Overview

The HL7 FHIR R4 framework was meticulously designed to address various considerations, particularly around optimizing the granularity and accessibility of patient health information. Individual resources within FHIR are structured to allow precise targeting of specific aspects of a patient's medical record. These can range from clinical observations captured during an encounter, details about the provider(s) who delivered care, or an aggregated view of the patient’s medical history.

Particle Health’s accessible data set aligns closely with the USCDI v2 standard and is predominantly clinical in nature. While the current scope focuses on these clinically relevant data points, future iterations are anticipated to expand, eventually encompassing a comprehensive representation of the patient’s record by supporting a greater number of FHIR resources.

Although FHIR supports over 100 resource types, Particle’s integrations with EMRs and HIEs emphasize 24 clinically significant resources that map directly to the USCDI (United States Core Data for Interoperability) v2 standard. These resources form the backbone of the clinical data exchanged and serve as the foundation for building interoperable healthcare applications.

Below is a brief summary of the primary use for each of these resources.

Supported FHIR Resources

Resource	Description
AllergyIntolerance	This will often include what the patient is allergic to, how it manifests (i.e. anaphylactic to peanuts), the practitioner who diagnosed the allergy, and the severity of the allergy.
Basic	This is a resource used for any concept that has not yet been defined by FHIR. As such, there isn’t a well-defined set of criteria that dictates what should be included in a Basic resource, but it can include anything from detailed provider notes to referrals.
CarePlan	A summary of planned procedures, appointments, or other care-related activities for a patient. This is often forward-looking and can have varying degrees of granularity as defined by the source EMR.
Composition	The “table of contents” for data that is available on a patient. This often includes reference to all resources that are available for a patient on a document-by-document basis.
Condition	Granularity around diagnoses, clinical conditions, or problems that have been identified by a provider. This often includes the condition name and coding source (i.e. ICD-10).
Coverage	High-level information about insurance coverage that the patient has (i.e. Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance). We do not receive this information with high frequency, but expect to begin seeing it in higher volume once the draft of the USCDI v3 starts becoming enforced.
Device	Physical devices that were used as part of an interaction a patient had with a provider. This can be either a medical or non-medical device.
DiagnosticReport	A summary resource that contains information about procedures that were ordered (i.e. imaging, tests, etc.), who performed the procedure, and information about any diagnosis that came from the procedure.
DocumentReference	Typically inclusive of clinical notes dictated by the provider. Additional information on the types of notes to expect can be found here.
Encounter	Summary of an interaction between a patient and a provider. Often includes details about the patient, the provider(s) involved, any diagnosis that was determined, the location of care, and other details.
FamilyMemberHistory	Health conditions or other significant medical diagnoses of a patient’s family.
Immunization	A log of immunizations that a patient has been administered.
Location	Details about the physical space where an encounter occurred.
Medication	References to the name of a medication that a patient has been prescribed.
MedicationRequest	Information pertaining to the medication prescribed, who it was prescribed to, and instructions for administering (i.e. “take one tablet twice a day”).
MedicationStatement	A record that a patient is taking, has taken, or will be taking a particular medication. This will also often have reference to the medication they are prescribed, the time period they are taking it, and dosage information. These are more common than MedicationRequest resources.
Observation	Measurements and assertions about a patient - often recorded during an encounter. Observations typically include things like vital signs, lab results, social history, SDoH values, and other clinical findings.
Organization	Companies, corporations, institutions, or practices that are, in one way or another, tied to the patient. These are oftentimes the place where a patient receives care, but could also be a pharmacy, insurer, or other organization.
Patient	Demographic details for a patient (i.e. name, DOB, address(s), phone number(s), etc.).
Person	Similarly to the Patient resource, a Person resource also often contains details for a patient (i.e. name, DOB, address(s), phone number(s), etc.).
Practitioner	The person(s) directly involved in the care of a patient. This spans from physicians to medical assistants to nurses.
PractitionerRole	Details about what role the provider plays in treating the patient. This includes information on credentials, specialties, and other information about the type of service they provide.
Procedure	Action that was performed on the patient, like an operation, blood draw, therapy, or other related clinical events.
RelatedPerson	Details about a person involved in a patient’s care, but not directly receiving care. This is often a family member, friend, caretaker, or legal guardian.