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Organization

Overview

The Organization resource represents healthcare organizations, payers, and provider groups within the provider directory. Organizations serve as the foundation for provider networks, connecting practitioners, locations, services, and insurance plans.

Key Use Cases:

  • Find healthcare provider organizations by name or location
  • Discover payer organizations and their networks
  • Locate hospital systems and medical groups
  • Verify organization contact information and addresses

Relationships to Other Resources:

  • Location - Organizations operate at physical locations
  • PractitionerRole - Practitioners work for organizations in specific roles
  • InsurancePlan - Payers offer insurance plans through organizations
  • OrganizationAffiliation - Organizations have network relationships with other organizations
  • HealthcareService - Organizations provide healthcare services

Resource Schema

Key fields in the Organization resource:

{
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "string",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "1234567890"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "prov|ins|pay|edu|reli|crs|cg|bus|other",
"display": "Healthcare Provider"
}
]
}
],
"name": "string",
"alias": ["string"],
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone|fax|email|pager|url|sms|other",
"value": "string",
"use": "work|home|temp|old|mobile"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work|home|temp|old|billing",
"line": ["string"],
"city": "string",
"state": "string",
"postalCode": "string",
"country": "string"
}
]
}

Key Fields:

  • id - Unique identifier for the organization
  • identifier - External identifiers (NPI, Tax ID, etc.)
  • name - Official organization name
  • type - Organization type (provider, payer, etc.)
  • address - Physical and mailing addresses
  • telecom - Contact information (phone, email, website)

Operations

Read

Retrieve a specific organization by ID.

GET /Organization/{id}
Example Request
curl -X GET https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/payer/provider-directory/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/org-123 \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Search for organizations using various criteria.

GET Method

Use GET for simple searches with parameters in the query string.

GET /Organization?parameter=value

POST Method

Use POST for complex searches with form-encoded parameters.

POST /Organization/_search

Search Parameters

Search Parameters:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
addressstringNoAny part of addressaddress=Sacramento
address-citystringNoCity nameaddress-city=Sacramento
address-postalcodestringNoZIP/postal codeaddress-postalcode=95814
address-statestringNoState abbreviationaddress-state=CA
identifiertokenNoExternal identifieridentifier=1234567890
namestringNoOrganization name (partial match)name=Hospital
typetokenNoOrganization typetype=prov

Common Search Patterns

Find hospitals in a specific city:

GET /Organization?name=Hospital&address-city=Sacramento&type=prov

Search by organization type:

GET /Organization?type=prov&_count=20

Find organizations by postal code:

GET /Organization?address-postalcode=95814

Search by partial name:

GET /Organization?name=Medical&_count=10

Examples

Request Examples

Find healthcare providers by name
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/payer/provider-directory/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "name=Hospital&type=prov&_count=10"
Search by geographic area
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/payer/provider-directory/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "address-city=Sacramento&address-state=CA"
Find payer organizations
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/payer/provider-directory/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "type=pay&_count=5"

Response Examples

Successful Search Response

Organization Search Bundle
{
"resourceType": "Bundle",
"type": "searchset",
"total": 3,
"entry": [
{
"resource": {
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "org-123",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "1234567890"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "prov",
"display": "Healthcare Provider"
}
]
}
],
"name": "Sacramento General Hospital",
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone",
"value": "(916) 555-0123",
"use": "work"
},
{
"system": "email",
"value": "info@sacgeneral.org",
"use": "work"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work",
"line": ["1234 Health Way"],
"city": "Sacramento",
"state": "CA",
"postalCode": "95814",
"country": "US"
}
]
}
}
]
}

Individual Organization Response

Single Organization Resource
{
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "org-456",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "9876543210"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "pay",
"display": "Payer"
}
]
}
],
"name": "California Health Plan",
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone",
"value": "(800) 555-PLAN",
"use": "work"
},
{
"system": "url",
"value": "https://www.cahealthplan.com",
"use": "work"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work",
"line": ["5678 Insurance Blvd", "Suite 100"],
"city": "Los Angeles",
"state": "CA",
"postalCode": "90210",
"country": "US"
}
]
}

Empty Result Set

No Organizations Found
{
"resourceType": "Bundle",
"type": "searchset",
"total": 0,
"entry": []
}

Integration Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Find Provider Organizations in Network

# Step 1: Search for organizations by type and location
GET /Organization?type=prov&address-state=CA

# Step 2: Get locations for specific organization
GET /Location?organization=Organization/org-123

# Step 3: Find practitioners at organization
GET /PractitionerRole?organization=Organization/org-123

2. Discover Payer Networks

# Step 1: Find payer organization
GET /Organization?type=pay&name=HealthPlan

# Step 2: Find insurance plans offered
GET /InsurancePlan?owned-by=Organization/payer-456

# Step 3: Find network affiliations
GET /OrganizationAffiliation?primary-organization=Organization/payer-456

Include Parameters

Use _include to fetch related resources in a single request:

# Get organization with its locations
GET /Organization?name=Hospital&_include=Organization:location

# Get organization with practitioner roles
GET /Organization?type=prov&_include=Organization:practitioner-role

Error Handling

The Organization resource follows standard FHIR error handling patterns. For detailed error responses and troubleshooting guidance, see the Common Errors page.

Organization-Specific Error Scenarios

  • 404 Not Found: Organization ID doesn't exist or has been deactivated
  • 400 Bad Request: Invalid search parameters or malformed queries
  • Empty Results: No organizations match the search criteria

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Empty Results: Try broader search criteria or check if data exists for the region
  • Invalid Parameters: Verify parameter names match the FHIR specification
  • Performance Issues: Use _count parameter to limit result sets and improve response times

Supported Profiles