NHS Digital FHIR Implementation Guide (Retired - 2.1.50)

This guidance is under active development by NHS Digital and content may be added or updated on a regular basis.

FHIR Documents

This is the FHIR method of exchanging clinical documents. where content to be exchanged is wrapped by a Composition that provides the context of the content, and that has a fixed presentation for a human reader. The document framework is provided to help with computer-assisted human to human communication uses - which are not uncommon in healthcare.

Typically, exchanging documents is associated with exchanging clinical information across NHS organisation and care setting boundaries (e.g. Transfer of Care), while data-based exchange using the RESTful API is appropriate within where there are well established clinical governance arrangements.

The FHIR document is a FHIR Bundle with the type of document

Profile url
https://fhir.nhs.uk/StructureDefinition/NHSDigital-Bundle-FHIRDocument

idΣ0..1string
metaΣ0..1Meta
implicitRulesΣ ?!0..1uri
language0..1codeBinding
identifierΣ0..1Identifier
typeΣ1..1codeBindingFixed Value
timestampΣ0..1instant
totalΣ I0..1unsignedInt
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
fullUrlΣ1..1uri
resourceΣ0..1Resource
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
modeΣ0..1codeBinding
scoreΣ0..1decimal
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
methodΣ1..1codeBinding
urlΣ1..1uri
ifNoneMatchΣ0..1string
ifModifiedSinceΣ0..1instant
ifMatchΣ0..1string
ifNoneExistΣ0..1string
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
statusΣ1..1string
locationΣ0..1uri
etagΣ0..1string
lastModifiedΣ0..1instant
outcomeΣ0..1Resource
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
fullUrlΣ0..1uri
resourceΣ I0..1
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
modeΣ0..1codeBinding
scoreΣ0..1decimal
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
methodΣ1..1codeBinding
urlΣ1..1uri
ifNoneMatchΣ0..1string
ifModifiedSinceΣ0..1instant
ifMatchΣ0..1string
ifNoneExistΣ0..1string
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
statusΣ1..1string
locationΣ0..1uri
etagΣ0..1string
lastModifiedΣ0..1instant
outcomeΣ0..1Resource
id0..1string
extensionI0..*Extension
modifierExtensionΣ ?! I0..*Extension
fullUrlΣ0..1uri
resourceΣ I0..1
signatureΣ0..1Signature

The FHIR Documents are exchanged using FHIR Messaging (which is also a FHIR Bundle of type of message), as shown in the diagram below:

fhir-document-bundle

The NHSDigital-Composition is subdivided into sections which are equivalent to PRSB headings.

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