Resource type: implementationguide

Description

A set of rules of how a particular interoperability or standards problem is solved - typically through the use of FHIR resources. This resource is used to gather all the parts of an implementation guide into a logical whole and to publish a computable definition of all the parts.

Elements

PathShortDefinitionComments
A set of rules about how FHIR is usedA set of rules of how a particular interoperability or standards problem is solved - typically through the use of FHIR resources. This resource is used to gather all the parts of an implementation guide into a logical whole and to publish a computable definition of all the parts.
urlCanonical identifier for this implementation guide, represented as a URI (globally unique)An absolute URI that is used to identify this implementation guide when it is referenced in a specification, model, design or an instance; also called its canonical identifier. This SHOULD be globally unique and SHOULD be a literal address at which at which an authoritative instance of this implementation guide is (or will be) published. This URL can be the target of a canonical reference. It SHALL remain the same when the implementation guide is stored on different servers.Can be a urn:uuid: or a urn:oid: but real http: addresses are preferred. Multiple instances may share the same URL if they have a distinct version. The determination of when to create a new version of a resource (same url, new version) vs. defining a new artifact is up to the author. Considerations for making this decision are found in [Technical and Business Versions](resource.html#versions). In some cases, the resource can no longer be found at the stated url, but the url itself cannot change. Implementations can use the [meta.source](resource.html#meta) element to indicate where the current master source of the resource can be found.
versionBusiness version of the implementation guideThe identifier that is used to identify this version of the implementation guide when it is referenced in a specification, model, design or instance. This is an arbitrary value managed by the implementation guide author and is not expected to be globally unique. For example, it might be a timestamp (e.g. yyyymmdd) if a managed version is not available. There is also no expectation that versions can be placed in a lexicographical sequence.There may be different implementation guide instances that have the same identifier but different versions. The version can be appended to the url in a reference to allow a reference to a particular business version of the implementation guide with the format [url]|[version].
nameName for this implementation guide (computer friendly)A natural language name identifying the implementation guide. This name should be usable as an identifier for the module by machine processing applications such as code generation.The name is not expected to be globally unique. The name should be a simple alphanumeric type name to ensure that it is machine-processing friendly.
titleName for this implementation guide (human friendly)A short, descriptive, user-friendly title for the implementation guide.This name does not need to be machine-processing friendly and may contain punctuation, white-space, etc.
statusdraft | active | retired | unknownThe status of this implementation guide. Enables tracking the life-cycle of the content.Allows filtering of implementation guides that are appropriate for use versus not.
experimentalFor testing purposes, not real usageA Boolean value to indicate that this implementation guide is authored for testing purposes (or education/evaluation/marketing) and is not intended to be used for genuine usage.Allows filtering of implementation guides that are appropriate for use versus not.
dateDate last changedThe date (and optionally time) when the implementation guide was published. The date must change when the business version changes and it must change if the status code changes. In addition, it should change when the substantive content of the implementation guide changes.Note that this is not the same as the resource last-modified-date, since the resource may be a secondary representation of the implementation guide. Additional specific dates may be added as extensions or be found by consulting Provenances associated with past versions of the resource.
publisherName of the publisher (organization or individual)The name of the organization or individual that published the implementation guide.Usually an organization but may be an individual. The publisher (or steward) of the implementation guide is the organization or individual primarily responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the implementation guide. This is not necessarily the same individual or organization that developed and initially authored the content. The publisher is the primary point of contact for questions or issues with the implementation guide. This item SHOULD be populated unless the information is available from context.
contactContact details for the publisherContact details to assist a user in finding and communicating with the publisher.May be a web site, an email address, a telephone number, etc.
descriptionNatural language description of the implementation guideA free text natural language description of the implementation guide from a consumer's perspective.This description can be used to capture details such as why the implementation guide was built, comments about misuse, instructions for clinical use and interpretation, literature references, examples from the paper world, etc. It is not a rendering of the implementation guide as conveyed in the 'text' field of the resource itself. This item SHOULD be populated unless the information is available from context (e.g. the language of the implementation guide is presumed to be the predominant language in the place the implementation guide was created).
useContextThe context that the content is intended to supportThe content was developed with a focus and intent of supporting the contexts that are listed. These contexts may be general categories (gender, age, ...) or may be references to specific programs (insurance plans, studies, ...) and may be used to assist with indexing and searching for appropriate implementation guide instances.When multiple useContexts are specified, there is no expectation that all or any of the contexts apply.
jurisdictionIntended jurisdiction for implementation guide (if applicable)A legal or geographic region in which the implementation guide is intended to be used.It may be possible for the implementation guide to be used in jurisdictions other than those for which it was originally designed or intended.
copyrightUse and/or publishing restrictionsA copyright statement relating to the implementation guide and/or its contents. Copyright statements are generally legal restrictions on the use and publishing of the implementation guide.
packageIdNPM Package name for IGThe NPM package name for this Implementation Guide, used in the NPM package distribution, which is the primary mechanism by which FHIR based tooling manages IG dependencies. This value must be globally unique, and should be assigned with care.Many (if not all) IG publishing tools will require that this element be present. For implementation guides published through HL7 or the FHIR foundation, the FHIR product director assigns package IDs.
licenseSPDX license code for this IG (or not-open-source)The license that applies to this Implementation Guide, using an SPDX license code, or 'not-open-source'.
fhirVersionFHIR Version(s) this Implementation Guide targetsThe version(s) of the FHIR specification that this ImplementationGuide targets - e.g. describes how to use. The value of this element is the formal version of the specification, without the revision number, e.g. [publication].[major].[minor], which is 3.6.0. for this version.Most implementation guides target a single version - e.g. they describe how to use a particular version, and the profiles and examples etc are valid for that version. But some implementation guides describe how to use multiple different versions of FHIR to solve the same problem, or in concert with each other. Typically, the requirement to support multiple versions arises as implementation matures and different implementation communities are stuck at different versions by regulation or market dynamics.
dependsOnAnother Implementation guide this depends onAnother implementation guide that this implementation depends on. Typically, an implementation guide uses value sets, profiles etc.defined in other implementation guides.
dependsOn.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
dependsOn.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
dependsOn.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
dependsOn.uriIdentity of the IG that this depends onA canonical reference to the Implementation guide for the dependency.Usually, A canonical reference to the implementation guide is the same as the master location at which the implementation guide is published.
dependsOn.packageIdNPM Package name for IG this depends onThe NPM package name for the Implementation Guide that this IG depends on.
dependsOn.versionVersion of the IGThe version of the IG that is depended on, when the correct version is required to understand the IG correctly.This follows the syntax of the NPM packaging version field - see [[reference]].
globalProfiles that apply globallyA set of profiles that all resources covered by this implementation guide must conform to.See [Default Profiles](implementationguide.html#default) for a discussion of which resources are 'covered' by an implementation guide.
global.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
global.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
global.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
global.typeType this profile applies toThe type of resource that all instances must conform to.The type must match that of the profile that is referred to but is made explicit here as a denormalization so that a system processing the implementation guide resource knows which resources the profile applies to even if the profile itself is not available.
global.profileProfile that all resources must conform toA reference to the profile that all instances must conform to.
definitionInformation needed to build the IGThe information needed by an IG publisher tool to publish the whole implementation guide.Principally, this consists of information abuot source resource and file locations, and build parameters and templates.
definition.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.groupingGrouping used to present related resources in the IGA logical group of resources. Logical groups can be used when building pages.Groupings are arbitrary sub-divisions of content. Typically, they are used to help build Table of Contents automatically.
definition.grouping.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.grouping.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.grouping.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.grouping.nameDescriptive name for the packageThe human-readable title to display for the package of resources when rendering the implementation guide.
definition.grouping.descriptionHuman readable text describing the packageHuman readable text describing the package.
definition.resourceResource in the implementation guideA resource that is part of the implementation guide. Conformance resources (value set, structure definition, capability statements etc.) are obvious candidates for inclusion, but any kind of resource can be included as an example resource.
definition.resource.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.resource.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.resource.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.resource.referenceLocation of the resourceWhere this resource is found.Usually this is a relative URL that locates the resource within the implementation guide. If you authoring an implementation guide, and will publish it using the FHIR publication tooling, use a URI that may point to a resource, or to one of various alternative representations (e.g. spreadsheet). The tooling will convert this when it publishes it.
definition.resource.fhirVersionVersions this applies to (if different to IG)Indicates the FHIR Version(s) this artifact is intended to apply to. If no versions are specified, the resource is assumed to apply to all the versions stated in ImplementationGuide.fhirVersion.The resource SHALL be valid against all the versions it is specified to apply to. If the resource referred to is a StructureDefinition, the fhirVersion stated in the StructureDefinition cannot disagree with the version specified here; the specified versions SHALL include the version specified by the StructureDefinition, and may include additional versions using the [applicable-version](extension-structuredefinition-applicable-version.html) extension.
definition.resource.nameHuman Name for the resourceA human assigned name for the resource. All resources SHOULD have a name, but the name may be extracted from the resource (e.g. ValueSet.name).
definition.resource.descriptionReason why included in guideA description of the reason that a resource has been included in the implementation guide.This is mostly used with examples to explain why it is present (though they can have extensive comments in the examples).
definition.resource.example[x]Is an example/What is this an example of?If true or a reference, indicates the resource is an example instance. If a reference is present, indicates that the example is an example of the specified profile.Examples: * StructureDefinition -> Any * ValueSet -> expansion * OperationDefinition -> Parameters * Questionnaire -> QuestionnaireResponse.
definition.resource.groupingIdGrouping this is part ofReference to the id of the grouping this resource appears in.This must correspond to a package.id element within this implementation guide.
definition.pagePage/Section in the GuideA page / section in the implementation guide. The root page is the implementation guide home page.Pages automatically become sections if they have sub-pages. By convention, the home page is called index.html.
definition.page.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.page.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.page.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.page.name[x]Where to find that pageThe source address for the page.The publishing tool will autogenerate source for list (source = n/a) and inject included implementations for include (source = uri of guide to include).
definition.page.titleShort title shown for navigational assistanceA short title used to represent this page in navigational structures such as table of contents, bread crumbs, etc.
definition.page.generationhtml | markdown | xml | generatedA code that indicates how the page is generated.
definition.page.pageNested Pages / SectionsNested Pages/Sections under this page.The implementation guide breadcrumbs are generated from this structure.
definition.parameterDefines how IG is built by toolsDefines how IG is built by tools.
definition.parameter.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.parameter.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.parameter.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.parameter.codeapply | path-resource | path-pages | path-tx-cache | expansion-parameter | rule-broken-links | generate-xml | generate-json | generate-turtle | html-templateapply | path-resource | path-pages | path-tx-cache | expansion-parameter | rule-broken-links | generate-xml | generate-json | generate-turtle | html-template.
definition.parameter.valueValue for named typeValue for named type.
definition.templateA template for building resourcesA template for building resources.
definition.template.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
definition.template.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
definition.template.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
definition.template.codeType of template specifiedType of template specified.
definition.template.sourceThe source location for the templateThe source location for the template.
definition.template.scopeThe scope in which the template appliesThe scope in which the template applies.
manifestInformation about an assembled IGInformation about an assembled implementation guide, created by the publication tooling.
manifest.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
manifest.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
manifest.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
manifest.renderingLocation of rendered implementation guideA pointer to official web page, PDF or other rendering of the implementation guide.
manifest.resourceResource in the implementation guideA resource that is part of the implementation guide. Conformance resources (value set, structure definition, capability statements etc.) are obvious candidates for inclusion, but any kind of resource can be included as an example resource.
manifest.resource.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
manifest.resource.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
manifest.resource.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
manifest.resource.referenceLocation of the resourceWhere this resource is found.Usually this is a relative URL that locates the resource within the implementation guide. If you authoring an implementation guide, and will publish it using the FHIR publication tooling, use a URI that may point to a resource, or to one of various alternative representations (e.g. spreadsheet). The tooling will convert this when it publishes it.
manifest.resource.example[x]Is an example/What is this an example of?If true or a reference, indicates the resource is an example instance. If a reference is present, indicates that the example is an example of the specified profile.Typically, conformance resources and knowledge resources are directly part of the implementation guide, with their normal meaning, and patient linked resources are usually examples. However this is not always true.
manifest.resource.relativePathRelative path for page in IGThe relative path for primary page for this resource within the IG.Appending 'rendering' + "/" + this should resolve to the resource page.
manifest.pageHTML page within the parent IGInformation about a page within the IG.
manifest.page.idUnique id for inter-element referencingUnique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
manifest.page.extensionAdditional content defined by implementationsMay be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. 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.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.
manifest.page.modifierExtensionExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognizedMay 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).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.
manifest.page.nameHTML page nameRelative path to the page.Appending 'rendering' + "/" + this should resolve to the page.
manifest.page.titleTitle of the page, for referencesLabel for the page intended for human display.
manifest.page.anchorAnchor available on the pageThe name of an anchor available on the page.Appending 'rendering' + "/" + page.name + "#" + page.anchor should resolve to the anchor.
manifest.imageImage within the IGIndicates a relative path to an image that exists within the IG.
manifest.otherAdditional linkable file in IGIndicates the relative path of an additional non-page, non-image file that is part of the IG - e.g. zip, jar and similar files that could be the target of a hyperlink in a derived IG.

Scope and Usage

An implementation guide (IG) is a set of rules about how FHIR resources are used (or should be used) to solve a particular problem, with associated documentation to support and clarify the usage. Classically, FHIR implementation guides are published on the web after they are generated using the FHIR Implementation Guide Publisher.

The ImplementationGuide resource is a single resource that defines the logical content of the IG, along with the important entry pages into the publication, so that the logical package that the IG represents, so that the contents are computable.

In particular, validators are able to use the ImplementationGuide resource to validate content against the implementation guide as a whole. The significant conformance expectation introduced by the ImplementationGuide resource is the idea of Default Profiles. Implementations may conform to multiple implementation guides at once, but this requires that the implementation guides are compatible (see below).

Boundaries and Relationships

Implementation Guides contain two different types of resource references:

An application's Capability Statement may identify one or more implementation guides that an application conforms to.

Distributing Implementation Guides

Implementation Guides are published through the FHIR Package distribution system. For further details, see the FHIR Confluence site. This content may be moved into the specification in a future version.

Multi-Version Implementation Guides

Most implementation guides target a single version - that is, they describe how to use a particular version, and all the profiles, value sets and examples they contain etc are valid for that particular version.

In other cases, however, implementation of an implementation guide is not confined to a single version. Typically, the requirement to support multiple versions arises as implementation matures and different implementation communities are stuck at different versions by regulation or market dynamics. Applications may be stuck at different versions of the specification. See Managing Multiple Versions for further information about cross-version support.

For this reason, implementation guides might describe how to use multiple different versions of FHIR for the same purpose. The different versions might have different profiles, extensions, and examples, while sharing common value set definitions, for example. For some reasons, profiles and examples could be common across all versions. And an implementation guide will generally have a lot of common narrative describing the problem, security approaches, and other deployment information irrespective of specific FHIR versions.

An implementation guide specifies which versions of FHIR it describes in the ImplementationGuide.fhirVersion property:

  "fhirVersion" : ["3.0", "4.0"],

This specifies that the implementation guide applies to both release 3 and Release 4. Note that the patch version (".1" for Release 3) is omitted, since the patch releases never make changes that make any difference to Implementation Guides.

Note that it is possible to have an Implementation Guide that declares support for one version and imports an Implementation Guide that declares support for a different version. It is up to the importing IG ad/or the tooling that supports Implenentation Guides to determine whether it's safe and/or appropriate to reference the different resources from the new IG, and what to make of this.

Default Profiles

An implementation guide can define default profiles using ImplementationGuide.global- these are profiles that apply to any resource that does not otherwise have an explicit profile assigned by the implementation guide. Default profiles are always references to profiles (StructureDefinition resources) that are also contained in the resources. By defining default profiles, an implementation guide can save itself from exhaustively defining profiles on every resource type just to profile every reference to a particular resource type.

Note that a resource can conform to the default profile by conforming to any profile derived from it.

Compatibility list

This table declares the compatibility between the various resources as determined by the Implementation Guide comparison tool:

Yet to be done

Search Parameters

depends-onIdentity of the IG that this depends onImplementationGuide.dependsOn.uri
experimentalFor testing purposes, not real usageImplementationGuide.experimental
globalProfile that all resources must conform toImplementationGuide.global.profile
resourceLocation of the resourceImplementationGuide.definition.resource.reference

Extension Definitions

These are extension definitions for this resource defined by the spec