Model specimen collection using the US Core Specimen profile for lab order/result workflows
domain: hl7.org · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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In-depth guide
FHIR Bulk Data $export gotchas — the full failure-mode walkthrough related to hl7.org, checked against official docs, with linked verified routes.
Verified steps
Create a Specimen resource conforming to the US Core Specimen Profile, ensuring identifier or accessionIdentifier is populated (a server must support at least one; a client should support both)
Populate Specimen.type with the specimen type coding (e.g., SNOMED CT) expected by the receiving lab or FHIR server
Link the Specimen to its subject (Patient) and, where applicable, to the ServiceRequest/DiagnosticReport that ordered or reports on it
Record collection details (collection.collectedDateTime, bodySite where relevant) needed to interpret result context
Query Specimen using the profile's supported search parameters when reconciling specimen identifiers between an LIS and a FHIR server
Known gotchas
Servers are only required to support one of identifier/accessionIdentifier, not both -- check the server's CapabilityStatement rather than hardcoding which one a client looks for
Specimen data is often sparsely populated by EHRs in practice even though the profile is part of US Core -- design for graceful handling of missing specimen detail rather than assuming full population
Specimen type coding varies by source system; normalize before matching specimen types across labs
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