A laboratory result describes the result of a laboratory analysis. These are specimen-oriented tests as performed in laboratories such as Clinical Chemistry, Serology, Microbiology, etc. In addition to the results of tests with a singular result, this concept can also contain the results of more complex tests with multiple results or a ‘panel’.

The HCIM LaboratoryTestResult supports simple and more complex situations. This profile is used for (textual) reports on individual (panels of) observations, like conclusions. The actual tests are captured using the profile zib-LaboratoryTestResult-Observation, which should be referenced from this resource.

Requester information should be captured and exchanged in the resource ProcedureRequest referenced by basedOn. Requester is the healthcare provider and/or organization where or by whom the LaboratoryTestResult was requested. There are a few required elements in ProcedureRequest: * ProcedureRequest.status (use fixed value active, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.intent (use fixed value order, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.code (use extension http://hl7.org/fhir/STU3/extension-iso21090-nullflavor.html with valueCode UNK, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.subject (equal to DiagnosticReport.subject) * ProcedureRequest.requester.agent (contains the requesting HealthProfessional)

Defines a more specific value for a code. Especially useful for FHIRs required ValueSets.

Category SNOMED code used for indexing/retrieval of the HCIM LaboratoryTestResult. The system, code and display values are fixed.

The type of result defines the laboratory specialty under which the test is categorized.

ResultaatTypeCodelijst

For laboratory tests comprising multiple subtests and often requested together as a whole, this concept contains the name of the compound request (often indicated as a ‘panel’, ‘battery’ or ‘cluster’). Examples include: blood gases and EBV serology.

PanelOrBatteryCodelist

The role the healthcare provider fulfils in the healthcare process. For healthcare providers, this could be for example main practitioner, referrer or general practitioner.

Concise and clinically contextualized impression / summary of the diagnostic report. Comments, such as a textual interpretation or advice accompanying the result, for example.

A laboratory result describes the result of a laboratory analysis. These are specimen-oriented tests as performed in laboratories such as Clinical Chemistry, Serology, Microbiology, etc. In addition to the results of tests with a singular result, this concept can also contain the results of more complex tests with multiple results or a ‘panel’.

The HCIM LaboratoryTestResult supports simple and more complex situations. This profile is used for (textual) reports on individual (panels of) observations, like conclusions. The actual tests are captured using the profile zib-LaboratoryTestResult-Observation, which should be referenced from this resource.

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content.

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element.

This element is labelled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

Identifiers assigned to this report by the performer or other systems.

Usually assigned by the Information System of the diagnostic service provider (filler id).

Need to know what identifier to use when making queries about this report from the source laboratory, and for linking to the report outside FHIR context.

Details concerning a test or procedure requested.

Requester information should be captured and exchanged in the resource ProcedureRequest referenced by basedOn. Requester is the healthcare provider and/or organization where or by whom the LaboratoryTestResult was requested. There are a few required elements in ProcedureRequest: * ProcedureRequest.status (use fixed value active, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.intent (use fixed value order, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.code (use extension http://hl7.org/fhir/STU3/extension-iso21090-nullflavor.html with valueCode UNK, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.subject (equal to DiagnosticReport.subject) * ProcedureRequest.requester.agent (contains the requesting HealthProfessional)

This allows tracing of authorization for the report and tracking whether proposals/recommendations were acted upon.

The status of the diagnostic report as a whole.

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications need to take appropriate action if a report is withdrawn.

The status of the diagnostic report as a whole.

Diagnostic services routinely issue provisional/incomplete reports, and sometimes withdraw previously released reports.

An Extension

Defines a more specific value for a code. Especially useful for FHIRs required ValueSets.

Source of the definition for the extension code - a logical name or a URL.

The definition may point directly to a computable or human-readable definition of the extensibility codes, or it may be a logical URI as declared in some other specification. The definition SHALL be a URI for the Structure Definition defining the extension.

Value of extension - may be a resource or one of a constrained set of the data types (see Extensibility in the spec for list).

Value of extension - may be a resource or one of a constrained set of the data types (see Extensibility in the spec for list).

A code that classifies the clinical discipline, department or diagnostic service that created the report (e.g. cardiology, biochemistry, hematology, MRI). This is used for searching, sorting and display purposes.

The level of granularity is defined by the category concepts in the value set. More fine-grained filtering can be performed using the metadata and/or terminology hierarchy in DiagnosticReport.code.

Codes for diagnostic service sections.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Category SNOMED code used for indexing/retrieval of the HCIM LaboratoryTestResult. The system, code and display values are fixed.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

A representation of the meaning of the code in the system, following the rules of the system.

Need to be able to carry a human-readable meaning of the code for readers that do not know the system.

The type of result defines the laboratory specialty under which the test is categorized.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

ResultaatTypeCodelijst

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

For laboratory tests comprising multiple subtests and often requested together as a whole, this concept contains the name of the compound request (often indicated as a ‘panel’, ‘battery’ or ‘cluster’). Examples include: blood gases and EBV serology.

PanelOrBatteryCodelist

The subject of the report. Usually, but not always, this is a patient. However diagnostic services also perform analyses on specimens collected from a variety of other sources.

SHALL know the subject context.

The healthcare event (e.g. a patient and healthcare provider interaction) which this DiagnosticReport per is about.

This will typically be the encounter the event occurred within, but some events may be initiated prior to or after the official completion of an encounter or episode but still be tied to the context of the encounter or episode (e.g. pre-admission lab tests).

Links the request to the Encounter context.

The time or time-period the observed values are related to. When the subject of the report is a patient, this is usually either the time of the procedure or of specimen collection(s), but very often the source of the date/time is not known, only the date/time itself.

If the diagnostic procedure was performed on the patient, this is the time it was performed. If there are specimens, the diagnostically relevant time can be derived from the specimen collection times, but the specimen information is not always available, and the exact relationship between the specimens and the diagnostically relevant time is not always automatic.

Need to know where in the patient history to file/present this report.

Indicates who or what participated in producing the report.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

The reference to the practitioner or organization involved in producing the report. For example, the diagnostic service that is responsible for issuing the report.

This is not necessarily the source of the atomic data items. It is the entity that takes responsibility for the clinical report.

Need to know whom to contact if there are queries about the results. Also may need to track the source of reports for secondary data analysis.

An Extension

Optional Extension Element - found in all resources.

Details about the specimens on which this diagnostic report is based.

If the specimen is sufficiently specified with a code in the test result name, then this additional data may be redundant. If there are multiple specimens, these may be represented per observation or group.

Need to be able to report information about the collected specimens on which the report is based.

Observations that are part of this diagnostic report. Observations can be simple name/value pairs (e.g. "atomic" results), or they can be grouping observations that include references to other members of the group (e.g. "panels").

Need to support individual results, or report groups of results, where the result grouping is arbitrary, but meaningful. This structure is recursive - observations can contain observations.

Concise and clinically contextualized impression / summary of the diagnostic report. Comments, such as a textual interpretation or advice accompanying the result, for example.

Need to be able to provide a conclusion that is not lost among the basic result data.

A laboratory result describes the result of a laboratory analysis. These are specimen-oriented tests as performed in laboratories such as Clinical Chemistry, Serology, Microbiology, etc. In addition to the results of tests with a singular result, this concept can also contain the results of more complex tests with multiple results or a ‘panel’.

The HCIM LaboratoryTestResult supports simple and more complex situations. This profile is used for (textual) reports on individual (panels of) observations, like conclusions. The actual tests are captured using the profile zib-LaboratoryTestResult-Observation, which should be referenced from this resource.

The logical id of the resource, as used in the URL for the resource. Once assigned, this value never changes.

The only time that a resource does not have an id is when it is being submitted to the server using a create operation.

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content may not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content.

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element.

This element is labelled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation.

The base language in which the resource is written.

Language is provided to support indexing and accessibility (typically, services such as text to speech use the language tag). The html language tag in the narrative applies to the narrative. The language tag on the resource may be used to specify the language of other presentations generated from the data in the resource Not all the content has to be in the base language. The Resource.language should not be assumed to apply to the narrative automatically. If a language is specified, it should it also be specified on the div element in the html (see rules in HTML5 for information about the relationship between xml:lang and the html lang attribute).

A human language.

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource, and may be 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" for a human to just read the narrative. Resource definitions may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety.

Contained resources do not have narrative. Resources that are not contained SHOULD have a narrative. In some cases, a resource may only have text with little or no additional discrete data (as long as all minOccurs=1 elements are satisfied). This may be necessary for data from legacy systems where information is captured as a "text blob" or where text is additionally entered raw or narrated and encoded in formation is added later.

These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, and nor can they have their own independent transaction scope.

This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource. 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.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

Identifiers assigned to this report by the performer or other systems.

Usually assigned by the Information System of the diagnostic service provider (filler id).

Need to know what identifier to use when making queries about this report from the source laboratory, and for linking to the report outside FHIR context.

Details concerning a test or procedure requested.

Requester information should be captured and exchanged in the resource ProcedureRequest referenced by basedOn. Requester is the healthcare provider and/or organization where or by whom the LaboratoryTestResult was requested. There are a few required elements in ProcedureRequest: * ProcedureRequest.status (use fixed value active, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.intent (use fixed value order, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.code (use extension http://hl7.org/fhir/STU3/extension-iso21090-nullflavor.html with valueCode UNK, unless you know what the actual value is) * ProcedureRequest.subject (equal to DiagnosticReport.subject) * ProcedureRequest.requester.agent (contains the requesting HealthProfessional)

This allows tracing of authorization for the report and tracking whether proposals/recommendations were acted upon.

The status of the diagnostic report as a whole.

This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications need to take appropriate action if a report is withdrawn.

The status of the diagnostic report as a whole.

Diagnostic services routinely issue provisional/incomplete reports, and sometimes withdraw previously released reports.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references)

An Extension

Defines a more specific value for a code. Especially useful for FHIRs required ValueSets.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

Source of the definition for the extension code - a logical name or a URL.

The definition may point directly to a computable or human-readable definition of the extensibility codes, or it may be a logical URI as declared in some other specification. The definition SHALL be a URI for the Structure Definition defining the extension.

Value of extension - may be a resource or one of a constrained set of the data types (see Extensibility in the spec for list).

Value of extension - may be a resource or one of a constrained set of the data types (see Extensibility in the spec for list).

Primitive value for code

A code that classifies the clinical discipline, department or diagnostic service that created the report (e.g. cardiology, biochemistry, hematology, MRI). This is used for searching, sorting and display purposes.

The level of granularity is defined by the category concepts in the value set. More fine-grained filtering can be performed using the metadata and/or terminology hierarchy in DiagnosticReport.code.

Codes for diagnostic service sections.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Category SNOMED code used for indexing/retrieval of the HCIM LaboratoryTestResult. The system, code and display values are fixed.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

The identification of the code system that defines the meaning of the symbol in the code.

The URI may be an OID (urn:oid:...) or a UUID (urn:uuid:...). OIDs and UUIDs SHALL be references to the HL7 OID registry. Otherwise, the URI should come from HL7's list of FHIR defined special URIs or it should de-reference to some definition that establish the system clearly and unambiguously.

Need to be unambiguous about the source of the definition of the symbol.

The version of the code system which was used when choosing this code. Note that a well-maintained code system does not need the version reported, because the meaning of codes is consistent across versions. However this cannot consistently be assured. and when the meaning is not guaranteed to be consistent, the version SHOULD be exchanged.

Where the terminology does not clearly define what string should be used to identify code system versions, the recommendation is to use the date (expressed in FHIR date format) on which that version was officially published as the version date.

A symbol in syntax defined by the system. The symbol may be a predefined code or an expression in a syntax defined by the coding system (e.g. post-coordination).

Need to refer to a particular code in the system.

A representation of the meaning of the code in the system, following the rules of the system.

Need to be able to carry a human-readable meaning of the code for readers that do not know the system.

Indicates that this coding was chosen by a user directly - i.e. off a pick list of available items (codes or displays).

Amongst a set of alternatives, a directly chosen code is the most appropriate starting point for new translations. There is some ambiguity about what exactly 'directly chosen' implies, and trading partner agreement may be needed to clarify the use of this element and its consequences more completely.

This has been identified as a clinical safety criterium - that this exact system/code pair was chosen explicitly, rather than inferred by the system based on some rules or language processing.

The type of result defines the laboratory specialty under which the test is categorized.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

ResultaatTypeCodelijst

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

For laboratory tests comprising multiple subtests and often requested together as a whole, this concept contains the name of the compound request (often indicated as a ‘panel’, ‘battery’ or ‘cluster’). Examples include: blood gases and EBV serology.

PanelOrBatteryCodelist

The subject of the report. Usually, but not always, this is a patient. However diagnostic services also perform analyses on specimens collected from a variety of other sources.

SHALL know the subject context.

The healthcare event (e.g. a patient and healthcare provider interaction) which this DiagnosticReport per is about.

This will typically be the encounter the event occurred within, but some events may be initiated prior to or after the official completion of an encounter or episode but still be tied to the context of the encounter or episode (e.g. pre-admission lab tests).

Links the request to the Encounter context.

The time or time-period the observed values are related to. When the subject of the report is a patient, this is usually either the time of the procedure or of specimen collection(s), but very often the source of the date/time is not known, only the date/time itself.

If the diagnostic procedure was performed on the patient, this is the time it was performed. If there are specimens, the diagnostically relevant time can be derived from the specimen collection times, but the specimen information is not always available, and the exact relationship between the specimens and the diagnostically relevant time is not always automatic.

Need to know where in the patient history to file/present this report.

The date and time that this version of the report was released from the source diagnostic service.

May be different from the update time of the resource itself, because that is the status of the record (potentially a secondary copy), not the actual release time of the report.

Clinicians need to be able to check the date that the report was released.

Indicates who or what participated in producing the report.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

Describes the type of participation (e.g. a responsible party, author, or verifier).

Indicate a role of diagnostic report performer

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

The role the healthcare provider fulfils in the healthcare process. For healthcare providers, this could be for example main practitioner, referrer or general practitioner.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

The reference to the practitioner or organization involved in producing the report. For example, the diagnostic service that is responsible for issuing the report.

This is not necessarily the source of the atomic data items. It is the entity that takes responsibility for the clinical report.

Need to know whom to contact if there are queries about the results. Also may need to track the source of reports for secondary data analysis.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

An Extension

Optional Extension Element - found in all resources.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When 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

Applications converting a logical reference to a literal reference may choose to leave the logical reference present, or remove it.

Plain text narrative that identifies the resource in addition to the resource reference.

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.

Details about the specimens on which this diagnostic report is based.

If the specimen is sufficiently specified with a code in the test result name, then this additional data may be redundant. If there are multiple specimens, these may be represented per observation or group.

Need to be able to report information about the collected specimens on which the report is based.

Observations that are part of this diagnostic report. Observations can be simple name/value pairs (e.g. "atomic" results), or they can be grouping observations that include references to other members of the group (e.g. "panels").

Need to support individual results, or report groups of results, where the result grouping is arbitrary, but meaningful. This structure is recursive - observations can contain observations.

One or more links to full details of any imaging performed during the diagnostic investigation. Typically, this is imaging performed by DICOM enabled modalities, but this is not required. A fully enabled PACS viewer can use this information to provide views of the source images.

ImagingStudy and ImageManifest and the image element are somewhat overlapping - typically, the list of image references in the image element will also be found in one of the imaging study resources. However each caters to different types of displays for different types of purposes. Neither, either, or both may be provided.

A list of key images associated with this report. The images are generally created during the diagnostic process, and may be directly of the patient, or of treated specimens (i.e. slides of interest).

Many diagnostic services include images in the report as part of their service.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

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.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element, and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

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.

A comment about the image. Typically, this is used to provide an explanation for why the image is included, or to draw the viewer's attention to important features.

The comment should be displayed with the image. It would be common for the report to include additional discussion of the image contents in other sections such as the conclusion.

The provider of the report should make a comment about each image included in the report.

Reference to the image source.

Concise and clinically contextualized impression / summary of the diagnostic report. Comments, such as a textual interpretation or advice accompanying the result, for example.

Need to be able to provide a conclusion that is not lost among the basic result data.

Codes for the conclusion.

Diagnosis codes provided as adjuncts to the report.

Rich text representation of the entire result as issued by the diagnostic service. Multiple formats are allowed but they SHALL be semantically equivalent.

"application/pdf" is recommended as the most reliable and interoperable in this context.

Gives laboratory the ability to provide its own fully formatted report for clinical fidelity.