This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v4.3.0-snapshot1: Release 4B Snapshot #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 R2
Element.profile.xml

Modeling and Methodology Work Group
Maturity Level: N/A
Standards Status: Informative
Raw XML (canonical form + also see XML Format Specification)
StructureDefinition for Element
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<StructureDefinition xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
  <id value="Element"/> 
  <text> 
    <status value="generated"/> 
    <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
      <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid; font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana; vertical-align: top;">
        <tr style="border: 1px #F0F0F0 solid; font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana; vertical-align: top">
          <th class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="The logical name of the element">Name</a> 
          </th> 
          <th class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="Information about the use of the element">Flags</a> 
          </th> 
          <th class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="Minimum and Maximum # of times the the element can appear in the instance">Card.</a> 
          </th> 
          <th class="hierarchy" style="width: 100px">
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="Reference to the type of the element">Type</a> 
          </th> 
          <th class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="Additional information about the element">Description &amp; Constraints</a> 
            <span style="float: right">
              <a href="formats.html#table" title="Legend for this format">
                <img alt="doco" src="help16.png" style="background-color: inherit"/> 
              </a> 
            </span> 
          </th> 
        </tr> 
        <tr style="border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid; padding:0px; vertical-align: top; background-color: white">
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px; white-space: nowrap; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGg
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            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAAWCAYAAAABxvaqAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3
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            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,R0lGODlhEAAQAPQfAOvGUf7ztuvPMf/78/fkl/Pbg+u8Rvjqteu2Pf3zxPz36Pz0z+vTmPzurPvuw/
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            exg8Shl1ckRUQVaMVkQ2kCstKCEAOw==" style="background-color: white; background-color: inherit" title="Element"/>  
            <a href="element-definitions.html#Element" title="Element : Base definition for all elements in a resource.">Element</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="uml.html#interface" style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; color: black; null" title="This is an interface resource">«I»</a> 
            <a href="versions.html#std-process" style="padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; border: 1px grey solid; font-weight: bold; color:
             black; background-color: #e6ffe6" title="Standards Status = Normative">N</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px"/> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="element.html">Element</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">Base for all elements
            <br/>  
            <span style="font-style: italic" title="ele-1">+ Rule: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children unless an empty Parameters resource</span> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 

        <tr style="border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid; padding:0px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #F7F7F7">
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: #F7F7F7; border: 0px #F0F0F0
           solid; padding:0px 4px 0px 4px; white-space: nowrap; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVB
          ORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAyAAAAACCAYAAACg/LjIAAAALUlEQVR4Xu3IoREAIAwEwfT6/ddA0GBAxO3NrLlKUj9263wAAAAvrgEA
          ADClAVWFQIBRHMicAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC)">
            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAAWCAYAAAABxvaqAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3
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            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAWCAYAAADJqhx8AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3
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            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAYAAAAf8/9hAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAARk
            lEQVQ4y2P8//8/AyWAhYFCMAgMuHjx4n+KXaCv+I0szW8WpCG8kFO1lGFKW/SIjAUYgxz/MzAwMDC+nqhDUTQyjuYFBgCNmhP4OvT
            RgwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" style="background-color: #F7F7F7; background-color: inherit" title="Primitive Data Type"/>  
            <a href="element-definitions.html#Element.id" title="Element.id : Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This
             may be any string value that does not contain spaces.">id</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: #F7F7F7; border: 0px #F0F0F0
           solid; padding:0px 4px 0px 4px"/> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: #F7F7F7; border: 0px #F0F0F0
           solid; padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">0..1</td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: #F7F7F7; border: 0px #F0F0F0
           solid; padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="datatypes.html#string">string</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: #F7F7F7; border: 0px #F0F0F0
           solid; padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">Unique id for inter-element referencing</td> 
        </tr> 

        <tr style="border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid; padding:0px; vertical-align: top; background-color: white">
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px; white-space: nowrap; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGg
          oAAAANSUhEUgAAAyAAAAACCAYAAACg/LjIAAAAJUlEQVR4Xu3IIQEAAAgDsHd9/w4EQIOamFnaBgAA4MMKAACAKwNp30CqZFfFmwA
          AAABJRU5ErkJggg==)">
            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAAWCAYAAAABxvaqAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3
            RJTUUH3wYeFzIs1vtcMQAAAB1pVFh0Q29tbWVudAAAAAAAQ3JlYXRlZCB3aXRoIEdJTVBkLmUHAAAAE0lEQVQI12P4//8/AxMDAwN
            dCABMPwMo2ctnoQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" style="background-color: inherit"/> 
            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAWCAYAAADJqhx8AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3
            RJTUUH3wYeFzME+lXFigAAAB1pVFh0Q29tbWVudAAAAAAAQ3JlYXRlZCB3aXRoIEdJTVBkLmUHAAAANklEQVQ4y+3OsRUAIAjEUOL
            +O8cJABttJM11/x1qZAGqRBEVcNIqdWj1efDqQbb3HwwwwEfABmQUHSPM9dtDAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" style="background-color: inherit"/> 
            <img alt="." class="hierarchy" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAYAAAAf8/9hAAAABGdBTUEAAK/INwWK6QAAABl0RVh0U2
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            /rsfYA21v+XE97f+PS5H/vx5Ra/98QN7+824ZTiIMSJr580bW/x+3iv//etD9/+fdpv/fzwX+/3LY6P/n7TIzCRtwPYYZaPvGH7dK
            gAb0AA1o/v/tQsh/oO0bP26TZiYqDIB+1/1+wef/z3vN/3/erPr/5aAOyHZdogMRGPIe38/7gvz+Gej3z18OG/8H2u5BvAFn7GO/H
            tdv/3pAQejzXjkhoO3tH7dIxY7EpEwMBgAr6O5Q8udliwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" style="background-color: white; background-color: inherit" title="Extension"/>  
            <a href="element-definitions.html#Element.extension" title="Element.extension : May be used to represent additional information that is not part of
             the basic definition of the element. 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 can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL
             be met as part of the definition of the extension.">extension</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px"/> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">0..*</td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">
            <a href="extensibility.html#Extension">Extension</a> 
          </td> 
          <td class="hierarchy" style="vertical-align: top; text-align : left; background-color: white; border: 0px #F0F0F0 solid;
           padding:0px 4px 0px 4px">Additional content defined by implementations
            <br/>  
          </td> 
        </tr> 

        <tr> 
          <td class="hierarchy" colspan="5">
            <br/>  
            <a href="formats.html#table" title="Legend for this format">
              <img alt="doco" src="help16.png" style="background-color: inherit"/>  Documentation for this format
            </a> 
          </td> 
        </tr> 
      </table> 
    </div> 
  </text> 
  <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-standards-status">
    <valueCode value="normative"/> 
  </extension> 
  <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-normative-version">
    <valueCode value="4.0.0"/> 
  </extension> 
  <url value="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Element"/> 
  <version value="4.3.0-snapshot1"/> 
  <name value="Element"/> 
  <status value="active"/> 
  <date value="2021-12-20T14:08:35+11:00"/> 
  <publisher value="HL7 FHIR Standard"/> 
  <contact> 
    <telecom> 
      <system value="url"/> 
      <value value="http://hl7.org/fhir"/> 
    </telecom> 
  </contact> 
  <description value="Base StructureDefinition for Element Type: Base definition for all elements in a resource."/> 
  <fhirVersion value="4.3.0-snapshot1"/> 
  <mapping> 
    <identity value="rim"/> 
    <uri value="http://hl7.org/v3"/> 
    <name value="RIM Mapping"/> 
  </mapping> 
  <kind value="complex-type"/> 
  <abstract value="true"/> 
  <type value="Element"/> 
  <snapshot> 
    <element id="Element">
      <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-standards-status">
        <valueCode value="normative"/> 
      </extension> 
      <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-normative-version">
        <valueCode value="4.0.0"/> 
      </extension> 
      <path value="Element"/> 
      <short value="Base for all elements"/> 
      <definition value="Base definition for all elements in a resource."/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="*"/> 
      <base> 
        <path value="Element"/> 
        <min value="0"/> 
        <max value="*"/> 
      </base> 
      <condition value="ele-1"/> 
      <constraint> 
        <key value="ele-1"/> 
        <severity value="error"/> 
        <human value="All FHIR elements must have a @value or children unless an empty Parameters resource"/> 
        <expression value="hasValue() or (children().count() &gt; id.count()) or $this is Parameters"/> 
        <xpath value="@value|f:*|h:div|self::f:Parameters"/> 
        <source value="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Element"/> 
      </constraint> 
      <isModifier value="false"/> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
    <element id="Element.id">
      <path value="Element.id"/> 
      <representation value="xmlAttr"/> 
      <short value="Unique id for inter-element referencing"/> 
      <definition value="Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any
       string value that does not contain spaces."/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="1"/> 
      <base> 
        <path value="Element.id"/> 
        <min value="0"/> 
        <max value="1"/> 
      </base> 
    <!--  Note: special primitive values have a FHIRPath system type. e.g. this is compiler magic
       (j)  -->
      <type> 
        <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-fhir-type">
          <valueUrl value="string"/> 
        </extension> 
        <code value="http://hl7.org/fhirpath/System.String"/> 
      </type> 
      <isModifier value="false"/> 
      <isSummary value="false"/> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
    <element id="Element.extension">
      <path value="Element.extension"/> 
      <slicing> 
        <discriminator> 
          <type value="value"/> 
          <path value="url"/> 
        </discriminator> 
        <description value="Extensions are always sliced by (at least) url"/> 
        <rules value="open"/> 
      </slicing> 
      <short value="Additional content defined by implementations"/> 
      <definition value="May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition
       of the element. 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
       can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the
       definition of the extension."/> 
      <comment value="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."/> 
      <alias value="extensions"/> 
      <alias value="user content"/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="*"/> 
      <base> 
        <path value="Element.extension"/> 
        <min value="0"/> 
        <max value="*"/> 
      </base> 
      <type> 
        <code value="Extension"/> 
      </type> 
      <constraint> 
        <key value="ele-1"/> 
        <severity value="error"/> 
        <human value="All FHIR elements must have a @value or children"/> 
        <expression value="hasValue() or (children().count() &gt; id.count())"/> 
        <xpath value="@value|f:*|h:div"/> 
        <source value="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Element"/> 
      </constraint> 
      <constraint> 
        <key value="ext-1"/> 
        <severity value="error"/> 
        <human value="Must have either extensions or value[x], not both"/> 
        <expression value="extension.exists() != value.exists()"/> 
        <xpath value="exists(f:extension)!=exists(f:*[starts-with(local-name(.), &quot;value&quot;)])"/> 
        <source value="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Extension"/> 
      </constraint> 
      <isModifier value="false"/> 
      <isSummary value="false"/> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
  </snapshot> 
  <differential> 
    <element id="Element">
      <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-standards-status">
        <valueCode value="normative"/> 
      </extension> 
      <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-normative-version">
        <valueCode value="4.0.0"/> 
      </extension> 
      <path value="Element"/> 
      <short value="Base for all elements"/> 
      <definition value="Base definition for all elements in a resource."/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="*"/> 
      <condition value="ele-1"/> 
      <constraint> 
        <key value="ele-1"/> 
        <severity value="error"/> 
        <human value="All FHIR elements must have a @value or children unless an empty Parameters resource"/> 
        <expression value="hasValue() or (children().count() &gt; id.count()) or $this is Parameters"/> 
        <xpath value="@value|f:*|h:div|self::f:Parameters"/> 
        <source value="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Element"/> 
      </constraint> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
    <element id="Element.id">
      <path value="Element.id"/> 
      <representation value="xmlAttr"/> 
      <short value="Unique id for inter-element referencing"/> 
      <definition value="Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any
       string value that does not contain spaces."/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="1"/> 
    <!--  Note: special primitive values have a FHIRPath system type. e.g. this is compiler magic
       (j)  -->
      <type> 
        <extension url="http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/structuredefinition-fhir-type">
          <valueUrl value="string"/> 
        </extension> 
        <code value="http://hl7.org/fhirpath/System.String"/> 
      </type> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
    <element id="Element.extension">
      <path value="Element.extension"/> 
      <slicing> 
        <discriminator> 
          <type value="value"/> 
          <path value="url"/> 
        </discriminator> 
        <description value="Extensions are always sliced by (at least) url"/> 
        <rules value="open"/> 
      </slicing> 
      <short value="Additional content defined by implementations"/> 
      <definition value="May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition
       of the element. 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
       can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the
       definition of the extension."/> 
      <comment value="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."/> 
      <alias value="extensions"/> 
      <alias value="user content"/> 
      <min value="0"/> 
      <max value="*"/> 
      <type> 
        <code value="Extension"/> 
      </type> 
      <mapping> 
        <identity value="rim"/> 
        <map value="n/a"/> 
      </mapping> 
    </element> 
  </differential> 
</StructureDefinition>
Usage note: every effort has been made to ensure that the examples are correct and useful, but they are not a normative part of the specification.