FHIR Encounter Resource (R5)

Encounter is an interaction between a patient and a provider: an office visit, an inpatient stay, a telehealth call. Element table, search parameters, example JSON and FHIRPath for FHIR R5.

FHIR Encounter Resource (R5) — part of the free FHIR Toolbox library.
Runs entirely in your browser: your FHIR data is never uploaded to a server.

Overview

Encounter is an interaction between a patient and a provider: an office visit, an inpatient stay, a telehealth call. It carries the class, status, participants, period and where the care happened. Many resources (Observation, Procedure, Condition) reference an Encounter to say when and in what context they were recorded. Its shape changed noticeably between R4 and R5.

Elements

Element	Type	Cardinality	Description
Encounter.identifier	Identifier	0..*	Identifier(s) by which this encounter is known
Encounter.status	code	1..1	planned \| in-progress \| on-hold \| discharged \| completed \| cancelled \| discontinued \| entered-in-error \| unknown
Encounter.class	CodeableConcept	0..*	Classification of patient encounter context - e.g. Inpatient, outpatient
Encounter.priority	CodeableConcept	0..1	Indicates the urgency of the encounter
Encounter.type	CodeableConcept	0..*	Specific type of encounter (e.g. e-mail consultation, surgical day-care, ...)
Encounter.serviceType	CodeableReference	0..*	Specific type of service
Encounter.subject	Reference	0..1	The patient or group related to this encounter
Encounter.subjectStatus	CodeableConcept	0..1	The current status of the subject in relation to the Encounter
Encounter.episodeOfCare	Reference	0..*	Episode(s) of care that this encounter should be recorded against
Encounter.basedOn	Reference	0..*	The request that initiated this encounter
Encounter.careTeam	Reference	0..*	The group(s) that are allocated to participate in this encounter
Encounter.partOf	Reference	0..1	Another Encounter this encounter is part of
Encounter.serviceProvider	Reference	0..1	The organization (facility) responsible for this encounter
Encounter.participant	BackboneElement	0..*	List of participants involved in the encounter
Encounter.participant.id	String	0..1	Unique id for inter-element referencing
Encounter.participant.extension	Extension	0..*	Additional content defined by implementations
Encounter.participant.modifierExtension	Extension	0..*	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Encounter.participant.type	CodeableConcept	0..*	Role of participant in encounter
Encounter.participant.period	Period	0..1	Period of time during the encounter that the participant participated
Encounter.participant.actor	Reference	0..1	The individual, device, or service participating in the encounter
Encounter.appointment	Reference	0..*	The appointment that scheduled this encounter
Encounter.virtualService	VirtualServiceDetail	0..*	Connection details of a virtual service (e.g. conference call)
Encounter.actualPeriod	Period	0..1	The actual start and end time of the encounter
Encounter.plannedStartDate	dateTime	0..1	The planned start date/time (or admission date) of the encounter
Encounter.plannedEndDate	dateTime	0..1	The planned end date/time (or discharge date) of the encounter
Encounter.length	Duration	0..1	Actual quantity of time the encounter lasted (less time absent)
Encounter.reason	BackboneElement	0..*	The list of medical reasons that are expected to be addressed during the episode of care
Encounter.reason.id	String	0..1	Unique id for inter-element referencing
Encounter.reason.extension	Extension	0..*	Additional content defined by implementations
Encounter.reason.modifierExtension	Extension	0..*	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Encounter.reason.use	CodeableConcept	0..*	What the reason value should be used for/as
Encounter.reason.value	CodeableReference	0..*	Reason the encounter takes place (core or reference)
Encounter.diagnosis	BackboneElement	0..*	The list of diagnosis relevant to this encounter
Encounter.diagnosis.id	String	0..1	Unique id for inter-element referencing
Encounter.diagnosis.extension	Extension	0..*	Additional content defined by implementations
Encounter.diagnosis.modifierExtension	Extension	0..*	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Encounter.diagnosis.condition	CodeableReference	0..*	The diagnosis relevant to the encounter
Encounter.diagnosis.use	CodeableConcept	0..*	Role that this diagnosis has within the encounter (e.g. admission, billing, discharge …)
Encounter.account	Reference	0..*	The set of accounts that may be used for billing for this Encounter
Encounter.dietPreference	CodeableConcept	0..*	Diet preferences reported by the patient
Encounter.specialArrangement	CodeableConcept	0..*	Wheelchair, translator, stretcher, etc
Encounter.specialCourtesy	CodeableConcept	0..*	Special courtesies (VIP, board member)
Encounter.admission	BackboneElement	0..1	Details about the admission to a healthcare service
Encounter.admission.id	String	0..1	Unique id for inter-element referencing
Encounter.admission.extension	Extension	0..*	Additional content defined by implementations
Encounter.admission.modifierExtension	Extension	0..*	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Encounter.admission.preAdmissionIdentifier	Identifier	0..1	Pre-admission identifier
Encounter.admission.origin	Reference	0..1	The location/organization from which the patient came before admission
Encounter.admission.admitSource	CodeableConcept	0..1	From where patient was admitted (physician referral, transfer)
Encounter.admission.reAdmission	CodeableConcept	0..1	Indicates that the patient is being re-admitted
Encounter.admission.destination	Reference	0..1	Location/organization to which the patient is discharged
Encounter.admission.dischargeDisposition	CodeableConcept	0..1	Category or kind of location after discharge
Encounter.location	BackboneElement	0..*	List of locations where the patient has been
Encounter.location.id	String	0..1	Unique id for inter-element referencing
Encounter.location.extension	Extension	0..*	Additional content defined by implementations
Encounter.location.modifierExtension	Extension	0..*	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Encounter.location.location	Reference	1..1	Location the encounter takes place
Encounter.location.status	code	0..1	planned \| active \| reserved \| completed
Encounter.location.form	CodeableConcept	0..1	The physical type of the location (usually the level in the location hierarchy - bed, room, ward, virtual etc.)
Encounter.location.period	Period	0..1	Time period during which the patient was present at the location

Example JSON (R5)

{
  "resourceType": "Encounter",
  "id": "example",
  "status": "completed",
  "class": [
    {
      "coding": [
        {
          "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/example"
  },
  "actualPeriod": {
    "start": "2024-05-01T09:00:00Z",
    "end": "2024-05-01T09:45:00Z"
  }
}

FHIRPath

Encounter.status — Encounter status
Encounter.subject.reference — Reference to the patient
Encounter.type.coding.display — Human-readable visit type

Common validation errors

Using R4 shapes against R5: class is a single Coding in R4 but an array of CodeableConcept in R5, and period became actualPeriod.
Using an R4 status value against R5. R4 uses finished; R5 renamed it to completed (and added others).
Sending class as a plain string such as "AMB". It needs the coded structure with system and code.
Leaving subject out. Without it the encounter isn't attached to any patient.

FHIR Toolbox is a free, privacy-first collection of HL7 FHIR utilities by Omindra Labs. Every tool performs zero-server processing — your health data never leaves your device.