US Laboratory Observation Profile (Conformance Package)

Published by: HL7 Orders and Observations Workgroup

Primary Author: Eric M Haas, Health eData Inc.

Scope and Usage

This Observation Profile is part of the The USLabOrder and USLabReport Implementation Guides. Its scope is US Realm ambulatory care and is based upon existing regulatory requirements for Laboratories and Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR-S) for ordering clinical laboratory results. The content has been modeled after the joint HL7 and The Standards and Interoperability (S and I) Framework Laboratory Orders and Results Interface Initiatives and the HL7 Lab Order Conceptual Specification and V3 Lab Normative Standard. However, much of the content is likely to be useable outside the ambulatory space and in other jurisdictions.

Four Observation profiles are defined to cover the various kinds of result values that are generated by laboratories and Ask at Order entry ('AOE') questions. These profiles are:

• USLabObsQuantity for quantitative or numeric results with required units and reference ranges
• USLabObsRatio for titers with required reference ranges
• USLabObsCoded for coded results
• USLabObsOther for the other result value datatypes
  • Attachment
  • dateTime
  • Period
  • SampleData
  • string
  • time

These profile are referenced in the USLab DiagnosticReport profile for one or more lab test results. They are also referenced for ask at order ("AOE") questions, other clinically relevant questions and for reporting prior results when requesting a test order using the USLabOrder DiagnosticOrder. Although not specified in this implementation, it may be used in other resources as well.

For the purposes of this profile, all elements listed in the differential profile view are Supported which means that the Laboratory Order/Results Sender SHALL be capable of supplying these elements and or extensions to the Laboratory Order/Results Receiver if the data is available. For the Laboratory Order/Results Receiver Supported means they SHALL save/print/archive/etc. the supplied the elements and or extensions sent by the Laboratory Order/Results Sender. Both the Laboratory Receiver and Laboratory Sender MAY use the information to control their display of the information.

Boundaries and Relationships

Explains how this resource relates to others. Particularly important is to differentiate between appropriate usages for related resources when an implementer might be confused about what to reference when.