MedicationRequest | Medplum

An order or request for both supply of the medication and the instructions for administration of the medication to a patient. The resource is called "MedicationRequest" rather than "MedicationPrescription" or "MedicationOrder" to generalize the use across inpatient and outpatient settings, including care plans, etc., and to harmonize with workflow patterns. Refer to the US Core Medication Request profile.

For Medplum best practices on using the MedicationRequest resource, please refer to Representing Prescriptions and Medication Orders.

Elements

Name	Required	Type	Description
identifier		Identifier[]	External ids for this request Details Identifiers associated with this medication request that are defined by business processes and/or used to refer to it when a direct URL reference to the resource itself is not appropriate. They are business identifiers assigned to this resource by the performer or other systems and remain constant as the resource is updated and propagates from server to server. This is a business identifier, not a resource identifier.
status	✓	code	active \| on-hold \| cancelled \| completed \| entered-in-error \| stopped \| draft \| unknown Details A code specifying the current state of the order. Generally, this will be active or completed state. This element is labeled as a modifier because the status contains codes that mark the resource as not currently valid.
statusReason		CodeableConcept	Reason for current status Details Captures the reason for the current state of the MedicationRequest. This is generally only used for "exception" statuses such as "suspended" or "cancelled". The reason why the MedicationRequest was created at all is captured in reasonCode, not here.
intent	✓	code	proposal \| plan \| order \| original-order \| reflex-order \| filler-order \| instance-order \| option Details Whether the request is a proposal, plan, or an original order. It is expected that the type of requester will be restricted for different stages of a MedicationRequest. For example, Proposals can be created by a patient, relatedPerson, Practitioner or Device. Plans can be created by Practitioners, Patients, RelatedPersons and Devices. Original orders can be created by a Practitioner only. An instance-order is an instantiation of a request or order and may be used to populate Medication Administration Record. This element is labeled as a modifier because the intent alters when and how the resource is actually applicable.
category		CodeableConcept[]	Type of medication usage Details Indicates the type of medication request (for example, where the medication is expected to be consumed or administered (i.e. inpatient or outpatient)). The category can be used to include where the medication is expected to be consumed or other types of requests.
priority		code	routine \| urgent \| asap \| stat Details Indicates how quickly the Medication Request should be addressed with respect to other requests.
doNotPerform		boolean	True if request is prohibiting action Details If true indicates that the provider is asking for the medication request not to occur. If do not perform is not specified, the request is a positive request e.g. "do perform".
reported[x]		boolean, Reference< Patient \| Practitioner \| PractitionerRole \| RelatedPerson \| Organization >	Reported rather than primary record Details Indicates if this record was captured as a secondary 'reported' record rather than as an original primary source-of-truth record. It may also indicate the source of the report.
medication[x]	✓	CodeableConcept, Reference< Medication >	Medication to be taken Details Identifies the medication being requested. This is a link to a resource that represents the medication which may be the details of the medication or simply an attribute carrying a code that identifies the medication from a known list of medications. If only a code is specified, then it needs to be a code for a specific product. If more information is required, then the use of the Medication resource is recommended. For example, if you require form or lot number or if the medication is compounded or extemporaneously prepared, then you must reference the Medication resource.
subject	✓	Reference< Patient \| Group >	Who or group medication request is for Details A link to a resource representing the person or set of individuals to whom the medication will be given. The subject on a medication request is mandatory. For the secondary use case where the actual subject is not provided, there still must be an anonymized subject specified.
encounter		Reference< Encounter >	Encounter created as part of encounter/admission/stay Details The Encounter during which this [x] was created or to which the creation of this record is tightly associated. This will typically be the encounter the event occurred within, but some activities may be initiated prior to or after the official completion of an encounter but still be tied to the context of the encounter." If there is a need to link to episodes of care they will be handled with an extension.
supportingInformation		Reference[]	Information to support ordering of the medication Details Includes additional information (for example, patient height and weight) that supports the ordering of the medication.
authoredOn		dateTime	When request was initially authored Details The date (and perhaps time) when the prescription was initially written or authored on.
requester		Reference< Practitioner \| PractitionerRole \| Organization \| Patient \| RelatedPerson \| Device >	Who/What requested the Request Details The individual, organization, or device that initiated the request and has responsibility for its activation.
performer		Reference< Practitioner \| PractitionerRole \| Organization \| Patient \| Device \| RelatedPerson \| CareTeam >	Intended performer of administration Details The specified desired performer of the medication treatment (e.g. the performer of the medication administration).
performerType		CodeableConcept	Desired kind of performer of the medication administration Details Indicates the type of performer of the administration of the medication. If specified without indicating a performer, this indicates that the performer must be of the specified type. If specified with a performer then it indicates the requirements of the performer if the designated performer is not available.
recorder		Reference< Practitioner \| PractitionerRole >	Person who entered the request Details The person who entered the order on behalf of another individual for example in the case of a verbal or a telephone order.
reasonCode		CodeableConcept[]	Reason or indication for ordering or not ordering the medication Details The reason or the indication for ordering or not ordering the medication. This could be a diagnosis code. If a full condition record exists or additional detail is needed, use reasonReference.
reasonReference		Reference< Condition \| Observation >[]	Condition or observation that supports why the prescription is being written Details Condition or observation that supports why the medication was ordered. If only a code exists, use reasonCode.
instantiatesCanonical		canonical[]	Instantiates FHIR protocol or definition Details The URL pointing to a protocol, guideline, orderset, or other definition that is adhered to in whole or in part by this MedicationRequest.
instantiatesUri		uri[]	Instantiates external protocol or definition Details The URL pointing to an externally maintained protocol, guideline, orderset or other definition that is adhered to in whole or in part by this MedicationRequest.
basedOn		Reference< CarePlan \| MedicationRequest \| ServiceRequest \| ImmunizationRecommendation >[]	What request fulfills Details A plan or request that is fulfilled in whole or in part by this medication request.
groupIdentifier		Identifier	Composite request this is part of Details A shared identifier common to all requests that were authorized more or less simultaneously by a single author, representing the identifier of the requisition or prescription.
courseOfTherapyType		CodeableConcept	Overall pattern of medication administration Details The description of the overall pattern of the administration of the medication to the patient. This attribute should not be confused with the protocol of the medication.
insurance		Reference< Coverage \| ClaimResponse >[]	Associated insurance coverage Details Insurance plans, coverage extensions, pre-authorizations and/or pre-determinations that may be required for delivering the requested service.
note		Annotation[]	Information about the prescription Details Extra information about the prescription that could not be conveyed by the other attributes.
dosageInstruction		Dosage[]	How the medication should be taken Details Indicates how the medication is to be used by the patient. There are examples where a medication request may include the option of an oral dose or an Intravenous or Intramuscular dose. For example, "Ondansetron 8mg orally or IV twice a day as needed for nausea" or "Compazine® (prochlorperazine) 5-10mg PO or 25mg PR bid prn nausea or vomiting". In these cases, two medication requests would be created that could be grouped together. The decision on which dose and route of administration to use is based on the patient's condition at the time the dose is needed.
dispenseRequest		MedicationRequestDispenseRequest	Medication supply authorization Details Indicates the specific details for the dispense or medication supply part of a medication request (also known as a Medication Prescription or Medication Order). Note that this information is not always sent with the order. There may be in some settings (e.g. hospitals) institutional or system support for completing the dispense details in the pharmacy department.
id		string	Unique id for inter-element referencing Details Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
extension		Extension[]	Additional content defined by implementations Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
modifierExtension		Extension[]	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions. Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself). There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
initialFill		MedicationRequestDispenseRequestInitialFill	First fill details Details Indicates the quantity or duration for the first dispense of the medication. If populating this element, either the quantity or the duration must be included.
id		string	Unique id for inter-element referencing Details Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
extension		Extension[]	Additional content defined by implementations Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
modifierExtension		Extension[]	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions. Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself). There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
quantity		Quantity	First fill quantity Details The amount or quantity to provide as part of the first dispense.
duration		Duration	First fill duration Details The length of time that the first dispense is expected to last.
dispenseInterval		Duration	Minimum period of time between dispenses Details The minimum period of time that must occur between dispenses of the medication.
validityPeriod		Period	Time period supply is authorized for Details This indicates the validity period of a prescription (stale dating the Prescription). It reflects the prescribers' perspective for the validity of the prescription. Dispenses must not be made against the prescription outside of this period. The lower-bound of the Dispensing Window signifies the earliest date that the prescription can be filled for the first time. If an upper-bound is not specified then the Prescription is open-ended or will default to a stale-date based on regulations.
numberOfRepeatsAllowed		unsignedInt	Number of refills authorized Details An integer indicating the number of times, in addition to the original dispense, (aka refills or repeats) that the patient can receive the prescribed medication. Usage Notes: This integer does not include the original order dispense. This means that if an order indicates dispense 30 tablets plus "3 repeats", then the order can be dispensed a total of 4 times and the patient can receive a total of 120 tablets. A prescriber may explicitly say that zero refills are permitted after the initial dispense. If displaying "number of authorized fills", add 1 to this number.
quantity		Quantity	Amount of medication to supply per dispense Details The amount that is to be dispensed for one fill.
expectedSupplyDuration		Duration	Number of days supply per dispense Details Identifies the period time over which the supplied product is expected to be used, or the length of time the dispense is expected to last. In some situations, this attribute may be used instead of quantity to identify the amount supplied by how long it is expected to last, rather than the physical quantity issued, e.g. 90 days supply of medication (based on an ordered dosage). When possible, it is always better to specify quantity, as this tends to be more precise. expectedSupplyDuration will always be an estimate that can be influenced by external factors.
performer		Reference< Organization >	Intended dispenser Details Indicates the intended dispensing Organization specified by the prescriber.
substitution		MedicationRequestSubstitution	Any restrictions on medication substitution Details Indicates whether or not substitution can or should be part of the dispense. In some cases, substitution must happen, in other cases substitution must not happen. This block explains the prescriber's intent. If nothing is specified substitution may be done.
id		string	Unique id for inter-element referencing Details Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.
extension		Extension[]	Additional content defined by implementations Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
modifierExtension		Extension[]	Extensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions. Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself). There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
allowed[x]	✓	boolean, CodeableConcept	Whether substitution is allowed or not Details True if the prescriber allows a different drug to be dispensed from what was prescribed. This element is labeled as a modifier because whether substitution is allow or not, it cannot be ignored.
reason		CodeableConcept	Why should (not) substitution be made Details Indicates the reason for the substitution, or why substitution must or must not be performed.
priorPrescription		Reference< MedicationRequest >	An order/prescription that is being replaced Details A link to a resource representing an earlier order related order or prescription.
detectedIssue		Reference< DetectedIssue >[]	Clinical Issue with action Details Indicates an actual or potential clinical issue with or between one or more active or proposed clinical actions for a patient; e.g. Drug-drug interaction, duplicate therapy, dosage alert etc. This element can include a detected issue that has been identified either by a decision support system or by a clinician and may include information on the steps that were taken to address the issue.
eventHistory		Reference< Provenance >[]	A list of events of interest in the lifecycle Details Links to Provenance records for past versions of this resource or fulfilling request or event resources that identify key state transitions or updates that are likely to be relevant to a user looking at the current version of the resource. This might not include provenances for all versions of the request – only those deemed “relevant” or important. This SHALL NOT include the provenance associated with this current version of the resource. (If that provenance is deemed to be a “relevant” change, it will need to be added as part of a later update. Until then, it can be queried directly as the provenance that points to this version using _revinclude All Provenances should have some historical version of this Request as their subject.).

Search Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Expression
code	token	Return prescriptions of this medication code	MedicationRequest.medication.ofType(CodeableConcept)
identifier	token	Return prescriptions with this external identifier	MedicationRequest.identifier
patient	reference	Returns prescriptions for a specific patient	MedicationRequest.subject.where((resolve() is Patient))
medication	reference	Return prescriptions for this medication reference	MedicationRequest.medication.ofType(Reference)
status	token	Status of the prescription	MedicationRequest.status
authoredon	date	Return prescriptions written on this date	MedicationRequest.authoredOn
category	token	Returns prescriptions with different categories	MedicationRequest.category
date	date	Returns medication request to be administered on a specific date	MedicationRequest.dosageInstruction.timing.event
encounter	reference	Return prescriptions with this encounter identifier	MedicationRequest.encounter
intended-dispenser	reference	Returns prescriptions intended to be dispensed by this Organization	MedicationRequest.dispenseRequest.performer
intended-performer	reference	Returns the intended performer of the administration of the medication request	MedicationRequest.performer
intended-performertype	token	Returns requests for a specific type of performer	MedicationRequest.performerType
intent	token	Returns prescriptions with different intents	MedicationRequest.intent
priority	token	Returns prescriptions with different priorities	MedicationRequest.priority
requester	reference	Returns prescriptions prescribed by this prescriber	MedicationRequest.requester
subject	reference	The identity of a patient to list orders for	MedicationRequest.subject
priority-order	number	Numeric priority order for resource types using http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/request-priority	iif(priority = 'stat', 50, iif(priority = 'asap', 40, iif(priority = 'urgent', 30, iif(priority = 'routine', 20, 10))))

Inherited Elements

Name	Type	Description
id	string	Logical id of this artifact Details The logical id of the resource, as used in the URL for the resource. Once assigned, this value never changes. The only time that a resource does not have an id is when it is being submitted to the server using a create operation.
meta	Meta	Metadata about the resource Details The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content might not always be associated with version changes to the resource.
implicitRules	uri	A set of rules under which this content was created Details A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc. Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of it's narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.
language	code	Language of the resource content Details The base language in which the resource is written. Language is provided to support indexing and accessibility (typically, services such as text to speech use the language tag). The html language tag in the narrative applies to the narrative. The language tag on the resource may be used to specify the language of other presentations generated from the data in the resource. Not all the content has to be in the base language. The Resource.language should not be assumed to apply to the narrative automatically. If a language is specified, it should it also be specified on the div element in the html (see rules in HTML5 for information about the relationship between xml:lang and the html lang attribute).
text	Narrative	Text summary of the resource, for human interpretation Details A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource and can be used to represent the content of the resource to a human. The narrative need not encode all the structured data, but is required to contain sufficient detail to make it "clinically safe" for a human to just read the narrative. Resource definitions may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety. Contained resources do not have narrative. Resources that are not contained SHOULD have a narrative. In some cases, a resource may only have text with little or no additional discrete data (as long as all minOccurs=1 elements are satisfied).
contained	Resource[]	Contained, inline Resources Details These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, and nor can they have their own independent transaction scope. This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again. Contained resources may have profiles and tags In their meta elements, but SHALL NOT have security labels.
extension	Extension[]	Additional content defined by implementations Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.
modifierExtension	Extension[]	Extensions that cannot be ignored Details May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource and that modifies the understanding of the element.