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1 CDA Overview

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2 Introduction to CDA Technical Artifacts

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3 CDA Document Exchange in HL7 Messages

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4 CDA R-MIM

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4.1 Header

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4.2 Body

4.2.1 Body Choice

The CDA body choice can be either a document body in a format other than XML, or the CDA structured body. Every CDA document has exactly one body, associated with the ClinicalDocument class through the component relationship.

Table X: Fixed component.typeCode
Code Print Name
COMP (FIXED) has component
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002


4.2.1.1 NonXMLBody

As noted above, the NonXMLBody class represents a document body that is in some format other than XML. NonXMLBody.text is used to reference data that is stored externally to the CDA document or to encode the data directly inline. The NonXMLBody can be used to represent scanned document(s) or legacy document(s) needing to be transferred using the CDA standard. Rendering a referenced non-XML body requires a software tool that recognizes the particular MIME media type for this type of body.

Table X: Fixed NonXMLBody.classCode
Code Print Name
DOCBODY (Fixed) document body
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Fixed NonXMLBody.moodCode
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001


Table X: Value set for NonXMLBody.confidentialityCode
X_BasicConfidentialityKind [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.16926] (OPEN)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
N normal R restricted
V very restricted
Code System: Confidentiality (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.25

* The codeSystem value is included here because confidentialityCode is of type CE, and therefore must carry both a code and a codeSystem.

4.2.1.2 StructuredBody

The StructuredBody class represents a CDA document body that is comprised of one or more document sections.

Table X: Value set for StructuredBody.classCode
v:ActClassDocumentBody [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20214] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
DOCBODY (Fixed) document body
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for StructuredBody.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001
Table X: Value set for StructuredBody.confidentialityCode
X_BasicConfidentialityKind [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.16926] (OPEN)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
N normal R restricted
V very restricted
Code System: Confidentiality (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.25

* The codeSystem value is included here because confidentialityCode is of type CE, and therefore must carry both a code and a codeSystem.

The StructuredBody class is associated with one or more Section classes through a component relationship.

Table X: Value set for component.typeCode
v:ActRelationshipHasComponent [[2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10318] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
COMP (FIXED) has component
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

4.2.2 Section Attributes

Document sections can nest, can override context propagated from the header (see CDA Context, and can contain narrative and CDA entries.

An XML attribute "ID" of type XML ID, is added to Section within the CDA Schema. This attribute serves as the target of a reference (see reference). All values of attributes of type XML ID must be unique within the document (per the W3C XML specification).

Table X: Value set for Section.classCode
v:ActClassDocumentSection [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20215] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
DOCSECT (Fixed) document section
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Section.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.2.1 Section.id

The unique instance identifier of a particular document section.

4.2.2.2 Section.code

The code specifying the particular kind of section (e.g. Chief Complaint, Review of Systems, Assessment). The value set is drawn from LOINC, and has a CWE coding strength.

4.2.2.3 Section.title

Represents the label of a section. If valued, it is to be rendered as part of the narrative content of the clinical document body.

4.2.2.4 Section.text

Used to store narrative to be rendered. Also referred to as the CDA Narrative Block. See Section Narrative Block for details.

4.2.2.5 Section.confidentialityCode

A value for Section.confidentialityCode overrides the value propagated from StructuredBody. See CDA Context for more details.

Table X: Value set for Section.confidentialityCode
X_BasicConfidentialityKind [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.16926] (OPEN)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
N normal R restricted
V very restricted
Code System: Confidentiality (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.25

* The codeSystem value is included here because confidentialityCode is of type CE, and therefore must carry both a code and a codeSystem.

4.2.2.6 Section.languageCode

Specifies the human language of character data (whether they be in contents or attribute values). The values of the attribute are language identifiers as defined by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC 3066: Tags for the Identification of Languages, ed. H. Alvestrand. 1995 , which obsoletes RFC 1766. The HL7 code system for these values is "2.16.840.1.113883.6.121".

A value for Section.languageCode overrides the value propagated from StructuredBody. See CDA Context for more details.

4.2.3 Section Participants

4.2.3.1 author

The author participant (described above, see author), can be ascribed to a CDA section, where it overrides the value(s) propagated from the CDA header.

4.2.3.2 informant

The informant participant (described above, see informant), can be ascribed to a CDA section where it overrides the value(s) propagated from the CDA header.

4.2.3.3 subject

The subject participant represents the primary target of the entries recorded in the document. Most of the time the subject is the same as the recordTarget (see recordTarget), but need not be, for instance when the subject is a fetus observed in an obstetrical ultrasound.

The subject participant can be ascribed to a CDA section or a CDA entry. It propagates to nested components, unless overridden. The subject of a document is presumed to be the patient.

A subject is a person playing one of several possible roles (RelatedSubject class). The entity playing the role is a person (SubjectPerson class).

Table X: Value set for subject.typeCode
v:ParticipationTargetSubject [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19584] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
SBJ (Default) subject
Note: Although SPC can be used in this context, the Specimen participation would be recommended
SPC specimen
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90
Table X: Value set for subject.contextControlCode
v:ContextControlOverridingPropagating [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20034] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
OP (Fixed) overriding, propagating
Code System: ContextControl (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1057
Table X: Value set for RelatedSubject.classCode
v:x_DocumentSubject [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19368] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
PAT (Default) patient PRS personal relationship
Code System: RoleClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.110
Table X: Value set for SubjectPerson.classCode
v:EntityClassPerson [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20049] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
PSN (Fixed) person
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for SubjectPerson.determinerCode
v:EntityDeterminerSpecific [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20052] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
INSTANCE (Fixed) specific
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30

4.2.4 Section Relationships

4.2.4.1 component

The "component" Act Relationship is used to nest a Section within a Section. Context propagates to nested sections (see CDA Context).

Table X: Value set for component.typeCode
v:ActRelationshipHasComponent [[2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10318] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
COMP (FIXED) has component
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

4.2.4.2 entry

The relationship between a section and its entries is encoded in the intervening "entry" Act Relationship.

NOTE: See Referencing in and out of the narrative block for a discussion of referencing in and out of a section's narrative block.


The narrative of each Section, together with the multimedia content referenced in the narrative, comprises the complete authenticated content of the Section. This multimedia content consists of ObservationMedia and RegionOfInterest entries referenced by tags in the Section.text. This is the only case where the entries contain authenticated content that must be rendered with the narrative.

In terms of the relationship between a section and its entries, CDA defines a default general case, and a more specific case that can be used when applicable.

The entry relationship is defaulted to "COMP" (component), for the general case where the only assertion is that the related entries are contained within the source section and no other semantics are implied. In this case, the narrative is the original authenticated content. The CDA entries are created by various techniques (e.g., natural language processing, a human coder, a structured data entry tool that outputs both entries and a text report). The method of entry creation may be indicated by the entry participants (e.g., by identifying the algorithm or person that generated them). Relationships between various entries (such as two Observations or an Observation and an ObservationMedia) are encoded using the relationship types defined in entryRelationship.

A section may also have no narrative content in the case where the entries represent information that is not part of the clinical content of the document. A report may embed information referencing evidence data, reagents, calibration or other information that may be used for later processing but is not part of the clinical content. Such entries are also linked to the Section with ActRelationships possessing typeCode="COMP".

The entry relationship "DRIV" (is derived from) can be used in the special case where the narrative is fully derived from CDA Entries. When a report consisting entirely of structured entries is transformed into CDA, the encoding application must ensure that the authenticated content (narrative plus multimedia) is a faithful and complete rendering of the clinical content of the structured source data. This ensures that the narrative plus multimedia represents, as in all CDA documents, the complete authenticated content of the Section. In this case, narrative plus multimedia does not contain any clinical content that is not present in the Entries. An example of this case is a DICOM Structured Reporting document of obstetrical measurements made by ultrasound, rendered into a tabular report by a program converting it to CDA narrative block. If the typeCode of the ActRelationship linking these Entries to the Section was "DRIV", it would indicate to a receiving application: 1) the source of the narrative block is the Entries; 2) the contents of the two are equivalent.

The entries sourced from a Section may have a mix of ActRelationship typeCodes. In such a case, the union of the targets with a "DRIV" relationship are those used to generate the narrative block, and are those that, taken in total, are equivalent to the narrative block. Additional entries with "COMP" relationships are contained within the same section, with no implied semantics.

Table X: Value set for entry.typeCode
V:x_ActRelationshipEntry [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19446] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
COMP (Default) has component DRIV is derived from
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

4.2.5 Section Narrative Block

The Section.text field is used to store narrative to be rendered, as described above in CDA Conformance, and is therefore referred to as the CDA Narrative Block.

The CDA Narrative Block schema can be found here.

The content model of the CDA Narrative Block schema is specially hand crafted to meet the requirements outlined above (see Human Readability and Rendering CDA Documents). The schema is registered as a MIME type (text/x-hl7-text+xml), which is the fixed media type for Section.text. Components of the schema are described in the sections that follow.

4.2.5.1 <content>

The CDA <content> element is used to wrap a string of text so that it can be explicitly referenced, or so that it can suggest rendering characteristics. The <content> element can nest recursively, which enables wrapping a string of plain text down to as small a chunk as desired.

The <content> element contains an optional identifier, that can serve as the target of a reference. All values of attributes of type XML ID must be unique within the document (per the W3C XML specification). The originalText component of a RIM attribute present in any CDA entry can make explicit reference to the identifier, thereby indicating the original text associated with the attribute in the CDA entry.

Note: The <content> element is not the only element which can serve as the target of a reference. All narrative elements (including <text>) contain an ID element which can be referenced by the originalText component in a CDA entry. <content> is simply a tool which can be used to reference only a portion of a longer string contained in another narrative element.

Example X
<section>
   <code code="10153-2" 
    codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1" 
    codeSystemName="LOINC"/>
   <title>Past Medical History</title>
   <text>
    There is a history of <content ID="a1">Asthma</content>
   </text>
   <entry>
      <observation classCode="OBS" moodCode="EVN">
         <code code="195967001" 
          codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
          codeSystemName="SNOMED CT" 
          displayName="Asthma">
            <originalText>
               <reference value="#a1"/>
            </originalText>
         </code>
         <statusCode code="completed"/>
      </observation>
   </entry>
</section>

There is no requirement that CDA entries must reference into the CDA Narrative Block. The referencing mechanism can be used where it is important to represent the original text component of a coded CDA entry.

The <content> element contains an optional "revised" attribute that can be valued with "insert" or "delete", which can be used to indicate narrative changes from the last version of a CDA document. The attribute is limited to a single generation, in that it only reflects the changes from the preceding version of a document. If applied, it needs to be used in conjunction with standard CDA revision tracking. Changes to a CDA document that has been released for patient care still require a formal versioning and revision, and the revised document can optionally carry the "revised" attribute to show the delta in the narrative. Receivers are required to interpret the "revised" attribute when rendering by visually distinguishing or suppressing deleted narrative.

4.2.5.2 <linkHtml>

The CDA <linkHtml> is a generic referencing mechanism, similar, but not identical, to the HTML anchor tag. It can be used to reference identifiers that are either internal or external to the document.

Multimedia that is integral to a document, and part of the attestable content of the document requires the use of the ObservationMedia CDA entry, which is referenced by the <renderMultiMedia> element (see <renderMultiMedia>). Multimedia that is simply referenced by the document and not an integral part of the document can use <linkHtml>.

The source of a link uses the linkHtml.href attribute. The target of an internal reference is an identifier of type XML ID, which can exist on other elements in the same or a different narrative block, or XML ID attributes that have been added to the <section>, <ObservationMedia>, or <renderMultiMedia> elements of the CDA Schema. The linkHtml.name attribute is deprecated, because attributes of type XML ID provide an alternative and more consistent target for referencing. Following the conventions of HTML, an internal link is prefaced with the pound sign, as shown in the following example.

Example X
<section ID="SECT001">
   <code code="10164-2" codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1" 
    codeSystemName="LOINC"/>
   <title>History of Present Illness</title>
   <text>Mr. Smith is a 57 year old male presenting with 
    chest pain. He sustained a myocardial infarction 3 years 
    ago, ...
   </text>
</section>

 ...

<section ID="SECT003">
   <code code="10153-2" codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1" 
    codeSystemName="LOINC"/>
   <title>Past Medical History</title>
   <text>History of coronary artery disease, as noted
    <linkHtml href="#SECT001">above</linkHtml>.</text>
</section>

CDA links do not convey shareable meaning. Shareable semantics are only achieved by the inclusion of CDA entries and their associated formalized relationships. There is no requirement that a receiver render an internal or external link, or the target of an external link.

4.2.5.3 <sub> and <sup>

The CDA <sub> and <sup> elements are used to indicate subscripts and superscripts, respectively.

Receivers are required to interpret these elements when rendering by visually distinguishing subscripted and superscripted characters.

4.2.5.4 <br>

The CDA <br/> element is used to indicate a hard line break. It differs from the CDA <paragraph> element in that the <br/> element has no content. Receivers are required to interpret this element when rendering so as to represent a line break.

4.2.5.5 <footnote> and <footnoteRef>

The CDA <footnote> element is used to indicate a footnote. The element contains the footnote, inline with the flow of text to which it is applied.

The <footnoteRef> element can reference an existing footnote in the same or different CDA Narrative Block of the same document. It can be used when the same footnote is being used multiple times. The value of the footnoteRef.IDREF must be an footnote.ID value in the same document.

Receivers are required to interpret these elements when rendering by visually distinguishing footnoted text. The exact rendition is at the discretion of the recipient, and might include a mark at the location of the footnote with a hyperlink to the footnoted text, a simple demarcation (such as "This is the text [this is the footnote] that is being footnoted"), etc.

4.2.5.6 <renderMultiMedia>

The CDA <renderMultiMedia> element references external multimedia that is integral to a document, and part of the attestable content of the document, and serves to show where the referenced multimedia is to be rendered.

The <renderMultiMedia> element has an optional , and contains a required referencedObject attribute (of type XML IDREFS), the values of which must equal the XML ID value(s) of ObservationMedia or RegionOfInterest CDA entries within the same document.

Example X
<section>
   <code code="8709-8" codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1" 
    codeSystemName="LOINC"/>
   <title>Skin exam</title>
   <text>Erythematous rash, palmar surface, left index 
    finger.<renderMultiMedia referencedObject="MM1"/>
   </text>
   <entry>
      <observationMedia classCode="OBS" moodCode="EVN" ID="MM1">
         <id root="2.16.840.1.113883.19.2.1"/>
         <value xsi:type="ED" mediaType="image/jpeg">
            <reference value="left_hand_image.jpeg"/>
         </value>
      </observationMedia>
   </entry>
</section>

Multimedia that is simply referenced by the document and not an integral part of the document must use <linkHtml>.

The expected behavior is that the referenced multimedia should be rendered or referenced at the point of reference. Where a caption is present, it must also be rendered. <renderMultiMedia> can either reference a single ObservationMedia, or one or more RegionOfInterest. If <renderMultiMedia> references a single ObservationMedia, that ObservationMedia should be rendered or referenced at the point of reference. If <renderMultiMedia> references one or more RegionOfInterest, all RegionOfInterests should be rendered or referenced at the point of reference, atop the multimedia they are regions of. If <renderMultiMedia> references more than one RegionOfInterest, each RegionOfInterest must be a region on the same multimedia.

4.2.5.7 <paragraph>

A CDA <paragraph> is similar to the HTML paragraph, which allows blocks of narrative to be broken up into logically consistent structures. A CDA <paragraph> element contains an optional caption, which if present must come first before any other character data.

4.2.5.8 <list>

A CDA <list> is similar to the HTML list. A CDA <list> has an optional caption, and contains one or more <item> elements. A CDA <item> element contains an optional caption, which if present must come first before any other character data. The required listType attribute specifies whether the <list> is ordered or unordered (with unordered being the default). Unordered lists are typically rendered with bullets, whereas ordered lists are typically rendered with numbers, although this is not a requirement.

4.2.5.9 <table>

The CDA <table> is similar to the HTML table. The table markup is for presentation purposes only and, unlike a database table, does not possess meaningful field names. Remember to access the discrete data conveyed in a CDA document, process the RIM models contained within the <entry> element.

CDA modifies the strict XHTML table model by removing formatting tags and by setting the content model of cells to be similar to the contents of other elements in the CDA Narrative Block. A notable enhancement to the CDA R2.1 standard is the support of the <table> element within <td> & <th> elements. The support of tables within tables was not supported in CDA R2.0, but has been added for those implementation requiring complex table layouts.

The table.border, table.cellspacing, and table.cellpadding attributes are deprecated, because the styleCode attribute (see styleCode attribute) provides a more consistent way for senders to suggest rendering characteristics.

4.2.5.10 <caption>

The CDA <caption> is a label for a paragraph, list, list item, table, or table cell. It can also be used within the <renderMultiMedia> element to indicate a label for referenced ObservationMedia and RegionOfInterest entries. A <caption> contains plain text and may contain links and footnotes.

4.2.5.11 styleCode attribute

The styleCode attribute is used within the CDA Narrative Block to give the instance author the ability to suggest rendering characteristics of the nested character data. Receivers are not required to render documents using the style hints provided and can present stylized text in accordance with their local style conventions.

The value set is drawn from the HL7 styleType vocabulary domain, and has a CWE coding strength.

Table X: Value set for styleCode (CWE)
Code Definition
Font style (Defines font rendering characteristics.)
Bold Render with a bold font.
Underline Render with an underlines font.
Italics Render italicized.
Emphasis Render with some type of emphasis.
Table rule style (Defines table cell rendering characteristics.
Lrule Render cell with left-sided rule.
Rrule Render cell with right-sided rule.
Toprule Render cell with rule on top.
Botrule Render cell with rule on bottom.
Ordered list style (Defines rendering characteristics for ordered lists.)
Arabic List is ordered using Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3.
LittleRoman List is ordered using little Roman numerals: i, ii, iii.
BigRoman List is ordered using big Roman numerals: I, II, III.
LittleAlpha List is ordered using little alpha characters: a, b, c.
BigAlpha List is ordered using big alpha characters: A, B, C.
Unordered list style (Defines rendering characteristics for unordered lists.)
Disc List bullets are simple solid discs.
Circle List bullets are hollow discs.
Square List bullets are solid squares.

Local extensions to the styleType vocabulary domain must follow the following convention: [x][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9]* (first character is "x", second character is an upper or lower case A-Z, remaining characters are any combination of upper and lower case letters or numbers).

The styleCode attribute can contain multiple values, separated by white space. Where an element containing a styleCode attribute is nested within another element containing a styleCode attribute, the style effects are additive, as in the following example:

Example X
<section>
   <text><content styleCode="Bold">This is rendered bold, 
    <content styleCode="Italics">this is rendered bold and 
    italicized,</content> this is rendered bold. </content>
    <content styleCode="Bold Italics">This is also rendered 
    bold and italicized.</content>
   </text>
</section>

4.2.5.12 Referencing in and out of the narrative block

NOTE: See entry for a discussion of the relationships between a section and its contained entries.

To summarize the mechanisms for referencing in and out of the CDA Narrative Block:

CDA entries can point in to the <content> element of the CDA Narrative Block (see <content>).

The <linkHtml> element of the CDA Narrative Block can reference targets that are either internal or external to the document (see <linkHtml>).

The <footnoteRef> element of the CDA Narrative Block can reference a <footnote> element in the same or different CDA Narrative Block of the same document (see <footnote> and <footnoteRef>).

The <renderMultiMedia> element of the CDA Narrative Block can point out to CDA ObservationMedia and RegionOfInterest entries of the same document (see <renderMultiMedia>).

4.2.6 Entry Acts

CDA entries represent the structured computer-processable components within a document section. Each section can contain zero to many entries.

Clinical documents contain a wide breadth of content, requiring much of the RIM to enable a full and complete encoding. The current set of CDA entries have been developed in response to identified requirements and scenarios that are in CDA's scope. Rather than creating specific entries for each scenario, similar requirements are merged to create broader entries, which can then be constrained within a particular realm or implementation. This approach is consistent with the approach taken by CEN, DICOM, and OpenEHR.

The model for CDA entries is derived from the shared HL7 Clinical Statement model, which is a collaborative project between several committees striving to provide a consistent representation of clinical observations and acts across various V3 specifications.

4.2.6.1 Act

A derivative of the RIM Act class, to be used when the other classes present in the CDA Clinical Statement choice pattern are not appropriate.

Table X: Act Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] V:x_ActClassDocumentEntryAct CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_DocumentActMood CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActCode OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
negationInd (Deprecated) BL [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime IVL<TS> [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
uncertaintyCode CE [0..1] D:ActUncertainty OPEN
reasonCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:ActReason OPEN
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED

NOTE: Act Negation

Act.actionNegationInd, indicates that the Act statement is a negation of the Act in Event mood as described by the descriptive attributes. For Act, actionNegationInd indicates that the act itself did not occur. I.e. no act took place. Some properties such as Act.id, Act.moodCode, and the participations are not affected. These properties always have the same meaning: i.e., the author remains the author of the negative Act. An act statement with negationInd is still a statement about the specific fact described by the Act.

Act.negationInd, is deprecated in RIM 2.35, and CDA R2.1 retains it for backwards compatibility. CDA R2.1 compliant implementation guides should use actionNegationInd moving forward.

NOTE: Act Time References

Two new time references have been included in CDA Acts, in addition to effectiveTime, activityTime and availabilityTime are now available for CDA documents and CDA IGs.

Act.effectiveTime is used to indicate the clinically or operationally relevant time of a procedure, exclusive of administrative activity.

Act.activityTime is a time expression specifying when an act occurs, inclusive of administrative time E.g. times of component actions, such as preparation and clean-up. Depending on the mood code used, it represents the time the act occurred, is supposed to occur, is scheduled to occur, etc.

Act.availabilityTime is the point in time at which information about an act instance (regardless of mood) first became available to a system. The availabilityTime is metadata describing the recording of, not the act itself.


Table X: Value set for Act.classCode
x_ActClassDocumentEntryAct [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19599] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ACT Act ACCM accommodation
CONS consent CTTEVENT clinical trial timepoint event
INC incident INFRM inform
PCPR care provision REG registration
SPCTRT specimen treatment TRNS transportation
ACSN accession CONTREG container registration
DISPACT disciplinary action EXPOS exposure
AEXPOS acquisition exposure TEXPOS transmission exposure
LIST working list MPROT monitoring program
REV review STORE storage
TRFR transfer
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Act.moodCode
V:x_DocumentActMood [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19458] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
APT appointment ARQ appointment request
EVN event DEF definition
RQO request INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
RSK risk
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.6.2 Encounter

A derivative of the RIM PatientEncounter class, used to represent related encounters, such as follow-up visits or referenced past encounters.

NOTE: The EncompassingEncounter class in the CDA Header (see Header Relationships) represents the setting of the clinical encounter during which the documented act occurred. The Encounter class in the CDA Body is used to represent other related encounters.
Table X: Encounter Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] ENC (Fixed) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_DocumentEncounterMood CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActCode OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
negationInd (Deprecated) BL [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime IVL<TS> [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
uncertaintyCode CE [0..1] D:ActUncertainty OPEN
reasonCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:ActReason OPEN
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
admissionReferralSourceCode <CE> [0..1] D:EncounterReferralSource OPEN
lengthOfStayQuantity <PQ>.TIME [0..1]
dischargeDispositionCode <CE> [0..1] D:EncounterDischargeDisposition OPEN
preAdmitTestInd BL [0..1]
specialCourtesiesCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:EncounterSpecialCourtesy OPEN
specialArrangementCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:SpecialArrangement OPEN
Table X: Value set for Encounter.classCode
V:ActClassEncounter [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20217] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
ENC (Fixed) encounter
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Encounter.moodCode
V:x_DocumentEncounterMood [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19459] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
APT appointment ARQ appointment request
EVN event DEF definition
RQO request INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.6.3 Observation

A derivative of the Observation(§ RIM 5.36) class, it is intended to result in new information about a subject. The main difference between Observations and other Acts is that Observations have a value attribute. The code attribute of Observation and the value attribute of Observation must be considered in combination to determine the semantics of the observation.

Table X: Observation Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] OBS (Default) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_ActMoodDocumentObservation CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ObservationType OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
negationInd (Deprecated) BL [0..1]
derivationExpr ST [0..1]
title ED [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime IVL<TS> [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
repeatNumber IVL<INT> [0..1]
uncertaintyCode CE [0..1] D:ActUncertainty OPEN
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
isCriterionInd BL [0..1]
value SET<ANY> [0..*] D:ObservationValue OPEN
valueNegationInd BL [0..1]
interpretationCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:ObservationInterpretation OPEN
methodCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:ObservationMethod OPEN
targetSiteCode SET<CD> [0..*] D:ActSite OPEN


NOTE: Observation Negation

Observation.actionNegationInd, indicates that the Act statement is a negation of the Act in Event mood as described by the descriptive attributes. For Observations, actionNegationInd indicates that the act itself did not occur. I.e. no observation took place. To indicate that an observation did occur but the finding was negative, use Observation.valueNegationInd.

Observation.valueNegationInd, indicates that when the observation event occurred, the finding communicated by the value attribute was NOT found. So, when we want to indicate the patient does not have asthma, we can negate a finding of asthma, using this indicator. Note: This attribute should only be used when the terminology used for Observation.value is not itself capable of expressing negated findings. (E.g. ICD9).

Observation.negationInd, is deprecated in RIM 2.35, and CDA R2.1 retains it for backwards compatibility. It was deprecated as the type of negation required knowledge of template documentation to determine the actual type of negation I.e. value or action negation. CDA R2.1 compliant implementation guides should use actionNegationInd or valueNegationInd moving forward.

NOTE: Time References

Two new time references have been included in CDA Observation, in addition to effectiveTime, activityTime and availabilityTime are now available for CDA documents and CDA IGs.

Observation.effectiveTime is used to indicate the clinically or operationally relevant time of an observation, exclusive of administrative activity. For example, in a Blood Gas Analysis (BGA), a result might not be available for several minutes after the specimen was taken. The effectiveTime is the time the specimen was taken, the availabilityTime would be the time the result was available for review. For clinical Observations, the effectiveTime represents the time at which the observation holds (is effective) for the patient. In V2 the effectiveTime was known as the biologically relevant time.

Observation.activityTime is a time expression specifying when an Observation occurs, inclusive of administrative time E.g. times of component actions, such as preparation and clean-up. Depending on the mood code used, it represents the time the observation occurred, is supposed to occur, is scheduled to occur, etc. When an observation of a prior symptom is made, the activityTime describes the time the observation is made, as opposed to effectiveTime which is the time the symptom is reported to have occurred. Thus the activityTime may be entirely different from the effectiveTime for the same observation instance.

Observation.availabilityTime is the point in time at which information about an observation instance (regardless of mood) first became available to a system. The availabilityTime is metadata describing the recording of, not the Observation itself. For CDA documents, the availabilityTime reported for its contents, would represent the time the observation first became available to a source system generating the CDA document.

Table X: Value set for Observation.classCode
V:ActClassObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11529] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
OBS (Default) Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Observation.moodCode
V:x_ActMoodDocumentObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19644] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
APT appointment ARQ appointment request
EVN event DEF definition
GOL goal INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
RSK risk RQO request
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001


Reference Range

An Observation can have zero to many referenceRange relationships, which relate an Observation to the ObservationRange class. Reference ranges are essentially descriptors of a class of result values assumed to be "normal", "abnormal", or "critical." Those can vary by sex, age, or any other criterion.

Table X: Value set for referenceRange.typeCode
V:ActRelationshipHasReferenceValues [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20006] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
REFV (Fixed) has reference values
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

Observation Range

Table X: Value set for ObservationRange.classCode
V:ActClassObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11529] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
OBS (Default) Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ObservationRange.moodCode
V:ActMoodEventCriterion [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20268] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN.CRT (Fixed) event criterion
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001


4.2.6.4 ObservationMedia

A derivative of the RIM Observation class that represents multimedia that is logically part of the current document. This class is only for multimedia that is logically part of the attested content of the document. Rendering a referenced ObservationMedia requires a software tool that recognizes the particular MIME media type. The distinction between ObservationMedia and ExternalObservation is that ObservationMedia entries are part of the attested content of the document whereas ExternalObservations are not. For instance, when a clinician draws a picture as part of a progress note, that picture is represented as a CDA ObservationMedia. If that clinician is also describing a finding seen on a chest-x-ray, the referenced chest-x-ray is represented as a CDA ExternalObservation.

Table X: ObservationMedia Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] OBS (Default) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] EVN (Fixed) CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
value ED [1..1]


NOTE: XML ID Attribute added

An XML attribute "ID" of type XML ID, is added to ObservationMedia within the CDA Schema. This attribute serves as the target of a <renderMultiMedia> reference (see <renderMultiMedia>). All values of attributes of type XML ID must be unique within the document (per the W3C XML specification).


Table X: Value set for ObservationMedia.classCode
V:ActClassObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11529] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
OBS (Default) Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ObservationMedia.moodCode
V:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event (occurrence)
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.6.5 Organizer

A derivative of the RIM Act class, which can be used to create arbitrary groupings of other CDA entries that share a common context. An Organizer can contain other Organizers and/or other CDA entries, by traversing the component relationship. An Organizer can refer to external acts by traversing the reference relationship. An Organizer cannot be the source of an entryRelationship relationship.

NOTE: CDA entries such as Observation can also contain other CDA entries by traversing the entryRelationship class. There is no requirement that the Organizer entry be used in order to group CDA entries.
Table X: Organizer Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] V:x_ActClassDocumentEntryOrganizer CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] EVN (Fixed) CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActCode OPEN
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime IVL<TS> [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN


Table X: Value set for Organizer.classCode
V:x_ActClassDocumentEntryOrganizer [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19598] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
BATTERY battery CLUSTER Cluster
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Organizer.moodCode
V:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event (occurrence)
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.6.6 Procedure

A derivative of the RIM Procedure class, is represents an act whose immediate and primary outcome (post-condition) is the alteration of the physical condition of the subject.

Table X: Procedure Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] PROC (Fixed) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_DocumentProcedureMood CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActProcedureCode OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
negationInd (Deprecated) BL [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime IVL<TS> [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
uncertaintyCode CE [0..1] D:ActUncertainty OPEN
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
isCriterionInd BL [0..1]
methodCode CE [0..*] D:ProcedureMethod OPEN
approachSiteCode CE [0..*] D:ActSite OPEN
targetSiteCode CE [0..*] D:ActSite OPEN

NOTE: Procedure Negation

Procedure.actionNegationInd, when set to "true", indicates that the Procedure statement is a negation of the Procedure in Event mood as described by the descriptive attributes. For Procedure, actionNegationInd indicates that the procedure itself did not occur. For instance, a negated "appendectomy performed" means that the author positively denies that there was ever an appendectomy performed, and that he takes the same responsibility for such statement and the same requirement to have evidence for such statement than if he had not used negation. Some properties such as Procedure.id, Procedure.moodCode, and the participations are not affected.

Procedure.negationInd, is deprecated in RIM 2.35, and CDA R2.1 retains it for backwards compatibility. CDA R2.1 compliant implementation guides should use actionNegationInd moving forward.

NOTE: Procedure Time References

Two new time references have been included in CDA Procedures, in addition to effectiveTime, activityTime and availabilityTime are now available for CDA documents and CDA IGs.

Procedure.effectiveTime is used to indicate the clinically or operationally relevant time of a procedure, exclusive of administrative activity. For a surgical procedure (operation), the effectiveTime is the time relevant for the patient, i.e., between incision and last suture. For transportation acts, the effective time is the time the transported payload is en route.

Procedure.activityTime is a time expression specifying when a procedure occurs, inclusive of administrative time E.g. times of component actions, such as preparation and clean-up. Depending on the mood code used, it represents the time the procedure occurred, is supposed to occur, is scheduled to occur, etc. For Procedures the activityTime can provide a needed administrative function by providing a more inclusive time to be anticipated in scheduling.

Procedure.availabilityTime is the point in time at which information about a procedure instance (regardless of mood) first became available to a system. The availabilityTime is metadata describing the recording of, not the procedure itself.

Table X: Value set for Procedure.classCode
V:ActClassProcedure [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19665] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
PROC (Default) procedure SBEXT Substance Extraction
SPECCOLLECT Specimen Collection
Note: Although SBADM is technically allowed, is best used with the SubstanceAdministration Entry Class
SBADM substance administration
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Procedure.moodCode
V:x_DocumentProcedureMood [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19460] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
APT appointment ARQ appointment request
EVN event DEF definition
RQO request INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.6.7 RegionOfInterest

A derivative of the RIM Observation class that represents a region of interest on an image, using an overlay shape. RegionOfInterest is used to make reference to specific regions in images, e.g., to specify the site of a physical finding by "circling" a region in a schematic picture of a human body. The units of the coordinate values in RegionOfInterest.value are in pixels, expressed as a list of integers. The origin is in the upper left hand corner, with positive X values going to the right and positive Y values going down. The relationship between a RegionOfInterest and its referenced ObservationMedia or ExternalObservation is specified by traversing the entryRelationship or reference class, respectively, where typeCode equals "SUBJ". A RegionOfInterest must reference exactly one ObservationMedia or one ExternalObservation. If the RegionOfInterest is the target of a <renderMultimedia> reference, then it shall only reference an ObservationMedia and not an ExternalObservation.

Table X: RegionOfInterest Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] ROIOVL (Fixed) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] EVN (Fixed) CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CE [0..1] V:ROIOverlayShape CLOSED
value LIST<INT> [1..*]


NOTE: XML ID Attribute added

An XML attribute "ID" of type XML ID, is added to RegionOfInterest within the CDA Schema. This attribute serves as the target of a <renderMultiMedia> reference (see <renderMultiMedia>). All values of attributes of type XML ID must be unique within the document (per the W3C XML specification).

Table X: Value set for RegionOfInterest.classCode
V:ActClassOverlayRoi [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20243] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
ROIOVL (Fixed) overlay ROI
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for RegionOfInterest.moodCode
V:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event (occurrence)
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001
Table X: Value set for RegionOfInterest.code
V:ROIOverlayShape [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.16117] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
CIRCLE circle ELLIPSE ellipse
POINT point POLY polyline
Code System: ActCode (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.4

EXAMPLE

The following example illustrates one sample use of RegionOfInterest. In this case, the clinician has identified a rash upon physical examination of the skin, and indicates this by creating a region of interest atop a hand image taken from an image library. The narrative block references the RegionOfInterest via the <renderMultiMedia> tag, and the referenced RegionOfInterest references the hand image.

Example X
<section>
   <code code="8709-8" codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.1" 
    codeSystemName="LOINC"/>
   <title>Skin Exam</title>
   <text>Erythematous rash, palmar surface, left index 
    finger.<renderMultiMedia referencedObject="MM2"/>
   </text>
   <entry>
      <observation classCode="OBS" moodCode="EVN">
         <code code="271807003" 
          codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
          codeSystemName="SNOMED CT" 
          displayName="Rash"/>
         <statusCode code="completed"/>
         <targetSiteCode code="48856004" 
          codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
          codeSystemName="SNOMED CT" 
          displayName="Skin of palmer surface of index finger">
            <qualifier>
               <name code="78615007" 
                codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
                displayName="with laterality"/>
               <value code="7771000" 
                codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
                displayName="left"/>
            </qualifier>
         </targetSiteCode>
         <entryRelationship typeCode="SPRT">
            <regionOfInterest classCode="ROIOVL" moodCode="EVN" ID="MM2">
               <id root="2.16.840.1.113883.19.3.1"/>
               <code code="ELLIPSE"/>
               <value value="3"/>
               <value value="1"/>
               <value value="3"/>
               <value value="7"/>
               <value value="2"/>
               <value value="4"/>
               <value value="4"/>
               <value value="4"/>
               <entryRelationship typeCode="SUBJ">
                  <observationMedia classCode="OBS" moodCode="EVN">
                     <id root="2.16.840.1.113883.19.2.1"/>
                     <value mediaType="image/jpeg">
                        <reference value="lefthand.jpeg"/>
                     </value>
                  </observationMedia>
               </entryRelationship>
            </regionOfInterest>
         </entryRelationship>
      </observation>
   </entry>
</section>

4.2.6.8 SubstanceAdministration

A derivative of the RIM SubstanceAdministration class, used for representing medication-related events such as medication history or planned medication administration orders.

Table X: SubstanceAdministration Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] SBADM (Fixed) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_DocumentSubstanceMood CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActSubstanceAdministrationCode OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
negationInd (Deprecated) BL [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime GTS [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
repeatNumber IVL<INT> [0..1]
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
isCriterionInd BL [0..1]
approachSiteCode CE [0..1] D:RouteOfAdministration OPEN
routeSiteCode SET<CD> [0..*] D:ActSite OPEN
doseQuantity IVL<PQ> [0..*]
rateQuantity IVL<PQ> [0..*]
doseCheckQuantity SET<RTO<PQ,PQ.TIME>> [0..*]
maxDoseQuantity SET<RTO<PQ,PQ.TIME>> [0..*]
administrationUnitCode CE [0..1] D:AdministrableDrugForm OPEN

NOTE: Substance Administration Negation

SubstanceAdministration.actionNegationInd, when set to "true", indicates that the SubstanceAdministration statement is a negation of the SubstanceAdministration in Event mood as described by the descriptive attributes. Some properties such as SubstanceAdministration.id, SubstanceAdministration.moodCode, and the participations are not affected. These properties always have the same meaning: i.e., the author remains the author of the action negation SubstanceAdministration. A substance administration statement with negationInd is still a statement about the specific fact described by the SubstanceAdministration. For instance, a negated "aspirin administration" means that the author asserts that aspirin has not been administered, and that he takes the same responsibility for such statement and the same requirement to have evidence for such statement than if he had not used action negation.

SubstanceAdministration.negationInd, is deprecated in RIM 2.35, and CDA R2.1 retains it for backwards compatibility. CDA R2.1 compliant implementation guides should use actionNegationInd moving forward.

NOTE: Substance Administration Time References

Two new time references have been included in CDA SubstanceAdministration, in addition to effectiveTime, activityTime and availabilityTime are now available for CDA documents and CDA IGs.

SubstanceAdministration.effectiveTime is the clinically relevant time of an substance administration act, exclusive of administrative activity. It is used to indicate the time over which the substance is to be administered, including the frequency of administration (e.g., TID for 10 days).

SubstanceAdministration.activityTime is a time expression specifying when the substance administration activity occurs, inclusive of administrative time E.g. times of component actions, such as preparation and clean-up. The substance administration activityTime can provide a needed administrative function, by providing a more inclusive time to be anticipated in scheduling.

SubstanceAdministration.availabilityTime is the point in time at which information about a substance administration instance (regardless of mood) first became available to a system. The availabilityTime is metadata describing the recording of, not the substance administration itself.

Table X: Value set for SubstanceAdministration.classCode
V:ActClassSubstanceAdministration [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20245] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
SBADM (Fixed) substance administration
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for SubstanceAdministration.moodCode
V:x_ClinicalStatementSubstanceMood [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19645] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
EVN event DEF definition
RQO request INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001


SubstanceAdministration.priorityCode categorizes the priority of a substance administration. SubstanceAdministration.doseQuantity indicates how much medication is given per dose. SubstanceAdministration.rateQuantity can be used to indicate the rate at which the dose is to be administered (e.g., the flow rate for intravenous infusions). SubstanceAdministration.maxDoseQuantity is used to capture the maximum dose of the medication that can be given over a stated time interval (e.g., maximum daily dose of morphine, maximum lifetime dose of doxorubicin). SubstanceAdministration.effectiveTime is used to describe the timing of administration. It is modeled using the GTS data type to accommodate various dosing scenarios, as illustrated in the following example.

Example X
<section>
   <text>Take captopril 25mg PO every 12 hours, starting on 
    Jan 01, 2002, ending on Feb 01, 2002.
   </text>
   <entry>
      <substanceAdministration classCode="SBADM" moodCode="RQO">
         <effectiveTime xsi:type="IVL_TS">
            <low value="20020101"/>
            <high value="20020201"/>
         </effectiveTime>
         <effectiveTime xsi:type="PIVL_TS" operator="A">
            <period value="12" unit="h"/>
         </effectiveTime>
         <routeCode code="PO" 
          codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.5.112" 
          codeSystemName="RouteOfAdministration"/>
         <doseQuantity value="1"/>
         <consumable>
            <manufacturedProduct>
               <manufacturedLabeledDrug>
                  <code code="318821008" 
                   codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
                   codeSystemName="SNOMED CT" 
                   displayName="Captopril 25mg tablet"/>
               </manufacturedLabeledDrug>
            </manufacturedProduct>
         </consumable>
      </substanceAdministration>
   </entry>
</section>

The capture of medication-related information also involves the interrelationship of SubstanceAdministration with several other classes. The consumable participation is used to bring in the LabeledDrug or Material entity that describes the administered substance. The LabeledDrug class, which is an Entity class playing the Role of Manufactured Product, identifies the drug that is consumed in the substance administration. The medication is identified by means of the LabeledDrug.code or the LabeledDrug.name. The Material entity is used to identify non-drug administered substances such as vaccines and blood products.

Table X: Value set for consumable.typeCode
V:ParticipationConsumable [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20072] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
CSM (Fixed) consumable
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90
Table X: Value set for ManufacturedProduct.classCode
V:RoleClassManufacturedProduct [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11580] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
MANU (Default) manufactured THER therapeutic agent
Code System: RoleClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.110
Table X: Value set for LabeledDrug.classCode
V:EntityClassManufacturedMaterial [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13934] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
MMAT (Default) A manufactured material. CONT container
HOLD holder
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for LabeledDrug.determinerCode
V:EntityDeterminerDetermined [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10879] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
KIND (Default) described
QUANTIFIED_KIND (Deprecated) described quantified
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30
Table X: Value set for Material.classCode
V:EntityClassManufacturedMaterial [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13934] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
MMAT (Default) A manufactured material. CONT container
HOLD holder
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for Material.determinerCode
V:EntityDeterminerDetermined [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10879] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
KIND (Default) described
QUANTIFIED_KIND (Deprecated) described quantified
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30

4.2.6.9 Supply

A derivative of the RIM Supply class, used for representing the provision of a material by one entity to another.

Table X: Supply Attributes
RIM Attribute(s) Data Type Cardinality Value Set Binding Binding Type
classCode CS [1..1] SPLY (Fixed) CLOSED
moodCode CS [1..1] V:x_DocumentSubstanceMood CLOSED
id SET <II> [0..*]
code CD [1..1] D:ActSupplyType OPEN
actonNegationInd BL [0..1]
text ED [0..1]
statusCode CS [0..1] V:ActStatus CLOSED
effectiveTime GTS [0..1]
activityTime GTS [0..1]
availabilityTime TS [0..1]
priorityCode CE [0..1] D:ActPriority OPEN
confidentialityCode SET<CE> [0..*] D:Confidentiality OPEN
repeatNumber IVL<INT> [0..1]
independentInd BL [0..1]
languageCode CE [0..1] D:HumanLanguage CLOSED
isCriterionInd BL [0..1]
quantity PQ [0..1]
expectedUseTime IVL<TS> [0..1]


Table X: Value set for Supply.classCode
V:ActClassSupply [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11535] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
SPLY (Default) supply DIET diet
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Supply.moodCode
V:x_ClinicalStatementSubstanceMood [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19645] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
EVN event DEF definition
RQO request INT intent
PRMS promise PRP proposal
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001


The dispensed product is associated with the Supply act via a product participant, which connects to the same ManufacturedProduct role used for SubstanceAdministration.

Table X: Value set for product.typeCode
V:ParticipationProduct [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20093] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
PRD (Fixed) product
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90

The Supply class represents dispensing, whereas the SubstanceAdministration class represents administration. Prescriptions are complex activities that involve both an administration request to the patient (e.g. take digoxin 0.125mg by mouth once per day) and a supply request to the pharmacy (e.g. dispense 30 tablets, with 5 refills). This should be represented in CDA by a SubstanceAdministration entry that has a component Supply entry. The nested Supply entry can have Supply.independentInd set to "false" to signal that the Supply cannot stand alone, without it's containing SubstanceAdministration. The following example illustrates a prescription representation in CDA.

Example X
<section>
   <text>Digoxin 0.125mg, 1 PO qDay, #30, 5 refills.</text>
   <entry>
      <substanceAdministration classCode="SBADM" moodCode="RQO">
         <effectiveTime xsi:type="PIVL_TS">
            <period value="24" unit="h"/>
         </effectiveTime>
         <routeCode code="PO" 
          codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.5.112" 
          codeSystemName="RouteOfAdministration"/>
         <doseQuantity value="1"/>
         <consumable>
            <manufacturedProduct>
               <manufacturedLabeledDrug>
                  <code code="317896006" 
                   codeSystem="2.16.840.1.113883.6.96" 
                   codeSystemName="SNOMED CT" 
                   displayName="Digoxin 125micrograms tablet"/>
               </manufacturedLabeledDrug>
            </manufacturedProduct>
         </consumable>
         <entryRelationship typeCode="COMP">
            <supply classCode="SPLY" moodCode="RQO">
               <repeatNumber>
                  <low value="0"/>
                  <high value="5"/>
               </repeatNumber>
               <independentInd value="false"/>
               <quantity value="30"/>
            </supply>
         </entryRelationship>
      </substanceAdministration>
   </entry>
</section>

4.2.7 Entry Participants

CDA structures and entries can have various participants, some of which are also defined in the CDA header. As described in the discussion of CDA context (see CDA Context), participants propagated from the header can be overridden within the body.

4.2.7.1 author

The author participant (described above, see author), can be ascribed to a CDA section where it overrides the value(s) propagated from the CDA header, or can be ascribed to a CDA entry, where it overrides the value(s) propagated from a CDA section and propagates to nested entries.

4.2.7.2 consumable

The consumable participant is described above (see Entry Acts).

4.2.7.3 informant

The informant participant (described above, see informant), can be ascribed to a CDA section where it overrides the value(s) propagated from the CDA header, or can be ascribed to a CDA entry, where it overrides the value(s) propagated from a CDA section and propagates to nested entries.

4.2.7.4 participant

Can be used to represent any other participant that cannot be represented with one of the more specific participants. The participant can be ascribed to a CDA entry, and propagates to nested CDA entries, unless overridden.

Table X: Value set for participant.typeCode
v:ParticipationType [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10901] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
PART Participation ADM admitter
ATND attender ADM admitter
CALLBCK callback contact CON consultant
DIS discharger ESC escort
REF referrer TRANS Transcriber
ENT data entry person WIT witness
CST custodian DIR direct target
BBY baby DEV device
NRD non-reuseable device RDV reusable device
EXPAGNT ExposureAgent EXPART ExposureParticipation
EXPTRGT ExposureTarget EXSRC ExposureSource
IND indirect target BEN beneficiary
CAGNT causative agent COV coverage target
GUAR guarantor party HLD holder
DON donor RCV receiver
IRCP information recipient NOT ugent notification contact
PRCP primary information recipient REFB Referred By
REFT Referred to TRC tracker
LOC location DST destination
ELOC entry location ORG origin
RML remote VIA via
RESP responsible party VRF verifier
AUTHEN authenticator
Use the following participations, only if the other participations provided in CDA will not work
RCT record target AUT author (originator)
INF informant CSM consumable
PRD product SBJ subject
SPC specimen PRF performer
DIST distributor PPRF primary performer
SPRF secondary performer LA legal authenticator
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90
Table X: Value set for participant.contextControlCode
v:ContextControlOverridingPropagating [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20034] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
OP (Fixed) overriding, propagating
Code System: ContextControl (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1057


A participant is an entity playing one of several possible roles (ParticipantRole class). The entity playing the role is a device (Device class) or other entity (PlayingEntity class). The scoper is any entity (Entity class).

Table X: Value set for ParticipantRole.classCode
V:RoleClassRoot [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13940] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ROL (Default) role AFFL affiliate
AGNT agent ASSIGNED assigned entity
COMPAR commissioning party SGNOFF signing authority or officer
CON contact ECON emergency contact
NOK next of kin GUARD guardian
CIT citizen COVPTY covered party
CLAIM claimant NAMED named insured
DEPEN dependent INDIV individual
SUBSCR subscriber PROG program eligible
CRINV clinical research investigator CRSPNSR clinical research sponsor
EMP employee MIL military person
GUAR guarantor INVSBJ Investigation Subject
CASEBJ Case Subject RESBJ research subject
LIC licensed entity NOT notary public
PROV healthcare provider PAT patient
PAYEE payee PAYOR invoice payor
POLHOLD policy holder QUAL qualified entity
SPNSR underwriter STD student
UNDWRT coverage sponsor CAREGIVER caregiver
PRS personal relationship ACCESS access
ADMM Administerable Material BIRTHPL birthplace
DEATHPLC place of death DST distributed material
RET retailed material EXPR exposed entity
HLD held entity HLTHCHRT health chart
IDENT identified entity MANU manufactured product
THER therapeutic agent MNT maintained entity
OWN owned entity RGPR regulated product
SDLOC service delivery location DSDLOC dedicated service delivery location, health care facility
ISDLOC incidental service delivery location TERR territory of authority
USED used entity WRTE warranted product
EQUIV equivalent entity SAME same
SUBY subsumed by GEN has generalization
GRIC has generic INST instance
SUBS subsumer CONT content
EXPAGTCAR exposure agent carrier EXPVECTOR exposure vector
FOMITE fomite INGR ingredient
ACTI active ingredient ACTIB active ingredient - basis of strength
ACTIM active ingredient - moiety is basis of strength ACTIR active ingredient - reference substance is basis of strength
ADTV additive BASE base
IACT inactive ingredient COLR color additive, color
FLVR flavor additive, flavor PRSV preservative
STBL stabilizer LOCE located entity
STOR stored entity MBR member
PART part ACTM active moiety
SPEC specimen ALQT aliquot
ISLT isolate
Code System: RoleClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.110
Table X: Value set for Device.classCode
V:EntityClassDevice [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11623] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
DEV (Default) role CER certificate representation
MODDV imaging modality, ImagingModalityEntity
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for Device.determinerCode
v:EntityDeterminerSpecific [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20052] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
INSTANCE (Fixed) specific
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30
Table X: Value set for PlayingEntity.classCode
V:EntityClassRoot [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13922] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ENT (Default) entity HCE health chart entity
LIV living subject NLIV non-person living subject
ANM animal MIC microorganism
PLNT plant PSN person
MAT material CHEM chemical substance
FOOD food MMAT manufactured material
CONT container HOLD holder
DEV device CER certificate representation
MODDV imaging modality, ImagingModalityEntity ORG organization
PUB public institution STATE state
NAT Nation PLC place
CITY city or town COUNTRY country
COUNTY county or parish PROVINCE state or province
RGRP group
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for PlayingEntity.determinerCode
v:EntityDeterminerSpecific [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20052] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
INSTANCE (Fixed) specific
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30
Table X: Value set for Entity.classCode
V:EntityClassRoot [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13922] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ENT (Default) entity HCE health chart entity
LIV living subject NLIV non-person living subject
ANM animal MIC microorganism
PLNT plant PSN person
MAT material CHEM chemical substance
FOOD food MMAT manufactured material
CONT container HOLD holder
DEV device CER certificate representation
MODDV imaging modality, ImagingModalityEntity ORG organization
PUB public institution STATE state
NAT Nation PLC place
CITY city or town COUNTRY country
COUNTY county or parish PROVINCE state or province
RGRP group
Code System: EntityClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.41
Table X: Value set for Entity.determinerCode
v:EntityDeterminerSpecific [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20052] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
INSTANCE (Fixed) specific
Code System: EntityDeterminer (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.30

4.2.7.5 performer

The performer is a person who carries out or will carry out a particular act. The performer need not be the principal responsible participant, e.g. a surgery resident operating under supervision of attending surgeon is a performer.

Table X: Value set for performer.typeCode
v:ParticipationPhysicalPerformer [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10248] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
PRF (Default) performer DIST distributor
PPRF primary performer SPRF secondary performer
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90

4.2.7.6 product

The product participant is described above (see Entry Acts).

4.2.7.7 specimen

A specimen is a part of some entity, typically the subject, that is the target of focused laboratory, radiology or other observations. In many clinical observations, such as physical examination of a patient, the patient is the subject of the observation, and there is no specimen. The specimen participant is only used when observations are made against some substance or object that is taken or derived from the subject.

Table X: Value set for specimen.typeCode
v:ParticipationSpecimen [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20102] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
SPC (Fixed) specimen
Code System: ParticipationType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.90


Table X: Value set for SpecimenRole.classCode
v:RoleClassSpecimen [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11591] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
SPEC (Default) specimen ALQT aliquot
ISLT isolate
Code System: RoleClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.110

4.2.7.8 subject

The subject participant (described above, see subject), can be ascribed to a CDA section, or it can be ascribed to a CDA entry, where it overrides the value(s) propagated from a CDA section and propagates to nested entries.

4.2.8 Entry Relationships

4.2.8.1 component

The component relationship has a source of Organizer (see Organizer, and a target that is another CDA entry, and is used to create groupings of CDA entries within an Organizer.

Table X: Value set for component.typeCode
v:ActRelationshipHasComponent [[2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10318] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
COMP (FIXED) has component
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

4.2.8.2 precondition

The precondition class, derived from the ActRelationship class, is used along with the Criterion class to express a condition that must hold true before some over activity occurs.

Table X: Value set for precondition.typeCode
v:ActRelationshipHasPre-condition[[2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20001] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
PRCN (FIXED) has pre-condition
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002
Table X: Value set for Criterion.classCode
V:ActClassObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11529] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
OBS (Default) Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for Criterion.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventCriterion [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20268] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN.CRT (Fixed) event criterion
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

4.2.8.3 referenceRange

The referenceRange relationship (described above, see Observation), has a source of Observation, and a target of ObservationRange.

4.2.8.4 entryRelationship

CDA has identified and modeled various link and reference scenarios. These scenarios enable CDA entries to be semantically linked to entries that exist within the same document (by traversing the entryRelationship class) or to objects external to it (by traversing the reference class).

In CDA R2.0, the following entryRelationships scenarios were provided as informative content:

Table X: Examples of typical entryRelationships
ActRelationship Type Reasonable Source and Target entries Comments
CAUS
(is etiology for)		 (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration) CAUS (Observation) Used to show that the source caused the target observation (for instance, source "diabetes mellitus" is the cause of target "kidney disease").
COMP
(has component)		 (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) COMP (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Suppply) Used to show that the target is a component of the source (for instance "hemoglobin measurement" is a component of a "complete blood count").
GEVL
(evaluates (goal))		 (Observation) GEVL (Observation) Used to link an observation (intent or actual) to a goal to indicate that the observation evaluates the goal (for instance, a source observation of "walking distance" evaluates a target goal of "adequate walking distance").
MFST
(is manifestation of)		 (Observation) MFST (Observation) Used to say that the source is a manifestation of the target (for instance, source "hives" is a manifestation of target "penicillin allergy").
REFR
(refers to)		 (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) REFR (Act | Observation | ObservationMedia | Procedure | RegionOfInterest | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) Used to show a general relationship between the source and the target, when the more specific semantics of the relationship isn't known.
RSON
(has reason)		 (Act | Encounter | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) RSON (Act | Encounter | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) Used to show the reason or rational for a service (for instance source "treadmill test" has reason "chest pain").
SAS
(starts after start)		 (Act | Encounter | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) SAS (Act | Encounter | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) The source Act starts after the start of the target Act (for instance source "diaphoresis" starts after the start of target "chest pain").
SPRT
(has support)		 (Observation) SPRT (Observation | ObservationMedia | RegionOfInterest) Used to show that the target provides supporting evidence for the source (for instance source "possible lung tumor" has support target "mass seen on chest-x-ray").
SUBJ
(has subject)		 (Observation | RegionOfInterest) SUBJ (Observation | ObservationMedia) Used to relate a source region of interest to a target image, or to relate an observation to its subject observation (for instance, source "moderate severity" has subject target "chest pain").
NOTE: The preceding table provides examples of reasonable relationships between CDA entries, but does not represent a conformance constraint.

The ActRelationshipType "has subject" is similar to the ParticipationType "subject". Entries that primarily operate on physical subjects use the Participation, whereas entries that primarily operate on other entries use the ActRelationship.

XCRPT (is excerpt of) (Act | Observation) XCRPT (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) Used to show that the source is excerpted from the target (for instance source "hemoglobin value of 12" is an excerpt of target "complete blood count").

The distinction between an excerpt and an informant participant can be blurry — such as in the case of recording a patient's medication history where the clinician may obtain the information from an informant or may excerpt the information from another computer system. An informant (or source of information) is a person who provides relevant information. An informant class is in the header, and can be overridden in the body. An excerpt is a sub portion of some other act.

In CDA R2.1 any entry (excluding Organizer), may be related to another entry, using the entryRelationship class. In the entryRelationship class, the typeCode attribute is used to define the semantic relationship that exists between the source or parent entry and the destination or child entry. The valueset binding on typeCode was been significantly enhanced in CDA R2.1, and now any code present in the HL7 entryRelationship code system (RIM 2.35) may be used.

Table X: Value set for entryRelationship.typeCode
V:ActRelationshipType [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10317] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
CIND has contra-indication PRCN has pre-condition
RSON has reason BLOCK Blocks
CURE curative indication CURE.ADJ adjunct curative indication
DIAG diagnosis MITGT mitigates
RCVY Recovery MTGT.ADJ adjunct mitigation
SYMP symptomatic relief TRIG has trigger
COMP has component ARR arrival
CTRLV has control variable DEP departure
OUTC has outcome OBJC has continuing objective
OBJF has final objective GOAL has goal
RISK has risk PERT has pertinent information
SAE starts after end of SAS starts after start of
CHRG has charge COST has cost
CREDIT has credit DEBIT has debit
AUTH authorized by CAUS is etiology for
COVBY covered by DRIV is derived from
ELNK episodeLink EVID provides evidence for
EXACBY exacerbated by EXPL has explanation
ITEMSLOC items located LIMIT limited by
MFST is manifestation of NAME assigns name
PREV has previous instance REFR refers to
REFV has reference values RELVBY relieved by
SPRT has support SPRTBND has bounded support
SUBJ has subject SUMM summarized by
SEQL is sequel APND is appendage
COMPLY Update DOC documents
FLFS fulfills OCCR occurrence
OREF references order SCH schedules request
GEN has generalization GEVL evaluates (goal)
INST instantiates (master) MOD modifies
MTCH matches (trigger) OPTN has option
RCHAL re-challenge REV reverses
RPLC replaces SUCC succeeds
UPDT updates (condition) XCRPT Excerpts
VRXCRPT Excerpt verbatim XFRM transformation
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002
Note: Implementation Guide ("IG") authors will need to exercise caution and ensure they fully understand the semantics of the relationship defined by the term they have selected. In addition, IG authors will need to understand the impact of both inversionInd and negationInd flags, as these attributes can materially impact those semantics when machine processing.

The entryRelationship.inversionInd can be set to "true" to indicate that the relationship should be interpreted as if the roles of the source and target entries were reversed. As in the example provided in CDA R2.0, "treadmill test" RSON (has reason) "chest pain". Inverted, this would have "chest pain" as the source and "treadmill test" as the target: "chest pain" RSON (inverted) "treadmill test". Inversion can be useful when the current context is describing the target of an act relationship that needs to be related back to the source.

The entryRelationship.negationInd can be set to "true" to indicate that the meaning of the link is negated. Examples where this might be useful:

  • If the relationship without negation specifies that Act A has Act B as a component, then the negation indicator specifies that Act A does not have Act B as a component.
  • If B is a reason for A, then negation means that B is not a reason for A.
  • If B is a pre-condition for A, then negation means that B is not a precondition for A.

The entryRelationship.contextConductionInd differs from the otherwise common use of this attribute (see CDA Context) in that in all other cases where this attribute is used, the value is fixed at "true", whereas here the value is defaulted to "true", and can be changed to "false" when referencing an entry in the same document. Setting the context conduction to false when referencing an entry in the same document keeps clear the fact that the referenced object retains its original context.

4.2.8.5 reference

CDA entries can reference external objects such as external images and prior reports. These external objects are not part of the authenticated document content. They contain sufficient attributes to enable an explicit reference rather than duplicating the entire referenced object. The CDA entry that wraps the external reference can be used to encode the specific portions of the external reference that are addressed in the narrative block.

Each object allows for an identifier and a code, and contains the RIM Act.text attribute, which can be used to store the URL and MIME type of the object. External objects always have a fixed moodCode of "EVN".

The reference class contains the attribute reference.seperatableInd, which indicates whether or not the source is intended to be interpreted independently of the target. The indicator cannot prevent an individual or application from separating the source and target, but indicates the author's desire and willingness to attest to the content of the source if separated from the target. Typically, where seperatableInd is "false", the exchanged package should include the target of the reference so that the recipient can render it.

A description of allowable reference.typeCode values are shown in the following table.

Table X: Value set for reference.typeCode
V:ActRelationshipType [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.10317] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ELNK episodeLink REFR refers to
SPRT has support RPLC replaces
XCRPT Excerpts
Code System: ActRelationshipType (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1002

As in the table above (CDA entryRelationship Types), the following table is a guideline for reasonable relationships between CDA entries and external objects, and is not a conformance constraint.

Table X: CDA reference Types
ActRelationship Type Reasonable Source and Target classes Comments
ELNK
(episode link)		 (Observation) ELNK (ExternalObservation) Used to show that the source and the target are part of the same episode (for instance, a diagnosis of "pneumonia" can be linked to an external problem list entry of "pneumonia" to show that the current diagnosis is part of the ongoing episode of pneumonia).
REFR
(refers to)		 (Act | Observation | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) REFR (ExternalAct | ExternalDocument | ExternalObservation | ExternalProcedure) Used to show a general relationship between the source and the target, when the more specific semantics of the relationship isn't known.
RPLC
(replace)		 (Act | Encounter | Observation | ObservationMedia | Organizer | Procedure | SubstanceAdministration | Supply) RPLC (ExternalAct | ExternalDocument | ExternalObservation | ExternalProcedure) Used to indicate that the source entry is a replacement for the target external act.
SPRT
(has support)		 (Observation) SPRT (ExternalDocument | ExternalObservation) Used to show that the target provides supporting evidence for the source.
SUBJ
(has subject)		 (Observation | RegionOfInterest) SUBJ (ExternalObservation) Used to relate a source region of interest to a target image, or to relate an observation to its subject observation.
XCRPT
(is excerpt of)		 (Act | Observation) XCRPT (ExternalAct | ExternalDocument | ExternalObservation | ExternalProcedure) Used to show that the source is excerpted from the target (for instance "the hemoglobin is 10.7" is an excerpt of an externally referenced "complete blood count").

Target classes of the reference relationship include ExternalAct, ExternalDocument, ExternalObservation, and External Procedure.


ExternalAct is a derivative of the RIM Act class, to be used when the other more specific classes are not appropriate.

Table X: Value set for ExternalAct.classCode
V:ActClassRoot [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.13856] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
ACT (Default) act COMPOSITION composition, Attestable unit
DOC document DOCCLIN clinical document
CDALVLONE CDA Level One clinical document CONTAINER record container
CATEGORY category DOCBODY document body
CATEGORY document section, Section TOPIC topic
EXTRACT extract EHR electronic health record
FOLDER folder GROUPER grouper
CLUSTER Cluster ACCM accommodation
ACCT account ACSN accession
ADJUD financial adjudication, financial adjudication results CACT control act
ACTN action INFO information
STC state transition control CNTRCT contract
FCNTRCT financial contract COV coverage
CONS consent CONTREG container registration
CTTEVENT clinical trial timepoint event DISPACT disciplinary action
EXPOS exposure AEXPOS acquisition exposure
TEXPOS transmission exposure INC incident
INFRM inform INVE invoice element
LIST working list MPROT monitoring program
OBS Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI PCPR care provision
ENC encounter POLICY policy
JURISPOL jurisdictional policy ORGPOL organizational policy
SCOPOL scope of practice policy STDPOL standard of practice policy
PROC procedure SBEXT Substance Extraction
SPECCOLLECT Specimen Collection SBADM substance administration
REG registration REV review
SPCTRT specimen treatment SPLY supply
DIET diet STORE storage
SUBST Substitution TRFR transfer
TRNS transportation XACT financial transaction
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ExternalAct.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

ExternalDocument is a derivative of the RIM Document class, used for representing external documents. ExternalDocument.text is modeled as an ED data type - allowing for the expression of the MIME type of the external document.

Table X: Value set for ExternalDocument.classCode
V:ActClassDocument [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.18938] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
DOC (Default) document DOCCLIN clinical document
CDALVLONE CDA Level One clinical document
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ExternalDocument.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

ExternalObservation is a derivative of the RIM Observation class, used for representing external coded and other observations.

Table X: Value set for ExternalObservation.classCode
V:ActClassObservation [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.11529] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
OBS (Default) Observation ALRT detected issue
BATTERY battery CLNTRL clinical trial
CONC concern COND Condition
CASE public health case OUTB outbreak
DGIMG diagnostic image GEN genomic observation
DETPOL determinant peptide EXP expression level
LOC locus PHN phenotype
POL polypeptide SEQ bio sequence
SEQVAR bio sequence variation INVSTG investigation
OBSSER observation series OBSCOR correlated observation sequences
POS position POSACC position accuracy
POSCOORD position coordinate SPCOBS specimen observation
VERIF Verification ROIBND bounded ROI
ROIOVL overlay ROI LLD (Deprecated) left lateral decubitus
PRN (Deprecated) prone RLD (Deprecated) right lateral decubitus
SFWL (Deprecated) Semi-Fowler's SIT (Deprecated) sitting
STN (Deprecated) standing SUP (Deprecated) supine
RTRD (Deprecated) reverse trendelenburg TRD (Deprecated) trendelenburg
CNOD (Deprecated) Condition Node
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ExternalObservation.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

ExternalProcedure is a derivative of the RIM Procedure class, used for representing external procedures.

Table X: Value set for ExternalProcedure.classCode
V:ActClassProcedure [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.19665] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name Code Print Name
PROC (Default) procedure SBEXT Substance Extraction
SPECCOLLECT Specimen Collection SBADM substance administration
Code System: ActClass (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.6
Table X: Value set for ExternalProcedure.moodCode
v:ActMoodEventOccurrence [2.16.840.1.113883.1.11.20267] (CLOSED)
Code Print Name
EVN (Fixed) event
Code System: ActMood (HL7) Code System OID: 2.16.840.1.113883.5.1001

5 CDA Hierarchical Description

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6 CDA XML Implementation

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7 Appendix

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