Hello community! I’m looking for a field to record collected specimen’s stored location. I’ve read through diagnostic module and have taken a look at specimen and specimenDefinition resources. But I believe Speicmen doesn’t have element & extension for that and SpecimenDefinition is for requirements of particular test. I think I’ve found a field for location of specimen before i.e fridge No, rack No, row & column. But can’t find it now. Please help.
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You most likely need an extension as according to the extract below from the FHIR wiki, there is currently no support for that but it looks like something is in the works (https://gforge.hl7.org/gf/project/fhir/tracker/?action=TrackerItemEdit&tracker_item_id=21280):
The current definition of the specimen resource contains only basic information about specimen containers. It does not address the recursive nature of containers or the tracking of the location of a container within its parent container (for instance: a tube in a tray in a rack in a freezer). The frequency with which these elements are tracked may depend on the context of use; general lab, bio-banking, etc. Comments from reviewers on the appropriate scope for this resource, and the need for tracking related specimen management attributes, are welcomed.
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Hi community,
Are there some updates on this topic?
I’m implementing a solution for a laboratory to manage sample (Specimen) storage.
However, the Fhir specification states:
“ The current definition of the specimen resource contains only basic information about specimen containers. It does not address the recursive nature of containers or the tracking of the location of a container within its parent container (for instance: a tube in a tray in a rack in a freezer).”
I would like to know if Fhir is evolving to contemplates the recursive nature of containers.
What is your opinion and suggestions about the best way to represent containers (box, tube, racks, freezers, etc)?
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The R5 version of Specimen (Specimen - FHIR v5.0.0-cibuild) uses Device to describe the container. That allows for a hierarchy of containers.
This is not my area and it might not be useful to you.
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