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Goal

Overview​

The Goal resource describes intended objectives for a patient, group, or organization. Goals are used in care planning to establish targets for patient care and track progress toward achieving desired outcomes.

Purpose:

  • Document patient treatment goals and objectives
  • Track progress toward health outcomes
  • Support care coordination and planning
  • Enable measurement of care effectiveness

Use Cases:

  • Behavioral health treatment goals (e.g., reduce anxiety, improve coping skills)
  • SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) goals (e.g., secure stable housing, obtain employment)
  • Clinical outcome goals (e.g., achieve target HbA1c level, maintain sobriety)
  • Recovery and wellness planning

Relationships:

  • References Patient resources for goal subjects
  • Linked to CarePlan resources for treatment planning
  • May reference Condition resources for addressed health issues
  • Can be tracked via Observation resources for outcome measurement

Resource Schema​

Key Fields​

FieldTypeDescription
resourceTypestringAlways "Goal"
idstringUnique identifier for the goal
lifecycleStatuscodeproposed | planned | accepted | active | on-hold | completed | cancelled | entered-in-error | rejected
achievementStatusCodeableConceptDescribes the progression, or lack thereof, towards the goal
categoryCodeableConcept[]Goal category (e.g., behavioral, dietary, safety)
descriptionCodeableConceptCode or text describing the goal
subjectReference(Patient)Who this goal is intended for
startDatedateWhen goal pursuit begins
targetBackboneElement[]Target outcome for the goal
target.measureCodeableConceptThe parameter whose value is being tracked
target.detailQuantityQuantityTarget value of the measure
target.detailStringstringTarget value of the measure
target.dueDatedateReach goal on or before this date

JSON Example​

{
  "resourceType": "Goal",
  "id": "goal-123",
  "meta": {
    "profile": [
      "http://hl7.org/fhir/us/core/StructureDefinition/us-core-goal"
    ]
  },
  "lifecycleStatus": "active",
  "achievementStatus": {
    "coding": [
      {
        "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/goal-achievement",
        "code": "in-progress",
        "display": "In Progress"
      }
    ]
  },
  "category": [
    {
      "coding": [
        {
          "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/goal-category",
          "code": "behavioral",
          "display": "Behavioral"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "description": {
    "text": "Patient will develop and practice healthy coping strategies for managing anxiety"
  },
  "subject": {
    "reference": "Patient/patient-123",
    "display": "John Smith"
  },
  "startDate": "2024-01-15",
  "target": [
    {
      "measure": {
        "coding": [
          {
            "system": "http://loinc.org",
            "code": "89206-7",
            "display": "Generalized anxiety disorder 7 item (GAD-7) total score"
          }
        ]
      },
      "detailString": "GAD-7 score below 10",
      "dueDate": "2024-07-15"
    }
  ]
}

Operations​

The Goal resource supports Read and Search operations. Support varies by CareRecord solution:

CareRecord / SolutionCreateReadUpdateSearch
GEHRIMED-Yes-Yes
myAvatar-Yes-Yes
myEvolv-Yes-Yes
myUnity-Yes-Yes
TheraOffice-Yes-Yes

Read​

Retrieve a specific Goal by ID.

GET /Goal/{id}

Search for goals using various criteria.

GET Method​

Use GET for simple searches with parameters in the query string.

GET /Goal?parameter=value

POST Method​

Use POST for complex searches with form-encoded parameters.

POST /Goal/_search

Search Parameters​

Patient-based Search:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
patientreferenceYesWho this goal is intended forpatient=Patient/123
descriptiontokenNoCode or text describing goaldescription=anxiety
lifecycle-statustokenNoproposed | planned | accepted | active | on-hold | completed | cancelled | entered-in-error | rejectedlifecycle-status=active
start-datedateNoWhen goal pursuit beginsstart-date=ge2024-01-01
target-datedateNoReach goal on or beforetarget-date=le2024-12-31
_lastUpdateddateNoOnly return resources which were last updated as specified by the given range_lastUpdated=ge2024-01-01
_revincludespecialNoInclude Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"_revinclude=Provenance:target

ID-based Search:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
_idtokenYesThe ID of the resource_id=goal-123
_lastUpdateddateNoOnly return resources which were last updated as specified by the given range_lastUpdated=ge2024-01-01
_revincludespecialNoInclude Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"_revinclude=Provenance:target

Examples​

Read​

Retrieve a specific Goal resource by its ID.

GET /Goal/{id}

Search​

Via POST (Recommended)​

Search by Patient
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Goal/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "patient=Patient/patient-123"
Search by Patient and Status
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/Goal/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "patient=Patient/patient-123" \
    -d "lifecycle-status=active"
Search with Date Range
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/Goal/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "patient=Patient/patient-123" \
    -d "start-date=ge2024-01-01" \
    -d "target-date=le2024-12-31"

Via GET​

Search by Patient
curl -X GET "https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Goal?patient=Patient/patient-123" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Integration Patterns​

Common Workflows​

Treatment Planning:

  1. Retrieve patient's active CarePlan
  2. Query associated Goals using patient parameter
  3. Filter by lifecycle-status=active for current goals
  4. Track progress via linked Observation resources

Goal Progress Tracking:

  1. Search for patient's goals with specific target-date range
  2. Review achievementStatus to assess progress
  3. Update treatment interventions based on goal achievement

Care Coordination:

  1. Query goals across multiple care episodes
  2. Use _revinclude=Provenance:target to track goal authorship
  3. Coordinate with CarePlan and ServiceRequest resources
  • CarePlan - Treatment plans that reference goals
  • Condition - Health conditions addressed by goals
  • Observation - Measurements tracking goal progress
  • Patient - Subject of the goal
  • Provenance - Audit trail for goal creation and updates

Error Handling​

For common error scenarios and troubleshooting guidance, see Common Errors.

Supported Profiles​