Slot

Overview

Purpose

The Slot resource represents a specific time period within a Schedule that can be booked for an appointment. Slots define the granular availability for healthcare services, practitioners, or locations, indicating whether each time period is free, busy, or otherwise unavailable.

Use Cases

Find available appointment times for booking
Check slot availability for specific practitioners or locations
Support appointment scheduling workflows
Display real-time availability to patients

Relationships

Schedule - Slots belong to a parent Schedule resource
Appointment - Booked appointments reference specific slots
Practitioner - Slots may be associated with specific practitioners
Location - Slots define availability at specific locations
HealthcareService - Slots can be linked to specific services

Resource Schema

Key Fields

id - Unique identifier for the slot
schedule - Reference to the parent Schedule
status - Availability status (free, busy, busy-unavailable, busy-tentative, entered-in-error)
start - Start time of the slot
end - End time of the slot
overbooked - Indicates if the slot is overbooked
comment - Additional information about the slot

JSON Example

{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "id": "slot-456",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
  },
  "status": "free",
  "start": "2026-03-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end": "2026-03-15T09:30:00Z",
  "overbooked": false,
  "comment": "30-minute appointment slot"
}

Operations

Read

Retrieve a specific slot by ID.

Production
Preview

GET /Slot/{id}

Example Request
curl -X GET https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/slot-456 \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

GET /Slot/{id}

Example Request
curl -X GET https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/slot-456 \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json"

Search

Search for slots using various criteria.

Production
Preview

GET /Slot?parameter=value
POST /Slot/_search

GET /Slot?parameter=value
POST /Slot/_search

Search Parameters

Patient-based Search:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
`schedule`	reference	No	Reference to parent Schedule	`schedule=Schedule/schedule-123`
`start`	date	No	Slot start time	`start=ge2026-03-15T09:00:00Z`
`status`	token	No	Slot availability status	`status=free`
`_count`	number	No	Number of results per page	`_count=20`
`_lastUpdated`	date	No	Only return resources which were last updated as specified by the given range	`_lastUpdated=ge2026-01-01`
`_revinclude`	special	No	Include Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"	`_revinclude=Provenance:target`

ID-based Search:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
`_id`	token	Yes	Slot ID	`_id=slot-456`
`_count`	number	No	Number of results per page	`_count=20`
`_lastUpdated`	date	No	Only return resources which were last updated as specified by the given range	`_lastUpdated=ge2026-01-01`
`_revinclude`	special	No	Include Provenance resource(s) that reference the matched search results. Allowed: "Provenance:target"	`_revinclude=Provenance:target`

Create

Create a new Slot resource.

Production
Preview

POST /Slot

POST /Slot

Update

Update an existing Slot resource by its ID.

Production
Preview

PUT /Slot/{id}

PUT /Slot/{id}

Examples

Request Examples

Production
Preview

Search by schedule
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "schedule=Schedule/schedule-123&status=free"

Search by date range
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "start=ge2026-03-15T09:00:00Z&start=le2026-03-15T17:00:00Z&status=free"

Search by status
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "status=free&_count=10"

Search by schedule
curl -X POST https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "schedule=Schedule/schedule-123&status=free"

Search by date range
curl -X POST https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "start=ge2026-03-15T09:00:00Z&start=le2026-03-15T17:00:00Z&status=free"

Search by status
curl -X POST https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/_search \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    -d "status=free&_count=10"

Response Examples

Successful Search Response

Slot Search Bundle
{
  "resourceType": "Bundle",
  "type": "searchset",
  "total": 2,
  "entry": [
    {
      "resource": {
        "resourceType": "Slot",
        "id": "slot-456",
        "schedule": {
          "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
        },
        "status": "free",
        "start": "2026-03-15T09:00:00Z",
        "end": "2026-03-15T09:30:00Z",
        "overbooked": false,
        "comment": "30-minute appointment slot"
      }
    },
    {
      "resource": {
        "resourceType": "Slot",
        "id": "slot-457",
        "schedule": {
          "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
        },
        "status": "free",
        "start": "2026-03-15T09:30:00Z",
        "end": "2026-03-15T10:00:00Z",
        "overbooked": false,
        "comment": "30-minute appointment slot"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Individual Slot Response

Single Slot Resource
{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "id": "slot-789",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-456"
  },
  "status": "busy",
  "start": "2026-03-15T14:00:00Z",
  "end": "2026-03-15T14:30:00Z",
  "overbooked": false,
  "comment": "Booked appointment"
}

Empty Result Set

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

Create

Production
Preview

Create Slot
curl -X POST https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/fhir+json" \
    -d '{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
  },
  "status": "free",
  "start": "2024-03-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end": "2024-03-15T09:30:00Z"
}'

Create Slot
curl -X POST https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/fhir+json" \
    -d '{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
  },
  "status": "free",
  "start": "2024-03-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end": "2024-03-15T09:30:00Z"
}'

Update

Production
Preview

Update Slot
curl -X PUT https://fhir.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/{id} \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/fhir+json" \
    -d '{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "id": "{id}",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
  },
  "status": "free",
  "start": "2024-03-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end": "2024-03-15T09:30:00Z"
}'

Update Slot
curl -X PUT https://fhirtest.netsmartcloud.com/provider/system-access/v2/{tenant-id}/Slot/{id} \
    -H "Accept: application/fhir+json" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/fhir+json" \
    -d '{
  "resourceType": "Slot",
  "id": "{id}",
  "schedule": {
    "reference": "Schedule/schedule-123"
  },
  "status": "free",
  "start": "2024-03-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end": "2024-03-15T09:30:00Z"
}'

Integration Patterns

Common Workflows

1. Find and Book Available Appointment

# Step 1: Search for practitioner's schedule
GET /Schedule?actor=Practitioner/practitioner-123&active=true

# Step 2: Find available slots for the schedule
GET /Slot?schedule=Schedule/schedule-123&status=free&start=ge2026-03-15

# Step 3: Book an appointment using an available slot
POST /Appointment

2. Check Availability for Date Range

# Step 1: Search for location schedule
GET /Schedule?actor=Location/loc-456&date=ge2026-03-15

# Step 2: Get free slots within date range
GET /Slot?schedule=Schedule/schedule-789&status=free&start=ge2026-03-15T08:00:00Z&start=le2026-03-15T17:00:00Z

# Step 3: Display available times to user

Schedule - Parent container that organizes slots
Appointment - Booked appointments that reference slots
Practitioner - Healthcare providers whose availability is represented by slots
Location - Physical locations where slot appointments occur
HealthcareService - Services available during slot times

Error Handling

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

Slot-Specific Error Scenarios

404 Not Found: Slot ID doesn't exist or has been deleted
400 Bad Request: Invalid search parameters or malformed date formats
Empty Results: No slots match the search criteria

Troubleshooting Tips

Empty Results: Verify the schedule reference exists and has slots defined
Invalid Date Format: Ensure dates follow ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ)
Performance Issues: Use date range filters to limit result sets

Supported Profiles

HL7 FHIR R4 Slot

Overview​

Purpose​

Use Cases​

Relationships​

Resource Schema​

Key Fields​

JSON Example​

Operations​

Read​

Search​

Search Parameters​

Create​

Update​

Examples​

Request Examples​

Response Examples​

Successful Search Response​

Individual Slot Response​

Empty Result Set​

Create​

Update​

Integration Patterns​

Common Workflows​

Related Resources​

Error Handling​

Slot-Specific Error Scenarios​

Troubleshooting Tips​

Supported Profiles​

Overview

Purpose

Use Cases

Relationships

Resource Schema

Key Fields

JSON Example

Operations

Read

Search

Search Parameters

Create

Update

Examples

Request Examples

Response Examples

Successful Search Response

Individual Slot Response

Empty Result Set

Create

Update

Integration Patterns

Common Workflows

Related Resources

Error Handling

Slot-Specific Error Scenarios

Troubleshooting Tips

Supported Profiles