Skip to main content

RelatedPerson

Overview​

The RelatedPerson resource provides information about a person that is involved in the care for a patient, but who is not the target of healthcare, nor has a formal responsibility in the care process. This includes family members, friends, guardians, and other individuals with a personal relationship to the patient.

Use Cases:

  • Retrieving patient emergency contacts
  • Accessing family member information for care coordination
  • Supporting patient relationship management

Relationships:

  • References Patient resources for the related patient
  • Can be referenced by Provenance resources for audit trails

Resource Schema​

Key fields in the RelatedPerson resource:

{
  "resourceType": "RelatedPerson",
  "id": "example-related-person",
  "patient": {
    "reference": "Patient/123"
  },
  "relationship": [{
    "coding": [{
      "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-RoleCode",
      "code": "CHILD",
      "display": "child"
    }]
  }],
  "name": [{
    "family": "Smith",
    "given": ["John"]
  }],
  "telecom": [{
    "system": "phone",
    "value": "555-123-4567"
  }]
}

Operations​

Read​

Retrieve a specific RelatedPerson by ID.

Search for related persons using various criteria.

GET Method​

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

GET /RelatedPerson?parameter=value

POST Method​

Use POST for complex searches with form-encoded parameters.

POST /RelatedPerson/_search

Search Parameters​

Patient-based Search:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
patientreferenceYesREQUIRED The patient this related person is related topatient=Patient/patient-123
namestringNoA server defined search that may match any of the string fields in the HumanNamename=Smith

| _revinclude | special | No | Include Provenance resources that reference this related person | _revinclude=Provenance:target |

ID-based Search:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
namestringNoA server defined search that may match any of the string fields in the HumanNamename=Smith

| _revinclude | special | No | Include Provenance resources that reference this related person | _revinclude=Provenance:target |

Common Search Patterns​

Find related persons for a patient:

GET /RelatedPerson?patient=Patient/patient-123

Search by name:

GET /RelatedPerson?patient=Patient/patient-123&name=Smith

Examples​

Read Request​

curl -X GET "https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/RelatedPerson/123" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Search Request​

curl -X GET "https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/RelatedPerson?patient=Patient/123&name=Smith" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Response Example​

{
  "resourceType": "Bundle",
  "type": "searchset",
  "total": 1,
  "entry": [{
    "resource": {
      "resourceType": "RelatedPerson",
      "id": "123",
      "patient": {
        "reference": "Patient/123"
      },
      "relationship": [{
        "coding": [{
          "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-RoleCode",
          "code": "CHILD",
          "display": "child"
        }]
      }],
      "name": [{
        "family": "Smith",
        "given": ["John"]
      }]
    }
  }]
}

Integration Patterns​

Common Workflows​

  1. Patient Emergency Contacts: Search by patient to retrieve emergency contact information
  2. Family Member Lookup: Use name parameter to find specific family members
  3. Care Coordination: Include patient information using _include parameters
  • Patient: The patient this person is related to
  • Provenance: Audit trail information

Error Handling​

For detailed error responses and troubleshooting, refer to the standard FHIR error response format.

Supported Profiles​

This API supports the following FHIR profiles: