CodeSystem $import | Medplum

Large standard terminologies like SNOMED CT (350k+ codes) and LOINC (100k+ codes) are too large to manage within a single FHIR resource. The $import operation bulk-loads codes, display names, and metadata into a CodeSystem, enabling you to work with these essential terminologies efficiently.

Use Cases

Loading standard terminologies: Import SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm, or ICD code systems into your Medplum instance
Custom code system management: Create and populate organization-specific code systems for internal coding standards
Terminology updates: Incrementally add new codes or update metadata when new terminology versions are released
Migration and synchronization: Import codes from existing terminology servers or legacy systems

[baseUrl]/CodeSystem/$import

[baseUrl]/CodeSystem/[id]/$import

Privileged Operation

This operation is only available to Project Admins and Super Admins.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Required
`system`	`uri`	The canonical URL of the code system to import into	No*
`concept`	`Coding`	A code, along with optional display text to add to the code system	No
`property`	`Part[]` (see below)	Metadata about codes in the code system to be imported	No
`designation`	`Part[]` (see below)	Additional synonyms or translations of codes' display text	No

note

If system is not provided, the operation must be invoked on a specific CodeSystem instance by ID.

Each property parameter contains a part array with three nested parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Required
`code`	`code`	The code to which the property applies	Yes
`property`	`code`	The property name (from `CodeSystem.property.code`)	Yes
`value`	`string`	The value of the property	Yes

Any designation parameters have three nested part parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Required
`code`	`code`	The code to which the synonym or translation applies	Yes
`language`	`code`	The language code for translations	No
`value`	`string`	Display string	Yes

Batch size

Each invocation of the $import operation can send a maximum of 1,000 of each parameter at a time, e.g. importing 1,000 concepts with one property and one designation each per request.

Output

The operation returns the CodeSystem resource representing the code system into which the given concepts and properties were imported.

Examples

Request:

const result = await medplum.post(medplum.fhirUrl('CodeSystem', '$import').toString(), {
  resourceType: 'Parameters',
  parameter: [
    { name: 'system', valueUri: 'http://example.com/local-codes' },
    { name: 'concept', valueCoding: { code: 'VS', display: 'Vital signs' } },
    { name: 'concept', valueCoding: { code: 'HR', display: 'Heart rate' } },
    {
      name: 'property',
      part: [
        { name: 'code', valueCode: 'VS' },
        { name: 'property', valueCode: 'child' },
        { name: 'value', valueString: 'HR' },
      ],
    },
    {
      name: 'property',
      part: [
        { name: 'code', valueCode: 'HR' },
        { name: 'property', valueCode: 'units' },
        { name: 'value', valueString: 'bpm' },
      ],
    },
  ],
});