Observation - specimen type

1

FHIR has provided guidance with following information, I am looking to identify which of the following use cases will actually be providing the specimen type. I have highlighted the one’s that I feel will include specimen, if I have missed any I would appreciate if one of you can please provide a guidance.

•Vital signs such as body weight, blood pressure, and temperature
•Laboratory Data like blood glucose, or an estimated GFR
•Imaging results like bone density or fetal measurements
•Clinical Findings* such as abdominal tenderness
•Device measurements such as EKG data or Pulse Oximetry data
•Clinical assessment tools such as APGAR or a Glasgow Coma Score
•Personal characteristics: such as eye-color
•Social history like tobacco use, family support, or cognitive status
•Core characteristics like pregnancy status, or a death assertion

Thanks in advance!

2

There are no formal rules, however it would only make sense to have a specimen for those observations where a specimen makes sense. Note that specimen information isn’t guaranteed to be present even in those situations where it’s relevant. For example, an Observation might report a patient’s hemoglobin level and a date, but provide no information about the specimen that was used to make the measurement. (Not necessarily good practice, but sometimes all that a data source might have, or in other cases, all a data source feels is necessary/appropriate to disclose.)

3

Thank you for the guidance, will review with this our stakeholders and get back to you for any additional questions