Encounter

Overview

The Encounter resource represents an interaction between a patient and healthcare provider(s) for the purpose of providing healthcare services or assessing the patient's health status. This includes visits, admissions, and other healthcare interactions.

Resource Schema

Key fields in the Encounter resource:

{
  "resourceType": "Encounter",
  "id": "example-encounter-123",
  "status": "finished",
  "class": {
    "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-ActCode",
    "code": "AMB",
    "display": "ambulatory"
  },
  "type": [
    {
      "coding": [
        {
          "system": "http://snomed.info/sct",
          "code": "185349003",
          "display": "Encounter for check up"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "subject": {
    "reference": "Patient/123456"
  },
  "participant": [
    {
      "individual": {
        "reference": "Practitioner/789"
      }
    }
  ],
  "period": {
    "start": "2023-07-15T09:00:00Z",
    "end": "2023-07-15T10:30:00Z"
  },
  "location": [
    {
      "location": {
        "reference": "Location/456"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Operations

The Encounter resource supports Read and Search operations. Support varies by CareRecord solution.

CareRecord / Solution	Read	Search
GEHRIMED	✅	✅
myAvatar	✅	✅
myEvolv	✅	✅
myUnity	✅	✅
TheraOffice	✅	✅

Read

Retrieves a specific Encounter resource by ID.

HTTP Method: GET
URL: /Encounter/{id}

Examples

Production

curl -X GET https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter/123456 \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Preview

curl -X GET https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter/123456 \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Search

Retrieves Encounter resources matching specified criteria.

HTTP Method: GET or POST
URL: /Encounter or /Encounter/_search

Search Parameters

Patient-based Search:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
patient	reference	Yes	REQUIRED The patient or group present at the encounter	patient=value
date	date	No	A date within the period the Encounter lasted	date=value
page	string	No	Zero-based page index	page=value
_revinclude	special	No	Include Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"	_revinclude=value

ID-based Search:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
_id	id	No	Unique identifier of the Encounter.	_id=value
date	date	No	A date within the period the Encounter lasted	date=value
page	string	No	Zero-based page index	page=value
_revinclude	special	No	Include Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"	_revinclude=value

Examples

POST Method (Recommended)

Production

Search by Patient and Date

curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter/_search \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "patient=Patient/123" \
    -d "date=ge2023-07-10"

Preview

Search by Patient and Date

curl -X POST https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter/_search \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "patient=Patient/123" \
    -d "date=ge2023-07-10"

GET Method

Production

Search by Patient and Date

curl -X GET "https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter?patient=Patient/123&date=ge2023-07-10" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Preview

Search by Patient and Date

curl -X GET "https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/uscore/v1/Encounter?patient=Patient/123&date=ge2023-07-10" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Integration Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Visit History - Retrieve all encounters for a patient
2. Recent Visits - Search by date range for recent encounters
3. Context for Clinical Data - Use encounter references to understand when clinical data was collected

Relationships to Other Resources

The Encounter resource relates to:

• Patient - Subject of the encounter
• Practitioner - Healthcare providers involved in the encounter
• Location - Where the encounter took place
• Condition - Conditions diagnosed during the encounter
• Observation - Observations made during the encounter
• Procedure - Procedures performed during the encounter

Error Handling

For common errors and troubleshooting guidance, see Common Errors.

Supported Profiles

Profiles supported by this resource (as defined in the CapabilityStatement):

• HL7 FHIR R4 Encounter
• US Core Encounter