DK MedCom Document
1.0.1 - release

This page is part of the DK MedCom Document (v1.0.1: Release) based on FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) R4. This is the current published version. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions

Resource Profile: MedComDocumentPatient - Detailed Descriptions

Active as of 2025-05-12

Definitions for the medcom-document-patient resource profile.

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be found here

0. Patient
Definition

Demographics and other administrative information about an individual or animal receiving care or other health-related services.

ShortInformation about an individual or animal receiving health care services
Control0..*
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate NamesSubjectOfCare Client Resident
Invariantsdom-2: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT contain nested Resources (contained.contained.empty())
dom-3: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL be referred to from elsewhere in the resource or SHALL refer to the containing resource (contained.where((('#'+id in (%resource.descendants().reference | %resource.descendants().as(canonical) | %resource.descendants().as(uri) | %resource.descendants().as(url))) or descendants().where(reference = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists()).not()).trace('unmatched', id).empty())
dom-4: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a meta.versionId or a meta.lastUpdated (contained.meta.versionId.empty() and contained.meta.lastUpdated.empty())
dom-5: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a security label (contained.meta.security.empty())
dom-6: A resource should have narrative for robust management (text.`div`.exists())
marital-status-unknown-usage: Status in maritalStatus is unknown in a danish context. Consider mapping the value to UNK. See https://cpr.dk/borgere/hvad-staar-der-om-mig-i-cpr-registerindsigt/hvad-og-hvem-er-registreret-i-cpr-og-hvem-opdaterer-oplysninger-om-dig-i-cpr/ (maritalStatus.coding.where(code = 'P' and system = 'http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-MaritalStatus').empty() or maritalStatus.coding.where(code = 'A' and system = 'http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-MaritalStatus').empty())
2. Patient.implicitRules
Definition

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc.

ShortA set of rules under which this content was created
Comments

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. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of it's narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.

Control0..1
Typeuri
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
4. Patient.text
Definition

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource and can 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.

ShortText summary of the resource, for human interpretation
Comments

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 information is added later.

Control0..1
TypeNarrative
Is Modifierfalse
Must Supporttrue
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesnarrative, html, xhtml, display
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
6. Patient.modifierExtension
Definition

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 and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored
Comments

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.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the resource that contains them
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
8. Patient.identifier
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

ShortAn identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control10..1*
TypeIdentifier
Is Modifierfalse
Must Supporttrue
Summarytrue
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.identifier. The slices areUnordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ system
  • 10. Patient.identifier:cpr
    Slice Namecpr
    Definition

    An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.


    An identifier for this patient.

    ShortUnique identification number for all citizens in Denmark, called civil person register (CPR-number).An identifier for this patient
    NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
    Control10..1*
    This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
    TypeIdentifier(Danish Central Person Register (CPR) Identifier)
    Is Modifierfalse
    Must Supporttrue
    Requirements

    Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    12. Patient.identifier:cpr.use
    Definition

    The purpose of this identifier.

    Shortusual | official | temp | secondary | old (If known)
    Comments

    Applications can assume that an identifier is permanent unless it explicitly says that it is temporary.

    Control0..1
    BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from IdentifierUsehttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/identifier-use|4.0.1
    (required to http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/identifier-use|4.0.1)

    Identifies the purpose for this identifier, if known .

    Typecode
    Is Modifiertrue because This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications should not mistake a temporary id for a permanent one.
    Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
    Summarytrue
    Requirements

    Allows the appropriate identifier for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of identifiers.

    Fixed Valueofficial
    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    14. Patient.identifier:cpr.system
    Definition

    Establishes the namespace for the value - that is, a URL that describes a set values that are unique.

    ShortThe namespace for the identifier value
    Comments

    Identifier.system is always case sensitive.

    Control10..1
    Typeuri
    Is Modifierfalse
    Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
    Must Supporttrue
    Summarytrue
    Requirements

    There are many sets of identifiers. To perform matching of two identifiers, we need to know what set we're dealing with. The system identifies a particular set of unique identifiers.

    Fixed Valueurn:oid:1.2.208.176.1.2
    Example<br/><b>General</b>:http://www.acme.com/identifiers/patient
    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    16. Patient.identifier:cpr.value
    Definition

    The portion of the identifier typically relevant to the user and which is unique within the context of the system.

    ShortThe value that is unique
    Comments

    If the value is a full URI, then the system SHALL be urn:ietf:rfc:3986. The value's primary purpose is computational mapping. As a result, it may be normalized for comparison purposes (e.g. removing non-significant whitespace, dashes, etc.) A value formatted for human display can be conveyed using the Rendered Value extension. Identifier.value is to be treated as case sensitive unless knowledge of the Identifier.system allows the processer to be confident that non-case-sensitive processing is safe.

    Control10..1
    Typestring
    Is Modifierfalse
    Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
    Must Supporttrue
    Summarytrue
    Max Length:10
    Example<br/><b>General</b>:123456
    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    cpr: Requirement of danish civil registration numbers. See https://cpr.dk/cpr-systemet/opbygning-af-cpr-nummeret/#:~:text=5%20%2D%206%20position%20angiver%20personens,i%20personnummeret%20angiver%20personens%20k%C3%B8n. (matches('^((((0[1-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])(01|03|05|07|08|10|12))|((0[1-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-9]|30)(04|06|09|11))|((0[1-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-9])(02)))[0-9]{6})$'))
    18. Patient.identifier:x-ecpr
    Slice Namex-ecpr
    Definition

    An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.


    An identifier for this patient.

    Short[DA] X-eCPR, tildelt fra den nationale eCPR serviceAn identifier for this patient
    NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
    Control0..1*
    This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
    TypeIdentifier(National eCPR service, called X-eCPR)
    Is Modifierfalse
    Requirements

    Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    20. Patient.identifier:d-ecpr
    Slice Named-ecpr
    Definition

    An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.


    An identifier for this patient.

    Short[DA] D-eCPR, decentral eCPRAn identifier for this patient
    NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
    Control0..1*
    This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
    TypeIdentifier(Decentralised eCPR, called D-eCPR)
    Is Modifierfalse
    Requirements

    Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    22. Patient.active
    Definition

    Whether this patient record is in active use. Many systems use this property to mark as non-current patients, such as those that have not been seen for a period of time based on an organization's business rules.

    It is often used to filter patient lists to exclude inactive patients

    Deceased patients may also be marked as inactive for the same reasons, but may be active for some time after death.

    ShortWhether this patient's record is in active use
    Comments

    If a record is inactive, and linked to an active record, then future patient/record updates should occur on the other patient.

    Control0..1
    Typeboolean
    Is Modifiertrue because This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that can indicate that a record should not be treated as valid
    Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
    Summarytrue
    Requirements

    Need to be able to mark a patient record as not to be used because it was created in error.

    Meaning if MissingThis resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    24. Patient.name
    Definition

    A name associated with the individual.

    ShortA name associated with the patient
    Comments

    A patient may have multiple names with different uses or applicable periods. For animals, the name is a "HumanName" in the sense that is assigned and used by humans and has the same patterns.

    Control10..1*
    TypeHumanName
    Is Modifierfalse
    Must Supporttrue
    Summarytrue
    Requirements

    Need to be able to track the patient by multiple names. Examples are your official name and a partner name.

    Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
    SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.name. The slices areUnordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
    • value @ use
    • 26. Patient.name:official
      Slice Nameofficial
      Definition

      A name associated with the individual.

      Short[DA] Officielt navn, som det fremgår af CPR registeretA name associated with the patient
      Comments

      A patient may have multiple names with different uses or applicable periods. For animals, the name is a "HumanName" in the sense that is assigned and used by humans and has the same patterns.

      Control10..1*
      TypeHumanName
      Is Modifierfalse
      Must Supporttrue
      Summarytrue
      Requirements

      Need to be able to track the patient by multiple names. Examples are your official name and a partner name.

      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      28. Patient.name:official.use
      Definition

      Identifies the purpose for this name.

      Shortusual | official | temp | nickname | anonymous | old | maiden
      Comments

      Applications can assume that a name is current unless it explicitly says that it is temporary or old.

      Control10..1
      BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from NameUsehttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/name-use|4.0.1
      (required to http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/name-use|4.0.1)

      The use of a human name.

      Typecode
      Is Modifiertrue because This is labeled as "Is Modifier" because applications should not mistake a temporary or old name etc.for a current/permanent one
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Summarytrue
      Requirements

      Allows the appropriate name for a particular context of use to be selected from among a set of names.

      Fixed Valueofficial
      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      30. Patient.name:official.family
      Definition

      The part of a name that links to the genealogy. In some cultures (e.g. Eritrea) the family name of a son is the first name of his father.

      ShortFamily name (often called 'Surname')
      Comments

      Family Name may be decomposed into specific parts using extensions (de, nl, es related cultures).

      Control10..1
      Typestring
      Is Modifierfalse
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Must Supporttrue
      Summarytrue
      Alternate Namessurname
      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      32. Patient.name:official.given
      Definition

      Given name.

      ShortGiven names (not always 'first'). Includes middle names
      Comments

      If only initials are recorded, they may be used in place of the full name parts. Initials may be separated into multiple given names but often aren't due to paractical limitations. This element is not called "first name" since given names do not always come first.

      Control10..*
      Typestring
      Is Modifierfalse
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Must Supporttrue
      Summarytrue
      Alternate Namesfirst name, middle name
      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      34. Patient.gender
      Definition

      Administrative Gender - the gender that the patient is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

      Shortmale | female | other | unknown
      Comments

      The gender might not match the biological sex as determined by genetics or the individual's preferred identification. Note that for both humans and particularly animals, there are other legitimate possibilities than male and female, though the vast majority of systems and contexts only support male and female. Systems providing decision support or enforcing business rules should ideally do this on the basis of Observations dealing with the specific sex or gender aspect of interest (anatomical, chromosomal, social, etc.) However, because these observations are infrequently recorded, defaulting to the administrative gender is common practice. Where such defaulting occurs, rule enforcement should allow for the variation between administrative and biological, chromosomal and other gender aspects. For example, an alert about a hysterectomy on a male should be handled as a warning or overridable error, not a "hard" error. See the Patient Gender and Sex section for additional information about communicating patient gender and sex.

      Control10..1
      BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGenderhttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/administrative-gender|4.0.1
      (required to http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/administrative-gender|4.0.1)

      The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

      Typecode
      Is Modifierfalse
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Must Supporttrue
      Summarytrue
      Requirements

      Needed for identification of the individual, in combination with (at least) name and birth date.

      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      36. Patient.birthDate
      Definition

      The date of birth for the individual.

      ShortThe date of birth for the individual
      Comments

      At least an estimated year should be provided as a guess if the real DOB is unknown There is a standard extension "patient-birthTime" available that should be used where Time is required (such as in maternity/infant care systems).

      Control10..1
      Typedate
      Is Modifierfalse
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Must Supporttrue
      Summarytrue
      Requirements

      Age of the individual drives many clinical processes.

      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      LOINC Code21112-8
      38. Patient.deceased[x]
      Definition

      Indicates if the individual is deceased or not.

      ShortIndicates if the individual is deceased or not
      Comments

      If there's no value in the instance, it means there is no statement on whether or not the individual is deceased. Most systems will interpret the absence of a value as a sign of the person being alive.

      Control0..1
      TypeChoice of: boolean, dateTime
      [x] NoteSeeChoice of Data Typesfor further information about how to use [x]
      Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because once a patient is marked as deceased, the actions that are appropriate to perform on the patient may be significantly different.
      Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
      Summarytrue
      Requirements

      The fact that a patient is deceased influences the clinical process. Also, in human communication and relation management it is necessary to know whether the person is alive.

      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      40. Patient.generalPractitioner
      Definition

      Patient's nominated care provider.

      ShortPatient's nominated primary care provider
      Comments

      This may be the primary care provider (in a GP context), or it may be a patient nominated care manager in a community/disability setting, or even organization that will provide people to perform the care provider roles. It is not to be used to record Care Teams, these should be in a CareTeam resource that may be linked to the CarePlan or EpisodeOfCare resources. Multiple GPs may be recorded against the patient for various reasons, such as a student that has his home GP listed along with the GP at university during the school semesters, or a "fly-in/fly-out" worker that has the onsite GP also included with his home GP to remain aware of medical issues.

      Jurisdictions may decide that they can profile this down to 1 if desired, or 1 per type.

      Control0..*
      TypeReference(Organization, Practitioner, PractitionerRole)
      Is Modifierfalse
      Summaryfalse
      Alternate NamescareProvider
      Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
      SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.generalPractitioner. The slices areUnordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
      • value @ identifier.system
      • 42. Patient.generalPractitioner:referencedSORUnit
        Slice NamereferencedSORUnit
        Definition

        Patient's nominated care provider.

        Short[DA] Praktiserende læges SOR-id på sundhedsinstistutionsniveauPatient's nominated primary care provider
        Comments

        This may be the primary care provider (in a GP context), or it may be a patient nominated care manager in a community/disability setting, or even organization that will provide people to perform the care provider roles. It is not to be used to record Care Teams, these should be in a CareTeam resource that may be linked to the CarePlan or EpisodeOfCare resources. Multiple GPs may be recorded against the patient for various reasons, such as a student that has his home GP listed along with the GP at university during the school semesters, or a "fly-in/fly-out" worker that has the onsite GP also included with his home GP to remain aware of medical issues.

        Jurisdictions may decide that they can profile this down to 1 if desired, or 1 per type.

        Control0..*
        TypeReference(Organization, Practitioner, PractitionerRole)
        Is Modifierfalse
        Summaryfalse
        Alternate NamescareProvider
        Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
        44. Patient.link
        Definition

        Link to another patient resource that concerns the same actual patient.

        ShortLink to another patient resource that concerns the same actual person
        Comments

        There is no assumption that linked patient records have mutual links.

        Control0..*
        TypeBackboneElement
        Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because it might not be the main Patient resource, and the referenced patient should be used instead of this Patient record. This is when the link.type value is 'replaced-by'
        Summarytrue
        Requirements

        There are multiple use cases:

        • Duplicate patient records due to the clerical errors associated with the difficulties of identifying humans consistently, and
        • Distribution of patient information across multiple servers.
        Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
        46. Patient.link.modifierExtension
        Definition

        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 in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. 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 can 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.

        Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

        ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
        Comments

        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.

        Control0..*
        TypeExtension
        Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
        Summarytrue
        Requirements

        Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

        Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
        Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
        ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
        48. Patient.link.other
        Definition

        The other patient resource that the link refers to.

        ShortThe other patient or related person resource that the link refers to
        Comments

        Referencing a RelatedPerson here removes the need to use a Person record to associate a Patient and RelatedPerson as the same individual.

        Control1..1
        TypeReference(Danish Core Patient Profile, Danish Core Related Person Profile, Patient, RelatedPerson)
        Is Modifierfalse
        Summarytrue
        Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
        50. Patient.link.type
        Definition

        The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

        Shortreplaced-by | replaces | refer | seealso
        Control1..1
        BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from LinkTypehttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/link-type|4.0.1
        (required to http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/link-type|4.0.1)

        The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

        Typecode
        Is Modifierfalse
        Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
        Summarytrue
        Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))