Release 4

This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v4.0.1: R4 - Mixed Normative and STU) in it's permanent home (it will always be available at this URL). 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 Administration Work GroupMaturity Level: 3 Trial UseSecurity Category: Business Compartments: Not linked to any defined compartments

Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Organization resource.

Organization
Element IdOrganization
Definition

A formally or informally recognized grouping of people or organizations formed for the purpose of achieving some form of collective action. Includes companies, institutions, corporations, departments, community groups, healthcare practice groups, payer/insurer, etc.

Cardinality0..*
TypeDomainResource
Invariants
Defined on this element
org-1Rule The organization SHALL at least have a name or an identifier, and possibly more than one(identifier.count() + name.count()) > 0
Organization.identifier
Element IdOrganization.identifier
Definition

Identifier for the organization that is used to identify the organization across multiple disparate systems.

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

Organizations are known by a variety of ids. Some institutions maintain several, and most collect identifiers for exchange with other organizations concerning the organization.

Summarytrue
Invariants
Affect this element
org-1Rule The organization SHALL at least have a name or an identifier, and possibly more than one(identifier.count() + name.count()) > 0
Organization.active
Element IdOrganization.active
Definition

Whether the organization's record is still in active use.

Cardinality0..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifiertrue (Reason: This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that can indicate that a record should not be treated as valid)
Meaning if MissingThis resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
Requirements

Need a flag to indicate a record is no longer to be used and should generally be hidden for the user in the UI.

Summarytrue
Comments

This active flag is not intended to be used to mark an organization as temporarily closed or under construction. Instead the Location(s) within the Organization should have the suspended status. If further details of the reason for the suspension are required, then an extension on this element should be used.

This element is labeled as a modifier because it may be used to mark that the resource was created in error.

Organization.type
Element IdOrganization.type
Definition

The kind(s) of organization that this is.

Cardinality0..*
Terminology BindingOrganization type (Example)
TypeCodeableConcept
Requirements

Need to be able to track the kind of organization that this is - different organization types have different uses.

Summarytrue
Comments

Organizations can be corporations, wards, sections, clinical teams, government departments, etc. Note that code is generally a classifier of the type of organization; in many applications, codes are used to identity a particular organization (say, ward) as opposed to another of the same type - these are identifiers, not codes

When considering if multiple types are appropriate, you should evaluate if child organizations would be a more appropriate use of the concept, as different types likely are in different sub-areas of the organization. This is most likely to be used where type values have orthogonal values, such as a religious, academic and medical center.

We expect that some jurisdictions will profile this optionality to be a single cardinality.

Organization.name
Element IdOrganization.name
Definition

A name associated with the organization.

Cardinality0..1
Typestring
Requirements

Need to use the name as the label of the organization.

Summarytrue
Comments

If the name of an organization changes, consider putting the old name in the alias column so that it can still be located through searches.

Invariants
Affect this element
org-1Rule The organization SHALL at least have a name or an identifier, and possibly more than one(identifier.count() + name.count()) > 0
Organization.alias
Element IdOrganization.alias
Definition

A list of alternate names that the organization is known as, or was known as in the past.

Cardinality0..*
Typestring
Requirements

Over time locations and organizations go through many changes and can be known by different names.

For searching knowing previous names that the organization was known by can be very useful.

Comments

There are no dates associated with the alias/historic names, as this is not intended to track when names were used, but to assist in searching so that older names can still result in identifying the organization.

Organization.telecom
Element IdOrganization.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the organization.

Cardinality0..*
TypeContactPoint
Requirements

Human contact for the organization.

Comments

The use code 'home' is not to be used. Note that these contacts are not the contact details of people who are employed by or represent the organization, but official contacts for the organization itself.

Invariants
Defined on this element
org-3Rule The telecom of an organization can never be of use 'home'where(use = 'home').empty()
Affect this element
Organization.address
Element IdOrganization.address
Definition

An address for the organization.

Cardinality0..*
TypeAddress
Requirements

May need to keep track of the organization's addresses for contacting, billing or reporting requirements.

Comments

Organization may have multiple addresses with different uses or applicable periods. The use code 'home' is not to be used.

Invariants
Defined on this element
org-2Rule An address of an organization can never be of use 'home'where(use = 'home').empty()
Affect this element
Organization.partOf
Element IdOrganization.partOf
Definition

The organization of which this organization forms a part.

Cardinality0..1
TypeReference(Organization)
HierarchyThis reference is part of a strict Hierarchy
Requirements

Need to be able to track the hierarchy of organizations within an organization.

Summarytrue
Organization.contact
Element IdOrganization.contact
Definition

Contact for the organization for a certain purpose.

Cardinality0..*
Requirements

Need to keep track of assigned contact points within bigger organization.

Comments

Where multiple contacts for the same purpose are provided there is a standard extension that can be used to determine which one is the preferred contact to use.

Organization.contact.purpose
Element IdOrganization.contact.purpose
Definition

Indicates a purpose for which the contact can be reached.

Cardinality0..1
Terminology BindingContact entity type (Extensible)
TypeCodeableConcept
Requirements

Need to distinguish between multiple contact persons.

Organization.contact.name
Element IdOrganization.contact.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact.

Cardinality0..1
TypeHumanName
Requirements

Need to be able to track the person by name.

Organization.contact.telecom
Element IdOrganization.contact.telecom
Definition

A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the party may be contacted.

Cardinality0..*
TypeContactPoint
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Organization.contact.address
Element IdOrganization.contact.address
Definition

Visiting or postal addresses for the contact.

Cardinality0..1
TypeAddress
Requirements

May need to keep track of a contact party's address for contacting, billing or reporting requirements.

Organization.endpoint
Element IdOrganization.endpoint
Definition

Technical endpoints providing access to services operated for the organization.

Cardinality0..*
TypeReference(Endpoint)
Requirements

Organizations have multiple systems that provide various services and need to be able to define the technical connection details for how to connect to them, and for what purpose.