FHIR Release 3 (STU)

This page is part of the FHIR Specification (v3.0.2: STU 3). 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

Reference.profile.json

Modeling and Methodology Work GroupMaturity Level: N/ABallot Status: Informative

Raw JSON (canonical form)

StructureDefinition for Reference

{
  "resourceType": "StructureDefinition",
  "id": "Reference",
  "meta": {
    "lastUpdated": "2019-10-24T11:53:00+11:00"
  },
  "text": {
    "status": "generated",
    "div": "<div>!-- Snipped for Brevity --></div>"
  },
  "url": "http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Reference",
  "name": "Reference",
  "status": "draft",
  "date": "2019-10-24T11:53:00+11:00",
  "publisher": "HL7 FHIR Standard",
  "contact": [
    {
      "telecom": [
        {
          "system": "url",
          "value": "http://hl7.org/fhir"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "description": "Base StructureDefinition for Reference Type",
  "fhirVersion": "3.0.2",
  "mapping": [
    {
      "identity": "rim",
      "uri": "http://hl7.org/v3",
      "name": "RIM Mapping"
    }
  ],
  "kind": "complex-type",
  "abstract": false,
  "type": "Reference",
  "baseDefinition": "http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/Element",
  "derivation": "specialization",
  "snapshot": {
    "element": [
      {
        "id": "Reference",
        "path": "Reference",
        "short": "A reference from one resource to another",
        "definition": "A reference from one resource to another.",
        "comment": "References SHALL be a reference to an actual FHIR resource, and SHALL be resolveable (allowing for access control, temporary unavailability, etc). Resolution can be either by retrieval from the URL, or, where applicable by resource type, by treating an absolute reference as a canonical URL and looking it up in a local registry/repository.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "*",
        "condition": [
          "ele-1"
        ],
        "constraint": [
          {
            "key": "ele-1",
            "severity": "error",
            "human": "All FHIR elements must have a @value or children",
            "expression": "hasValue() | (children().count() > id.count())",
            "xpath": "@value|f:*|h:div",
            "source": "Element"
          },
          {
            "key": "ref-1",
            "severity": "error",
            "human": "SHALL have a contained resource if a local reference is provided",
            "expression": "reference.startsWith('#').not() or (reference.substring(1).trace('url') in %resource.contained.id.trace('ids'))",
            "xpath": "not(starts-with(f:reference/@value, '#')) or exists(ancestor::*[self::f:entry or self::f:parameter]/f:resource/f:*/f:contained/f:*[f:id/@value=substring-after(current()/f:reference/@value, '#')]|/*/f:contained/f:*[f:id/@value=substring-after(current()/f:reference/@value, '#')])"
          }
        ],
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "n/a"
          },
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "The target of a resource reference is a RIM entry point (Act, Role, or Entity)"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.id",
        "path": "Reference.id",
        "representation": [
          "xmlAttr"
        ],
        "short": "xml:id (or equivalent in JSON)",
        "definition": "unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "base": {
          "path": "Element.id",
          "min": 0,
          "max": "1"
        },
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "string"
          }
        ],
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "n/a"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.extension",
        "path": "Reference.extension",
        "slicing": {
          "discriminator": [
            {
              "type": "value",
              "path": "url"
            }
          ],
          "description": "Extensions are always sliced by (at least) url",
          "rules": "open"
        },
        "short": "Additional Content defined by implementations",
        "definition": "May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.",
        "comment": "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": [
          "extensions",
          "user content"
        ],
        "min": 0,
        "max": "*",
        "base": {
          "path": "Element.extension",
          "min": 0,
          "max": "*"
        },
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "Extension"
          }
        ],
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "n/a"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.reference",
        "path": "Reference.reference",
        "short": "Literal reference, Relative, internal or absolute URL",
        "definition": "A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.",
        "comment": "Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries.   Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure \"/[type]/[id]\" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "string"
          }
        ],
        "condition": [
          "ref-1"
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "N/A"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.identifier",
        "path": "Reference.identifier",
        "short": "Logical reference, when literal reference is not known",
        "definition": "An identifier for the other resource. This is used when there is no way to reference the other resource directly, either because the entity is not available through a FHIR server, or because there is no way for the author of the resource to convert a known identifier to an actual location. There is no requirement that a Reference.identifier point to something that is actually exposed as a FHIR instance, but it SHALL point to a business concept that would be expected to be exposed as a FHIR instance, and that instance would need to be of a FHIR resource type allowed by the reference.",
        "comment": "When an identifier is provided in place of a reference, any system processing the reference will only be able to resolve the identifier to a reference if it understands the business context in which the identifier is used. Sometimes this is global (e.g. a national identifier) but often it is not. For this reason, none of the useful mechanisms described for working with references (e.g. chaining, includes) are possible, nor should servers be expected to be able resolve the reference. Servers may accept an identifier based reference untouched, resolve it, and/or reject it - see CapabilityStatement.rest.resource.referencePolicy. \n\nWhen both an identifier and a literal reference are provided, the literal reference is preferred. Applications processing the resource are allowed - but not required - to check that the identifier matches the literal reference\n\nApplications converting a logical reference to a literal reference may choose to leave the logical reference present, or remove it.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "Identifier"
          }
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": ".identifier"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.display",
        "extension": [
          {
            "url": "http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/elementdefinition-translatable",
            "valueBoolean": true
          }
        ],
        "path": "Reference.display",
        "short": "Text alternative for the resource",
        "definition": "Plain text narrative that identifies the resource in addition to the resource reference.",
        "comment": "This is generally not the same as the Resource.text of the referenced resource.  The purpose is to identify what's being referenced, not to fully describe it.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "string"
          }
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "N/A"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "differential": {
    "element": [
      {
        "id": "Reference",
        "path": "Reference",
        "short": "A reference from one resource to another",
        "definition": "A reference from one resource to another.",
        "comment": "References SHALL be a reference to an actual FHIR resource, and SHALL be resolveable (allowing for access control, temporary unavailability, etc). Resolution can be either by retrieval from the URL, or, where applicable by resource type, by treating an absolute reference as a canonical URL and looking it up in a local registry/repository.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "*",
        "constraint": [
          {
            "key": "ref-1",
            "severity": "error",
            "human": "SHALL have a contained resource if a local reference is provided",
            "expression": "reference.startsWith('#').not() or (reference.substring(1).trace('url') in %resource.contained.id.trace('ids'))",
            "xpath": "not(starts-with(f:reference/@value, '#')) or exists(ancestor::*[self::f:entry or self::f:parameter]/f:resource/f:*/f:contained/f:*[f:id/@value=substring-after(current()/f:reference/@value, '#')]|/*/f:contained/f:*[f:id/@value=substring-after(current()/f:reference/@value, '#')])"
          }
        ],
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "The target of a resource reference is a RIM entry point (Act, Role, or Entity)"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.reference",
        "path": "Reference.reference",
        "short": "Literal reference, Relative, internal or absolute URL",
        "definition": "A reference to a location at which the other resource is found. The reference may be a relative reference, in which case it is relative to the service base URL, or an absolute URL that resolves to the location where the resource is found. The reference may be version specific or not. If the reference is not to a FHIR RESTful server, then it should be assumed to be version specific. Internal fragment references (start with '#') refer to contained resources.",
        "comment": "Using absolute URLs provides a stable scalable approach suitable for a cloud/web context, while using relative/logical references provides a flexible approach suitable for use when trading across closed eco-system boundaries.   Absolute URLs do not need to point to a FHIR RESTful server, though this is the preferred approach. If the URL conforms to the structure \"/[type]/[id]\" then it should be assumed that the reference is to a FHIR RESTful server.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "string"
          }
        ],
        "condition": [
          "ref-1"
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "N/A"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.identifier",
        "path": "Reference.identifier",
        "short": "Logical reference, when literal reference is not known",
        "definition": "An identifier for the other resource. This is used when there is no way to reference the other resource directly, either because the entity is not available through a FHIR server, or because there is no way for the author of the resource to convert a known identifier to an actual location. There is no requirement that a Reference.identifier point to something that is actually exposed as a FHIR instance, but it SHALL point to a business concept that would be expected to be exposed as a FHIR instance, and that instance would need to be of a FHIR resource type allowed by the reference.",
        "comment": "When an identifier is provided in place of a reference, any system processing the reference will only be able to resolve the identifier to a reference if it understands the business context in which the identifier is used. Sometimes this is global (e.g. a national identifier) but often it is not. For this reason, none of the useful mechanisms described for working with references (e.g. chaining, includes) are possible, nor should servers be expected to be able resolve the reference. Servers may accept an identifier based reference untouched, resolve it, and/or reject it - see CapabilityStatement.rest.resource.referencePolicy. \n\nWhen both an identifier and a literal reference are provided, the literal reference is preferred. Applications processing the resource are allowed - but not required - to check that the identifier matches the literal reference\n\nApplications converting a logical reference to a literal reference may choose to leave the logical reference present, or remove it.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "Identifier"
          }
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": ".identifier"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "Reference.display",
        "extension": [
          {
            "url": "http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/elementdefinition-translatable",
            "valueBoolean": true
          }
        ],
        "path": "Reference.display",
        "short": "Text alternative for the resource",
        "definition": "Plain text narrative that identifies the resource in addition to the resource reference.",
        "comment": "This is generally not the same as the Resource.text of the referenced resource.  The purpose is to identify what's being referenced, not to fully describe it.",
        "min": 0,
        "max": "1",
        "type": [
          {
            "code": "string"
          }
        ],
        "isSummary": true,
        "mapping": [
          {
            "identity": "rim",
            "map": "N/A"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

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.