Skip to main content

Organization

Overview

The Organization resource represents healthcare organizations, payers, and provider groups within the Provider System Access API. Organizations serve as the foundation for healthcare delivery, connecting practitioners, locations, and services in patient care.

Key Use Cases:

  • Retrieve healthcare organization information
  • Access organization contact details and addresses
  • Query organizations by name or location
  • Support care coordination and referrals

Relationships to Other Resources:

  • Patient - Patients receive care from organizations
  • Practitioner - Healthcare providers work for organizations
  • Encounter - Healthcare encounters occur at organizations
  • Location - Organizations operate at physical locations

Resource Schema

Key fields in the Organization resource:

{
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "string",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "1234567890"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "prov",
"display": "Healthcare Provider"
}
]
}
],
"name": "string",
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone|fax|email|url",
"value": "string",
"use": "work|home"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work|home|billing",
"line": ["string"],
"city": "string",
"state": "string",
"postalCode": "string",
"country": "string"
}
]
}

Key Fields:

  • id - Unique identifier for the organization
  • identifier - External identifiers (NPI, Tax ID, etc.)
  • name - Official organization name
  • type - Organization type (provider, payer, etc.)
  • address - Physical and mailing addresses
  • telecom - Contact information (phone, email, website)

Operations

Read

Retrieve a specific organization by ID.

GET /Organization/{id}
Example Request
curl -X GET https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/org-123 \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Search for organizations using various criteria.

GET Method

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

GET /Organization?parameter=value

POST Method

Use POST for complex searches with form-encoded parameters.

POST /Organization/_search

Search Parameters

Search Parameters:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
addressstringNoAny part of addressaddress=Sacramento
address-citystringNoCity nameaddress-city=Sacramento
address-postalcodestringNoZIP/postal codeaddress-postalcode=95814
address-statestringNoState abbreviationaddress-state=CA
namestringNoOrganization name (partial match)name=Hospital
_lastUpdateddateNoOnly return resources which were last updated as specified by the given range_lastUpdated=ge2023-01-01
_revincludespecialNoInclude Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"_revinclude=Provenance:target

Common Search Patterns

Find organizations by name:

GET /Organization?name=Hospital&_count=10

Search by city:

GET /Organization?address-city=Sacramento

Find by postal code:

GET /Organization?address-postalcode=95814

Search by state:

GET /Organization?address-state=CA&_count=20

Examples

Request Examples

Search by name
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "name=Hospital&_count=10"
Search by city
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "address-city=Sacramento"
Search by postal code
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Organization/_search \
-H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "address-postalcode=95814"

Response Examples

Successful Search Response

Organization Search Bundle
{
"resourceType": "Bundle",
"type": "searchset",
"total": 2,
"entry": [
{
"resource": {
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "org-123",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "1234567890"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "prov",
"display": "Healthcare Provider"
}
]
}
],
"name": "Sacramento General Hospital",
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone",
"value": "(916) 555-0123",
"use": "work"
},
{
"system": "email",
"value": "info@sacgeneral.org",
"use": "work"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work",
"line": ["1234 Health Way"],
"city": "Sacramento",
"state": "CA",
"postalCode": "95814",
"country": "US"
}
]
}
}
]
}

Individual Organization Response

Single Organization Resource
{
"resourceType": "Organization",
"id": "org-456",
"identifier": [
{
"system": "http://example.org/npi",
"value": "9876543210"
}
],
"active": true,
"type": [
{
"coding": [
{
"system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/organization-type",
"code": "prov",
"display": "Healthcare Provider"
}
]
}
],
"name": "Bay Area Medical Center",
"telecom": [
{
"system": "phone",
"value": "(415) 555-0199",
"use": "work"
},
{
"system": "url",
"value": "https://www.bayareamedical.com",
"use": "work"
}
],
"address": [
{
"use": "work",
"line": ["456 Medical Plaza", "Suite 100"],
"city": "San Francisco",
"state": "CA",
"postalCode": "94102",
"country": "US"
}
]
}

Empty Result Set

No Organizations Found
{
"resourceType": "Bundle",
"type": "searchset",
"total": 0,
"entry": []
}

Integration Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Organization Lookup for Patient Care

# Step 1: Search for organization by name
GET /Organization?name=Hospital&_count=10

# Step 2: Get specific organization details
GET /Organization/org-123

# Step 3: Find practitioners at organization
GET /Practitioner?organization=Organization/org-123

2. Geographic Organization Search

# Step 1: Search by city and state
GET /Organization?address-city=Sacramento&address-state=CA

# Step 2: Narrow by postal code
GET /Organization?address-postalcode=95814

# Step 3: Get organization contact information
GET /Organization/org-456
  • Patient - Patients receive care from organizations
  • Practitioner - Healthcare providers work for organizations
  • Encounter - Healthcare encounters occur at organizations
  • Location - Organizations operate at physical locations

Include Parameters

Use _include and _revinclude to fetch related resources:

# Get organization with provenance information
GET /Organization?name=Hospital&_revinclude=Provenance:target

# Get organizations with recent updates
GET /Organization?_lastUpdated=ge2023-01-01&_count=5

Error Handling

The Organization resource follows standard FHIR error handling patterns. For detailed error responses and troubleshooting guidance, see the Common Errors page.

Organization-Specific Error Scenarios

  • 404 Not Found: Organization ID doesn't exist or has been deactivated
  • 400 Bad Request: Invalid search parameters or malformed queries
  • Empty Results: No organizations match the search criteria

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Empty Results: Try broader search criteria or check if data exists for the region
  • Invalid Parameters: Verify parameter names match the FHIR specification
  • Performance Issues: Use _count parameter to limit result sets and improve response times

Supported Profiles