A record of a healthcare consumer’s policy choices, which permits or denies identified recipient(s) or recipient role(s) to perform one or more actions within a given policy context, for specific purposes and periods of time.

Broadly, there are 3 key areas of consent for patients: Consent around sharing information (aka Privacy Consent Directive - Authorization to Collect, Use, or Disclose information), consent for specific treatment, or kinds of treatment, and general advance care directives.

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.

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content may not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content.

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.

This element is labelled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation.

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).

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource, and may 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). This may be necessary for data from legacy systems where information is captured as a "text blob" or where text is additionally entered raw or narrated and encoded in formation is added later.

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.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

Unique identifier for this copy of the Consent Statement.

This identifier is identifies this copy of the consent. Where this identifier is also used elsewhere as the identifier for a consent record (e.g. a CDA consent document) then the consent details are expected to be the same.

Indicates the current state of this consent.

The Consent Directive that is pointed to might be in various lifecycle states, e.g., a revoked Consent Directive.

This element is labeled as a modifier because the status contains the codes rejected and entered-in-error that mark the Consent as not currently valid.

Type of consent. E.g. "Send address information to SSL provider". The Category can implicitly specify both action and data. In this example data is address information for the related Patient and the action is sending the address to an SSL provider.

The infrastructure will enforce consent rules based on the category.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

Allows for translations and alternate encodings within a code system. Also supports communication of the same instance to systems requiring different encodings.

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

The patient/healthcare consumer to whom this consent applies.

Commonly, the patient the consent pertains to is the author, but for young and old people, it may be some other person.

Relevant time or time-period when this Consent is applicable.

This can be a subset of the period of the original statement.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

The start of the period. The boundary is inclusive.

If the low element is missing, the meaning is that the low boundary is not known.

The end of the period. If the end of the period is missing, it means that the period is ongoing. The start may be in the past, and the end date in the future, which means that period is expected/planned to end at that time.

The high value includes any matching date/time. i.e. 2012-02-03T10:00:00 is in a period that has a end value of 2012-02-03.

When this Consent was issued / created / indexed.

This is not the time of the original consent, but the time that this statement was made or derived.

Patient or related person (e.g. guardian) consenting on behalf of the patient. Receiving organisation of the consent.

Commonly, the patient the consent pertains to is the consentor, but particularly for young and old people, it may be some other person - e.g. a legal guardian.

Patient or related person (eg guardian) consenting on behalf of the patient. Receiving organisation of the consent.

Who or what is controlled by this consent. Use group to identify a set of actors by some property they share (e.g. 'admitting officers').

Careteam/organisation that is authorized to forward information by this consent.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

How the individual is involved in the resources content that is described in the consent.

The resource that identifies the actor. To identify a actors by type, use group to identify a set of actors by some property they share (e.g. 'admitting officers').

Actions controlled by this consent.

Note that this is the direct action (not the grounds for the action covered in the purpose element). At present, the only action in the understood and tested scope of this resource is 'read'.

The organization that manages the consent, and the framework within which it is executed.

The source on which this consent statement is based. The source might be a scanned original paper form, or a reference to a consent that links back to such a source, a reference to a document repository (e.g. XDS) that stores the original consent document.

The source can be contained inline (Attachment), referenced directly (Consent), referenced in a consent repository (DocumentReference), or simply by an identifier (Identifier), e.g. a CDA document id.

The references to the policies that are included in this consent scope. Policies may be organizational, but are often defined jurisdictionally, or in law.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

Entity or Organization having regulatory jurisdiction or accountability for  enforcing policies pertaining to Consent Directives.

The references to the policies that are included in this consent scope. Policies may be organizational, but are often defined jurisdictionally, or in law.

This element is for discoverability / documentation, and does not modify or qualify the policy rules.

A referece to the specific computable policy.

Might be a unique identifier of a policy set in XACML, or other rules engine.

If the policy reference is not known, the resource cannot be processed. Where the reference is absent, there is no particular policy other than what is expressed directly in the consent resource.

A set of security labels that define which resources are controlled by this consent. If more than one label is specified, all resources must have all the specified labels.

If the consent specifies a security label of "R" then it applies to all resources that are labeled "R" or lower. E.g. for Confidentiality, it's a high water mark. For other kinds of security labels, subsumption logic applies. Not all of the security labels make sense for use in this element (may define a narrower value set?).

The context of the activities a user is taking - why the user is accessing the data - that are controlled by this consent.

This element is for discoverability / documentation, and does not modify or qualify the policy (e.g. the policy itself describes the purposes for which it applies).

Clinical or Operational Relevant period of time that bounds the data controlled by this consent.

This has a different sense to the Consent.period - that is when the consent agreement holds. This is the time period of the data that is controlled by the agreement.

The resources controlled by this consent, if specific resources are referenced.

The infrastructure will enforce consent rules based on the EpisodeOfCare.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

How the resource reference is interpreted when testing consent restrictions.

A reference to a specific resource that defines which resources are covered by this consent.

An exception to the base policy of this consent. An exception can be an addition or removal of access permissions.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

Action to take - permit or deny - when the exception conditions are met.

The timeframe in this exception is valid.

Who or what is controlled by this Exception. Use group to identify a set of actors by some property they share (e.g. 'admitting officers').

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

How the individual is involved in the resources content that is described in the exception.

The resource that identifies the actor. To identify a actors by type, use group to identify a set of actors by some property they share (e.g. 'admitting officers').

Actions controlled by this Exception.

Note that this is the direct action (not the grounds for the action covered in the purpose element). At present, the only action in the understood and tested scope of this resource is 'read'.

A set of security labels that define which resources are controlled by this exception. If more than one label is specified, all resources must have all the specified labels.

If the consent specifies a security label of "R" then it applies to all resources that are labeled "R" or lower. E.g. for Confidentiality, it's a high water mark. For other kinds of security labels, subsumption logic applies. Not all of the security labels make sense for use in this element (may define a narrower value set?).

The context of the activities a user is taking - why the user is accessing the data - that are controlled by this exception.

E.g. if the purpose is 'research', then the operational context must be research, in order for the consent to apply. Not all of the security labels make sense for use in this element (may define a narrower value set?).

The class of information covered by this exception. The type can be a FHIR resource type, a profile on a type, or a CDA document, or some other type that indicates what sort of information the consent relates to.

Multiple types are or'ed together. The intention of the contentType element is that the codes refer to profiles or document types defined in a standard or an implementation guide somewhere.

If this code is found in an instance, then the exception applies.

Typical use of this is a Document code with class = CDA.

Clinical or Operational Relevant period of time that bounds the data controlled by this exception.

This has a different sense to the Consent.period - that is when the consent agreement holds. This is the time period of the data that is controlled by the agreement.

The resources controlled by this exception, if specific resources are referenced.

unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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 that contains it. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. In order 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 is allowed to 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.

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.

How the resource reference is interpreted when testing consent restrictions.

A reference to a specific resource that defines which resources are covered by this consent.