail is required that is more granular than that provided by the HTTP response codes. This granularity could include:

  • more detail about the location of an issue
  • the ability to identify multiple distinct issues
  • provision of finer error codes that connect to known business failure states

Operation outcomes returned SHOULD be in alignment with the HTTP response code. For example, if the HTTP code indicates a failure (300+), at least one of the issues should have a severity of "error", indicating the reason for the failure.

Operation outcomes must include at least one issue. See the All OK example for a template for an operation that returns no errors.

2.11.6 Using the Expression

Each issue in an operation outcome SHOUD have an expression that reports a location for the issue. A correctly populated expression can allow client systems to:

  • Connect return errors with the appropriate UI widget
  • Route errors to the correct application or system log
  • Develop more intelligent testing applications

In order to support these kinds of usages, applications need to use the expression element consistently. Applications can use the expression element to refer to a location inside a resource, or some location in the HTTP request (when appropriate).

Error locations are always reported using a simplified FHIRPath statement in the expression element. In addition to the simplified FHIRPath restrictions, the expression SHALL not contain a .resolve() function. These examples are legal: 

 <expression value="Patient.identifier"/>

  "expression" : "Patient.identifier[2].value"

but this is not: 

  "expression" : "Patient.identifier.where(system.value='http://example.com/mrn').value"

2.11.6.1 Reporting Errors in the HTTP Headers

Servers may also need to report errors in the HTTP headers - especially query parameters when processing searches. Errors are reported using a case sensitive expression that has two parts, a fixed "http" and the header or query parameter name separated by a ".". Some examples:

Expresson Description
http.code A reference to the search parameter "code"
http."name:exact" A reference to the search parameter "name" with the modifier ":exact"
http.Authorization A reference to the Authorization header - perhaps to indicate that it is missing, and some form of authentication is required.

This specification follows the convention that HTTP headers start with an uppercase character, and URL parameters start with a lowercase character. Implementations are encouraged to follow this convention, so that no name collisions occur.