HL7 FHIR® UK Core Design and Development Approach

CodeSystem Design

This section provides background information on metadata used within CodeSystem resources, a section that lists HL7 FHIR standard extensions that may be considered relevant to a UK Core CodeSystem, and links to example CodeSystems already created for the UK Core.

Further information about the CodeSystem resource is available online.



Metadata Usage

The list below contains the element differences between the UKCore and HL7.

Base Resource Definitions

View further information about FHIR base resource definitions.

Element name Base Cardinality UK Core Cardinality Type Definition, Constraints and Notes
id 0..1 1..1 id In the UK Core the format in the following, with the FHIRAssetName and Specialism in PascalCase:

UKCore-[FHIRAssetName][Specialism].

CodeSystem Content

View further information about FHIR Resource CodeSystem - Content.

Element name Base Cardinality UK Core Cardinality Type Definition, Constraints and Notes
url 0..1 1..1 uri In the UK Core the format is the following, with the FHIRAssetName and Specialism in PascalCase:

https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/StructureDefinition/UKCore-[FHIRAssetName][Specialism].
identifier 0..* 0..0 Identifier identifier SHALL NOT be used within the UKCore
version 0..1 1..1 string This will follow the Semantic Versioning standard [major.minor.patch].
Further details about internal versioning for UK Core assets are available.
name 0..1 1..1 string In the UK Core the format is PascalCase:

UKCore[FHIRAssetName][Specialism] .
title 0..1 1..1 string In the UK Core the format is Proper Case:

UK Core [FHIRAssetName] [Specialism].
status 1..1 1..1 code See NamingSystem.status for more information.
date 0..1 1..1 dateTime Only the date, without time, is populated in the UK Core.
publisher 0..1 1..1 string For all UK Core Profiles, where the base URL is https://fhir.hl7.org.uk, the name of the publisher will be HL7 UK.
contact 0..* 1..* ContactDetail See Publisher, Contact & Copyright for details of how this SHALL be populated for all UK Core Profiles, where the base URL is https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/.
description 0..1 1..1 markdown This SHALL be in the following format:

This profile defines the UK constraints and extensions on the International FHIR resource [FHIRAssetName]([link to HL7 Resource]).
copyright 0..1 1..1 markdown All UK Core Profiles SHALL contain the the copyright as listed in Publisher, Contact & Copyright
caseSensitive 0..1 1..1 boolean For all UK Core CodeSystems this SHALL be set to "true" unless a specific use case justifies it being set to "false". In this case the reasoning for the decision SHALL be added to the description element.
concept 0.. 0.. Backbone
Element
Concepts that are in the code system.

Cardinality would normally be 1..* but set to the standard 0..* to allow for a use case where the content element has a value of "not-present".
concept
.display
0..1 1..1 uri This SHALL be included as this presents the concept to a user in a human-readable manner.




CodeSystem Extensions

This section lists HL7 FHIR standard code system extensions that could be considered for use in UK Core code systems.

The full list of FHIR standard code system extensions is available online.

codesystem-concept-comments

The FHIR Standard extension https://hl7.org/fhir/extension-codesystem-concept-comments.html could be considered where there is a need to include comments against individual code system concepts, for example https://hl7.org/fhir/codesystem-administrative-gender.xml.html


Creating Codes for a CodeSystem

Where they don't already exist, the UK Core approach to creating codes for concepts in a new CodeSystem is by placing a hyphen between each word of the display value (if they contain more than one word) and using solely lower case alphabetic characters. For example:

<concept>
        <code value="prescribed-at-gp-practice" />
        <display value="Prescribed at GP practice" />
    </concept>

An exception to this is where the CodeSystem is a copy of a Data Dictionary set of concepts from any of the UK nations, where the approach is to faithfully use both the code and its description within the CodeSystem as defined within the Data Dictionary source at the time of creation of the CodeSystem. Note that for some CodeSystems already in existence in the UK core, including content previously created for other projects, alternative code construction forms have also been used.


CodeSystem created for the UK Core

HTML View

This code system https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization defines the following codes:

CodeDisplay
prescribed-at-gp-practicePrescribed at GP practice
prescribed-by-another-organisationPrescribed by another organisation

Table View

CodeSystem.id[0]UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization
CodeSystem.url[0]https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization
CodeSystem.version[0]1.0.0
CodeSystem.name[0]UKCoreMedicationPrescribingOrganization
CodeSystem.title[0]UK Core Medication Prescribing Organization
CodeSystem.status[0]retired
CodeSystem.date[0]2022-08-26
CodeSystem.publisher[0]HL7 UK
CodeSystem.contact[0].name[0]HL7 UK
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].system[0]email
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].value[0]ukcore@hl7.org.uk
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].use[0]work
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].rank[0]1
CodeSystem.description[0]A CodeSystem to identify the type of organisation responsible for authorising and issuing a medication.
CodeSystem.copyright[0]Copyright © 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7® FHIR® standard Copyright © 2011+ HL7 The HL7® FHIR® standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html.
CodeSystem.caseSensitive[0]True
CodeSystem.content[0]complete
CodeSystem.concept[0].code[0]prescribed-at-gp-practice
CodeSystem.concept[0].display[0]Prescribed at GP practice
CodeSystem.concept[1].code[0]prescribed-by-another-organisation
CodeSystem.concept[1].display[0]Prescribed by another organisation

XML View

<CodeSystem xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
    <id value="UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization" />
    <url value="https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization" />
    <version value="1.0.0" />
    <name value="UKCoreMedicationPrescribingOrganization" />
    <title value="UK Core Medication Prescribing Organization" />
    <status value="retired" />
    <date value="2022-08-26" />
    <publisher value="HL7 UK" />
    <contact>
        <name value="HL7 UK" />
        <telecom>
            <system value="email" />
            <value value="ukcore@hl7.org.uk" />
            <use value="work" />
            <rank value="1" />
        </telecom>
    </contact>
    <description value="A CodeSystem to identify the type of organisation responsible for authorising and issuing a medication." />
    <copyright value="Copyright &#169; 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the &quot;License&quot;); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an &quot;AS IS&quot; BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7&#174; FHIR&#174; standard Copyright &#169; 2011+ HL7 The HL7&#174; FHIR&#174; standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at  https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html." />
    <caseSensitive value="true" />
    <content value="complete" />
    <concept>
        <code value="prescribed-at-gp-practice" />
        <display value="Prescribed at GP practice" />
    </concept>
    <concept>
        <code value="prescribed-by-another-organisation" />
        <display value="Prescribed by another organisation" />
    </concept>
</CodeSystem>

JSON View

{
    "resourceType": "CodeSystem",
    "id": "UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization",
    "url": "https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-MedicationPrescribingOrganization",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "name": "UKCoreMedicationPrescribingOrganization",
    "title": "UK Core Medication Prescribing Organization",
    "status": "retired",
    "date": "2022-08-26",
    "publisher": "HL7 UK",
    "contact":  [
        {
            "name": "HL7 UK",
            "telecom":  [
                {
                    "system": "email",
                    "value": "ukcore@hl7.org.uk",
                    "use": "work",
                    "rank": 1
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "description": "A CodeSystem to identify the type of organisation responsible for authorising and issuing a medication.",
    "copyright": "Copyright © 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the \"License\"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an \"AS IS\" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7® FHIR® standard Copyright © 2011+ HL7 The HL7® FHIR® standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at  https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html.",
    "caseSensitive": true,
    "content": "complete",
    "concept":  [
        {
            "code": "prescribed-at-gp-practice",
            "display": "Prescribed at GP practice"
        },
        {
            "code": "prescribed-by-another-organisation",
            "display": "Prescribed by another organisation"
        }
    ]
}

CodeSystem based on previously created content

HTML View

This code system https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus defines the following codes:

CodeDisplay
1Informal - death notice received via an update from a local NHS Organisation such as GP or Trust
2Formal - death notice received from Registrar of Deaths
URemoved

Table View

CodeSystem.id[0]UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus
CodeSystem.url[0]https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus
CodeSystem.version[0]2.1.0
CodeSystem.name[0]UKCoreDeathNotificationStatus
CodeSystem.title[0]UK Core Death Notification Status
CodeSystem.status[0]active
CodeSystem.date[0]2021-09-10
CodeSystem.publisher[0]HL7 UK
CodeSystem.contact[0].name[0]HL7 UK
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].system[0]email
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].value[0]ukcore@hl7.org.uk
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].use[0]work
CodeSystem.contact[0].telecom[0].rank[0]1
CodeSystem.description[0]A CodeSystem to identify the type of death notice as held on Personal Demographics Service (PDS) or any other source system.
CodeSystem.copyright[0]Copyright © 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7® FHIR® standard Copyright © 2011+ HL7 The HL7® FHIR® standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html.
CodeSystem.caseSensitive[0]True
CodeSystem.content[0]complete
CodeSystem.concept[0].code[0]1
CodeSystem.concept[0].display[0]Informal - death notice received via an update from a local NHS Organisation such as GP or Trust
CodeSystem.concept[1].code[0]2
CodeSystem.concept[1].display[0]Formal - death notice received from Registrar of Deaths
CodeSystem.concept[2].code[0]U
CodeSystem.concept[2].display[0]Removed

XML View

<CodeSystem xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
    <id value="UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus" />
    <url value="https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus" />
    <version value="2.1.0" />
    <name value="UKCoreDeathNotificationStatus" />
    <title value="UK Core Death Notification Status" />
    <status value="active" />
    <date value="2021-09-10" />
    <publisher value="HL7 UK" />
    <contact>
        <name value="HL7 UK" />
        <telecom>
            <system value="email" />
            <value value="ukcore@hl7.org.uk" />
            <use value="work" />
            <rank value="1" />
        </telecom>
    </contact>
    <description value="A CodeSystem to identify the type of death notice as held on Personal Demographics Service (PDS) or any other source system." />
    <copyright value="Copyright &#169; 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the &quot;License&quot;); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an &quot;AS IS&quot; BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7&#174; FHIR&#174; standard Copyright &#169; 2011+ HL7 The HL7&#174; FHIR&#174; standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at  https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html." />
    <caseSensitive value="true" />
    <content value="complete" />
    <concept>
        <code value="1" />
        <display value="Informal - death notice received via an update from a local NHS Organisation such as GP or Trust" />
    </concept>
    <concept>
        <code value="2" />
        <display value="Formal - death notice received from Registrar of Deaths" />
    </concept>
    <concept>
        <code value="U" />
        <display value="Removed" />
    </concept>
</CodeSystem>

JSON View

{
    "resourceType": "CodeSystem",
    "id": "UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus",
    "url": "https://fhir.hl7.org.uk/CodeSystem/UKCore-DeathNotificationStatus",
    "version": "2.1.0",
    "name": "UKCoreDeathNotificationStatus",
    "title": "UK Core Death Notification Status",
    "status": "active",
    "date": "2021-09-10",
    "publisher": "HL7 UK",
    "contact":  [
        {
            "name": "HL7 UK",
            "telecom":  [
                {
                    "system": "email",
                    "value": "ukcore@hl7.org.uk",
                    "use": "work",
                    "rank": 1
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "description": "A CodeSystem to identify the type of death notice as held on Personal Demographics Service (PDS) or any other source system.",
    "copyright": "Copyright © 2021+ HL7 UK Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the \"License\"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an \"AS IS\" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. HL7® FHIR® standard Copyright © 2011+ HL7 The HL7® FHIR® standard is used under the FHIR license. You may obtain a copy of the FHIR license at  https://www.hl7.org/fhir/license.html.",
    "caseSensitive": true,
    "content": "complete",
    "concept":  [
        {
            "code": "1",
            "display": "Informal - death notice received via an update from a local NHS Organisation such as GP or Trust"
        },
        {
            "code": "2",
            "display": "Formal - death notice received from Registrar of Deaths"
        },
        {
            "code": "U",
            "display": "Removed"
        }
    ]
}

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