FHIR Release 3 (STU) CI-Build

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 Continuous Integration Build of available versions, see FHIR (will be incorrect/inconsistent at times).
See the Directory of published versions icon . Page versions: R5 R4B R4 R3 R2

Responsible Owner: Structured Documents icon Work Group Maturity Level : 2   Trial Use Security Category : Not Classified Compartments : Device , Encounter , Patient , Practitioner , RelatedPerson

Detailed Descriptions for the elements in the Composition resource.

Control Control Control Comments Control Control Control true Control true Comments Control Control Control Control Control Control Control Control Control Invariants Affect this element cmp-1 : A section must at least one of text, entries, or sub-sections ( expression : text.exists() or entry.exists() or section.exists(), xpath: exists(f:text) or exists(f:entry) or exists(f:section))
Definition Element Id Composition
Definition

A set of healthcare-related information that is assembled together into a single logical document package that provides a single coherent statement of meaning, establishes its own context and that has clinical attestation with regard traceability to the author who is making the statement. While a A Composition defines the structure, it structure and narrative content necessary for a document. However, a Composition alone does not actually contain constitute a document. Rather, the content: rather Composition must be the full content of a document is contained first entry in a Bundle, of which the Bundle where Bundle.type=document, and any other resources referenced from Composition is must be included as subsequent entries in the first resource contained. Bundle (for example Patient, Practitioner, Encounter, etc.).

Short Display A set of resources composed into a single coherent clinical statement with clinical attestation
Cardinality 0..*
1..1 Type DomainResource
Requirements

To support documents, and also to capture the EN13606 notion of an attested commit to the patient EHR, and to allow a set of disparate resources at the information/engineering level to be gathered into a clinical statement.

Comments Summary false
Comments

While the focus of this specification is on patient-specific clinical statements, this resource can also apply to other healthcare-related statements such as study protocol designs, healthcare invoices and other activities that are not necessarily patient-specific or clinical.

Element Id Composition.url
Definition

An absolute URI that is used to identify this Composition when it is referenced in a specification, model, design or an instance; also called its canonical identifier. This SHOULD be globally unique and SHOULD be a literal address at which an authoritative instance of this Composition is (or will be) published. This URL can be the target of a canonical reference. It SHALL remain the same when the Composition is stored on different servers.

Short Display Canonical identifier for this Composition, represented as a URI (globally unique)
Cardinality 0..1
Type uri
Requirements

Allows the Composition to be referenced by a single globally unique identifier.

Summary true
Comments

Can be a urn:uuid: or a urn:oid: but real http: addresses are preferred. Multiple instances may share the same URL if they have a distinct version.

Definition Element Id Composition.identifier
Definition

Logical A version-independent identifier for the composition, assigned when created. Composition. This identifier stays constant as the composition is changed over time.

Note Short Display Version-independent identifier for the Composition
Note This is a business identifer, identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion )
Control Cardinality 0..1 0..*
Type Identifier
Summary true
Comments

Similar to ClinicalDocument/setId in CDA. See discussion in resource definition for how these relate.

Element Id Composition.version
Definition

An explicitly assigned identifier of a variation of the content in the Composition.

Short Display An explicitly assigned identifier of a variation of the content in the Composition
Note This is a business versionId, not a resource version id (see discussion )
Cardinality 0..1
Type string
Summary true
Comments

While each resource, including the composition itself, has its own version identifier, this is a formal identifier for the logical version of the Composition as a whole. It would remain constant if the resources were moved to a new server, and all got new individual resource versions, for example.

Element Id Composition.consent
Definition

References the consents associated with this document. Examples include a consent to perform the clinical service being documented (.event) or a consent for the information contained in the document to be released to a third party.

Short Display Represents informed consents and medico-legal transactions
Cardinality 0..*
Type Reference ( Consent )
Summary false
Element Id Composition.basedOn
Definition

A plan, proposal or order that is fulfilled in whole or in part by this composition.

Short Display Fulfills plan, proposal or order
Cardinality 0..*
Type Reference ( Appointment | AppointmentResponse | CarePlan | Claim | CommunicationRequest | CoverageEligibilityRequest | DeviceRequest | EnrollmentRequest | MedicationRequest | NutritionOrder | RequestOrchestration | ServiceRequest | Task | VisionPrescription )
Requirements

Allows tracing of authorization for the event and tracking whether proposals/recommendations were acted upon.

Alternate Names fulfills
Summary false
Definition Element Id Composition.status
Definition

The workflow/clinical status of this composition. The status is a marker for the clinical standing of the document.

Short Display registered | partial | preliminary | final | amended | corrected | appended | cancelled | entered-in-error | deprecated | unknown
Cardinality 1..1
Terminology Binding CompositionStatus Composition Status ( Required )
Type code
Is Modifier true (Reason: This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that contains status entered-in-error which means that the resource should not be treated as valid)
Requirements

Need to be able to mark interim, amended, or withdrawn compositions or documents.

Summary true
Comments

If a composition is marked as withdrawn, the compositions/documents in the series, or data from the composition or document series, should never be displayed to a user without being clearly marked as untrustworthy. The flag "entered-in-error" "entered-in-error" is why this element is labeled as a modifier of other elements.

Some reporting work flows require that the original narrative of a final document never be altered; instead, only new narrative can be added. The composition resource has no explicit status for explicitly noting whether this business rule is in effect. This would be handled by an extension if required.

Definition Element Id Composition.type
Definition

Specifies the particular kind of composition (e.g. History and Physical, Discharge Summary, Progress Note). This usually equates to the purpose of making the composition.

Short Display Kind of composition (LOINC if possible)
Control Cardinality 1..1
Terminology Binding FHIR Document Type Codes ( Preferred )
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Key metadata element describing the composition, used in searching/filtering.

Summary true
Comments

For Composition type, LOINC is ubiquitous and strongly endorsed by HL7. Most implementation guides will require a specific LOINC code, or use LOINC as an extensible binding.

Definition Element Id Composition.category
Definition

A categorization for the type of the composition - helps for indexing and searching. This may be implied by or derived from the code specified in the Composition Type.

Short Display Categorization of Composition
Cardinality 0..1 0..*
Terminology Binding FHIR Document Class Codes Referenced Item Category Value Set ( Example )
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Helps humans to assess whether the composition is of interest when viewing an index of compositions or documents.

Summary true
Element Id Composition.subject
Definition

Who or what the composition is about. The composition can be about a person, (patient or healthcare practitioner), a device (e.g. a machine) or even a group of subjects (such as a document about a herd of livestock, or a set of patients that share a common exposure).

Short Display Who and/or what the composition is about
Cardinality 1..1 0..*
Type Reference ( Any )
Requirements

Essential metadata for searching for the composition. Identifies who and/or what the composition/document is about.

Summary true
Comments

For clinical documents, this is usually the patient.

Definition Element Id Composition.encounter
Definition

Describes the clinical encounter or type of care this documentation is associated with.

Short Display Context of the Composition
Control Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference ( Encounter )
Requirements

Provides context for the composition and supports searching.

Summary true
Definition Element Id Composition.date
Definition

The composition editing time, when the composition was last logically changed by the author.

Short Display Composition editing time
Cardinality 1..1
Type dateTime
Requirements

dateTime is used for tracking, organizing versions and searching. Note that this is the time of authoring this version of the Composition. When packaged in a document, Bundle.timestamp is the date of packaging.

Summary true
Comments

The Last Modified Date on the composition may be after the date of the document was attested without being changed. This means that the date on an amended document is the date of the amendment, not the date of original authorship.

Element Id Composition.useContext
Definition

The content was developed with a focus and intent of supporting the contexts that are listed. These contexts may be general categories (gender, age, ...) or may be references to specific programs (insurance plans, studies, ...) and may be used to assist with indexing and searching for appropriate Composition instances.

Short Display The context that the content is intended to support
Cardinality 0..*
Type UsageContext
Requirements

Assist in searching for appropriate content.

Summary true
Comments

When multiple useContexts are specified, there is no expectation that all or any of the contexts apply.

Definition Element Id Composition.author
Definition

Identifies who is responsible for the information in the composition, not necessarily who typed it in.

Short Display Who and/or what authored the composition
Cardinality 1..* 0..*
Type Reference ( Practitioner | PractitionerRole | CareTeam | Device | Patient | RelatedPerson | Organization )
Requirements

Identifies who is responsible for the content.

Summary true
Comments

When the Composition is software-generated, a Device can be referenced. When a software-generated Composition is verified by a human (but not authored by that human), use the attester element to identify the human(s) who performed the verification.

Element Id Composition.participant
Definition

Identifies supporting entities, including parents, relatives, caregivers, insurance policyholders, guarantors, and others related in some way to the patient. A supporting person or organization is an individual or an organization with a relationship to the patient. A supporting person who is playing multiple roles would be recorded in multiple participants (e.g., emergency contact and next-of-kin).

Short Display Identifies supporting entities, including parents, relatives, caregivers, insurance policyholders, guarantors, and others related in some way to the patient
Cardinality 0..*
Summary false
Element Id Composition.participant.type
Definition

Meaning and purpose of participation, in creation of the clinical document. The list includes: data entry person, informant, primary information recipient, and tracker. Other types are allowed.

Short Display AUT | AUTHEN | CST | LA | RCT | SBJ
Cardinality 1..*
Terminology Binding FHIR Clinical Document Participant Types Value set icon ( Preferred )
Type CodeableConcept
Summary false
Element Id Composition.participant.function
Definition

Exact function of the participant in the creation of the clinical document. This is more granular than type.

Cardinality 0..*
Terminology Binding ParticipationFunction icon ( Preferred )
Type CodeableConcept
Summary false
Element Id Composition.participant.time
Definition

Time period of participation.

Short Display Time period of participation
Cardinality 0..1
Type Period
Summary false
Element Id Composition.participant.party
Definition

Who the participant is.

Short Display Who the participant is
Cardinality 1..1
Type Reference ( Practitioner | PractitionerRole | Patient | RelatedPerson | Device | Organization )
Summary false
Element Id Composition.name
Definition

A natural language name identifying the {{title}}. This name should be usable as an identifier for the module by machine processing applications such as code generation.

Short Display Name for this Composition (computer friendly)
Cardinality 0..1
Type string
Requirements

Support human navigation and code generation.

Summary true
Comments

The name is not expected to be globally unique. The name should be a simple alphanumeric type name to ensure that it is machine-processing friendly.

Definition Element Id Composition.title
Definition

Official human-readable label for the composition.

Short Display Human Readable name/title
Control Cardinality 1..1 0..1
Type string
Summary true
Comments

For many compositions, the title is the same as the text or a display name of Composition.type (e.g. a "consultation" "consultation" or "progress note"). "progress note"). Note that CDA does not make title mandatory, but there are no known cases where it is useful for title to be omitted, so it is mandatory here. Feedback on this requirement is welcome during the trial use period.

Definition Element Id Composition.note
Definition

The code specifying the level of confidentiality of the Composition. For any additional notes.

Control Short Display 0..1 For any additional notes
Terminology Binding Cardinality ConfidentialityClassification ( Required ) 0..*
Type code Is Modifier Annotation
Summary true false
Comments

The exact use of this element, and enforcement and issues related to highly sensitive documents are out of scope for the base specification, and delegated to implementation profiles (see security section). This element is labeled as a modifier because highly confidential documents must A comment, general note or annotation not be treated as if they are not. coded elsewhere.

Definition Element Id Composition.attester
Definition

A participant who has attested to the accuracy of the composition/document.

Short Display Attests to accuracy of composition
Cardinality 0..*
Requirements

Identifies responsibility for the accuracy of the composition content.

Summary true false
Comments

Only list each attester once.

Constraints
Affect this element
cmp-3 Warning If attester exists then the Composition either needs a text or a section %resource.attester.exists() implies(text.exists() or section.exists())
Definition Element Id Composition.attester.mode
Definition

The type of attestation the authenticator offers.

Short Display personal | professional | legal | official
Control Cardinality 1..* 1..1
Terminology Binding CompositionAttestationMode Composition Attestation Mode ( Required Preferred )
Type code CodeableConcept
Requirements

Indicates the level of authority of the attestation.

Summary Use more than one code where a single attester has more than one mode (professional and legal are often paired). false
Definition Element Id Composition.attester.time
Definition

When the composition was attested by the party.

Short Display When the composition was attested
Control Cardinality 0..1
Type dateTime
Requirements

Identifies when the information in the composition was deemed accurate. (Things may have changed since then.).

Summary true false
Definition Element Id Composition.attester.party
Definition

Who attested the composition in the specified way.

Short Display Who attested the composition
Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference ( Patient | RelatedPerson | Practitioner | PractitionerRole | Organization | Group )
Requirements

Identifies who has taken on the responsibility for accuracy of the composition content.

Summary true false
Definition Element Id Composition.custodian
Definition

Identifies the organization or group who is responsible for ongoing maintenance of and access to the composition/document information.

Short Display Organization which maintains the composition
Control Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference ( Organization | Patient | Group )
Requirements

Identifies where to go to find the current version, where to report issues, etc.

Summary true
Comments

This is useful when documents are derived from a composition - provides guidance for how to get the latest version of the document. This is optional because this is sometimes not known by the authoring system, and can be inferred by context. However, it is important that this information be known when working with a derived document, so providing a custodian is encouraged.

Definition Element Id Composition.relatesTo
Definition

Relationships that this composition has with other compositions or documents (FHIR or non-FHIR resources) that already exist.

Short Display Relationships to other compositions/documents
Cardinality 0..*
Summary true false
Comments

A document To reference (using relatesTo) a Bundle of type "document" or another Composition where you only have the identifier, use a targetReference with an identifier.
When a Composition is an alternate representation of another type of document e.g. CDA, the other document could be referenced in a version specific composition. DocumentReference resource.
Here is an example of using relatesTo to reference another Bundle of type "document" or Composition where you only have the identifier:

"relatesTo": [{
  "type": "replaces",
  "targetReference": {
    "identifier": { 
      "system": "...", 
      "value": "..."
    }
  } 
}]
Definition Element Id Composition.relatesTo.type
Definition

The type of relationship that this composition has with anther composition or document. to the related artifact.

Short Display documentation | justification | citation | predecessor | successor | derived-from | depends-on | composed-of | part-of | amends | amended-with | appends | appended-with | cites | cited-by | comments-on | comment-in | contains | contained-in | corrects | correction-in | replaces | replaced-with | retracts | retracted-by | signs | similar-to | supports | supported-with | transforms | transformed-into | transformed-with | documents | specification-of | created-with | cite-as | reprint | reprint-of | summarizes
Cardinality 1..1
Terminology Binding DocumentRelationshipType Artifact Relationship Type icon ( Required Extensible )
Type code CodeableConcept
Summary true Comments If this document appends another document, then the document cannot be fully understood without also accessing the referenced document. false
Definition Element Id Composition.relatesTo.target[x]
Definition

The target composition/document of artifact that is related to this relationship. Composition Resource.

Short Display The artifact that is related to this Composition
Cardinality 1..1
Type Identifier uri | Attachment | canonical ( Any )| Reference ( Composition Any ) )| markdown
[x] Note See Choice of Data Types Datatypes for further information about how to use [x]
Summary true false
Definition Element Id Composition.event
Definition

The clinical service, such as a colonoscopy or an appendectomy, being documented.

Short Display The clinical service(s) being documented
Control Cardinality 0..*
Requirements

Provides context for the composition and creates a linkage between a resource describing an event and the composition created describing the event.

Summary true
Comments

The event needs to be consistent with the type element, though can provide further information if desired.

Definition Element Id Composition.event.period
Definition

This list The period of codes represents time covered by the documentation. There is no assertion that the documentation is a complete representation for this period, only that it documents events during this time.

Short Display The period covered by the documentation
Cardinality 0..1
Type Period
Summary true
Element Id Composition.event.detail
Definition

Represents the main clinical acts, such as a colonoscopy or an appendectomy, being documented. In some cases, the event is inherent in the typeCode, such as a "History "History and Physical Report" Report" in which case the procedure being documented is necessarily a "History "History and Physical" Physical" act. The events may be included as a code or as a reference to an other resource.

Short Display The event(s) being documented, as code(s), reference(s), or both
Control Cardinality 0..*
Terminology Binding v3 Code System ActCode icon ( Example )
Type CodeableConcept CodeableReference ( Any )
Summary true
Comments

An event can further specialize the act inherent in the typeCode, Composition.type, such as where it is simply "Procedure Report" "Procedure Report" and the procedure was a "colonoscopy". "colonoscopy". If one or more eventCodes events are included, they SHALL NOT conflict with the values inherent in the classCode, practiceSettingCode or typeCode, Composition.type as such a conflict would create an ambiguous situation. This short list of codes is provided to be used as key words for certain types of queries.

Definition Element Id Composition.section
Definition

The period root of time covered by the documentation. There is no assertion sections that make up the documentation is a complete representation for this period, only that it documents events during this time. composition.

Control Short Display 0..1 Composition is broken into sections
Type Cardinality Period 0..*
Summary true false
Constraints Definition Invariants : emptyReason.empty() or entry.empty(), xpath: not(exists(f:emptyReason) and exists(f:entry)))
Composition.event.detail Defined on this element
cmp-1 The description and/or reference of the event(s) being documented. For example, this could be used to document such a colonoscopy or an appendectomy. Control Rule A section must contain at least one of text, entries, or sub-sections 0..* text.exists() or entry.exists() or section.exists()
Type cmp-2 Reference ( Any Rule ) Summary A section can only have an emptyReason if no entries are included true emptyReason.empty() or entry.empty()
Composition.section cmp-3 Definition Warning The root of the sections that make up If attester exists then the composition. Composition either needs a text or a section Control %resource.attester.exists() implies(text.exists() or section.exists()) 0..*
Defined on Affect this element cmp-1 : A section must at least one of text, entries, or sub-sections ( expression : text.exists() or entry.exists() or section.exists(), xpath: exists(f:text) or exists(f:entry) or exists(f:section)) cmp-2 : A section can only have an emptyReason if it is empty ( expression
Definition Element Id Composition.section.title
Definition

The label for this particular section. This will be part of the rendered content for the document, and is often used to build a table of contents.

Short Display Label for section (e.g. for ToC)
Cardinality 0..1
Type string
Requirements

Section headings are often standardized for different types of documents. They give guidance to humans on how the document is organized.

Alternate Names header; label; caption
Comments Summary false
Comments

The title identifies the section for a human reader. The title must be consistent with the narrative of the resource that is the target of the section.content reference. Generally, sections SHOULD have titles, but in some documents, it is unnecessary or inappropriate. Typically, this is where a section has subsections that have their own adequately distinguishing title, or documents that only have a single section. Most Implementation Guides will make section title to be a required element.

Definition Element Id Composition.section.code
Definition

A code identifying the kind of content contained within the section. This must be consistent with the section title.

Short Display Classification of section (recommended)
Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding Document Section Codes ( Example )
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Provides computable standardized labels to topics within the document.

Comments Summary false
Comments

The code identifies the section for an automated processor of the document. This is particularly relevant when using profiles to control the structure of the document.

If the section has content (instead of sub-sections), the section.code does not change the meaning or interpretation of the resource that is the content of the section in the comments for the section.code.

Element Id Composition.section.author
Definition

Identifies who is responsible for the information in this section, not necessarily who typed it in.

The actual author of the section when it is not the author of the composition. If author is not specified, the author is assumed to be the author of the parent section or the author of the composition.

Short Display Who and/or what authored the section, when the section is authored by someone other than the composition.author
Cardinality 0..*
Type Reference ( Practitioner | PractitionerRole | CareTeam | Device | Patient | RelatedPerson | Organization )
Requirements

Identifies who is responsible for the content.

Summary false
Element Id Composition.section.focus
Definition

The actual focus of the section when it is not the subject of the composition, but instead represents something or someone associated with the subject such as (for a patient subject) a spouse, parent, fetus, or donor. If not focus is specified, the focus is assumed to be focus of the parent section, or, for a section in the Composition itself, the subject of the composition. Sections with a focus SHALL only include resources where the logical subject (patient, subject, focus, etc.) matches the section focus, or the resources have no logical subject (few resources).

Short Display Who/what the section is about, when it is not about the subject of composition
Cardinality 0..1
Type Reference ( Any )
Summary false
Comments

Typically, sections in a doument are about the subject of the document, whether that is a patient, or group of patients, location, or device, or whatever. For some kind of documents, some sections actually contain data about related entities. Typical examples are a section in a newborn discharge summary concerning the mother, or family history documents, with a section about each family member, though there are many other examples.

Definition Element Id Composition.section.text
Definition

A human-readable narrative that contains the attested content of the section, used to represent the content of the resource to a human. The narrative need not encode all the structured data, but is required to contain sufficient detail to make it "clinically safe" "clinically safe" for a human to just read the narrative.

Short Display Text summary of the section, for human interpretation
Control Cardinality 0..1
Type Narrative
Comments Summary false
Comments

Document profiles may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety.

Invariants Constraints :
Affect this element
cmp-1 : Rule A section must contain at least one of text, entries, or sub-sections ( expression text.exists() or entry.exists() or section.exists(), xpath: exists(f:text) or exists(f:entry) or exists(f:section)) section.exists()
Definition Element Id Composition.section.note
Definition

How Information about the entry list was prepared - whether it is a working list section contents that is suitable for being maintained on an ongoing basis, or if it represents a snapshot of a list not represented by any of items from another source, or whether it is a prepared list where items may be marked as added, modified or deleted. the section entries.

Control Short Display 0..1 Information about the section contents that is not represented by any of the section entries
Terminology Binding Cardinality ListMode ( Required ) 0..*
Type code Annotation
Is Modifier Summary true false
Requirements Comments

Sections are used in various ways, and it must be known A comment, general note or annotation not coded elsewhere in what way it is safe to use the entries in them. section.

Element Id Composition.section.orderedBy
Definition

Specifies the order applied to the items in the section entries.

Short Display Order of section entries
Control Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding List Order Codes icon ( Preferred )
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Important for presentation and rendering. Lists may be sorted to place more important information first or to group related entries.

Comments Summary false
Comments

Applications SHOULD render ordered lists in the order provided, but MAY allow users to re-order based on their own preferences as well. If there is no order specified, the order is unknown, though there may still be some order.

Definition Element Id Composition.section.entry
Definition

A reference to the actual resource from which the narrative in the section is derived.

Short Display A reference to data that supports this section
Cardinality 0..*
Type Reference ( Any )
Comments Summary false
Comments

If there are no entries in the list, an emptyReason SHOULD be provided.

Invariants Constraints :
Affect this element
cmp-1 Rule A section must contain at least one of text, entries, or sub-sections text.exists() or entry.exists() or section.exists()
cmp-2 : Rule A section can only have an emptyReason if it is empty ( expression no entries are included emptyReason.empty() or entry.empty(), xpath: not(exists(f:emptyReason) and exists(f:entry))) entry.empty()
Definition Element Id Composition.section.emptyReason
Definition

If the section is empty, why the list is empty. An empty section typically has some text explaining the empty reason.

Short Display Why the section is empty
Cardinality 0..1
Terminology Binding List Empty Reasons ( Preferred )
Type CodeableConcept
Requirements

Allows capturing things like "none exist" "none exist" or "not asked" "not asked" which can be important for most lists.

Comments Summary false
Comments

The various reasons for an empty section make a significant interpretation to its interpretation. Note that this code is for use when the entire section content has been suppressed, and not for when individual items are omitted - implementers may consider using a text note or a flag on an entry in these cases.

Invariants Constraints :
Affect this element
cmp-2 : Rule A section can only have an emptyReason if it is empty ( expression no entries are included emptyReason.empty() or entry.empty(), xpath: not(exists(f:emptyReason) and exists(f:entry))) entry.empty()
Definition Element Id Composition.section.section
Definition

A nested sub-section within this section.

Short Display Nested Section
Cardinality 0..*
Type See Composition.section
Comments Summary false
Comments

Nested sections are primarily used to help human readers navigate to particular portions of the document.