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	This concept aligns with the FHIR '''Specimen''' resource. Care implements an opinionated subset: the patient, encounter, and order links are set on creation as <code>subject_patient</code>, <code>subject_encounter</code>, and <code>request</code>, and the status set adds a Care-specific <code>draft</code> value not present in FHIR.		This concept aligns with the FHIR '''Specimen''' resource. Care implements an opinionated subset: the patient, encounter, and order links are set on creation as <code>subject_patient</code>, <code>subject_encounter</code>, and <code>request</code>, and the status set adds a Care-specific <code>draft</code> value not present in FHIR.

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{{Doc header
|type=concept
|domain=clinical
|title=Specimen
|order=9
|introduced=3.0
|fhir=Specimen
|concept=Concepts/Patient
|reference=References/Specimen
}}

A '''specimen''' is a physical sample — blood, tissue, a swab, urine — collected from a patient so a laboratory can analyse it. It is the bridge between a lab order and a result: the order asks for a test, the specimen is the material that gets tested, and the report carries back what the lab found.

== What it represents ==

In Care's FHIR-aligned model, a specimen maps to the '''Specimen''' resource. It captures:

* '''The material''' — what kind of sample was collected and its condition on arrival at the lab
* '''The collection''' — who took it, when, by what method, from which body site, and the patient's fasting status
* '''Its identity''' — an accession identifier (the lab barcode) used to find the sample fast
* '''Its links''' — the patient it came from, the encounter it was collected in, and the order it fulfils

The distinction worth holding onto: a specimen is neither the order nor the result. The order asks for work; the specimen is the tangible thing that work is performed on; the findings return separately through a diagnostic report. One order can yield several specimens, and a single specimen can pass through several processing steps before it is tested.

== Lifecycle ==

A specimen sits in exactly one status as it moves from collection to testing. The first two are working states; the last three are terminal.

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">draft → available → unavailable / unsatisfactory / entered_in_error</syntaxhighlight>
* '''draft''' — a Care-specific starting state for a record still being prepared
* '''available''' — present at the lab and suitable for testing
* '''unavailable''' — no longer available, having been consumed, lost, or discarded
* '''unsatisfactory''' — reached the lab but unfit to test (contaminated, too little), so a recollection is usually needed
* '''entered_in_error''' — created by mistake; kept for audit, treated as void

== How it connects ==

A specimen is the pivot of the lab workflow, and almost everything about it is borrowed from the records around it:

* It is always collected from a '''patient''', during an '''encounter''' that gives the sample its clinical context.
* It exists to fulfil a '''service request''' — the lab order. One order may produce several specimens, and that order is also what governs who may read or write the specimen.
* It can be shaped by a '''specimen definition''', an optional template describing the expected container and preparation.
* Once tested, its results surface through a '''diagnostic report''', closing the loop back to the clinician who placed the order.

== Permissions ==

Access to specimens is governed by two facility-scoped permissions.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Permission
! Description
! System Roles
|-
| <code>can_read_specimen</code>
| View a specimen record, including lookup by accession identifier
| Facility Admin, Administrator, Admin, Staff, Doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist
|-
| <code>can_write_specimen</code>
| Update a specimen — record collection, processing, and status changes
| Facility Admin, Admin, Doctor, Nurse
|}

Both permissions are checked against the specimen's linked service request rather than the specimen alone. Roles are granted through a user's facility, organization, or patient memberships, and permissions cascade down the organization tree — a role given high in the tree applies to the facilities beneath it.

== FHIR reference ==

This concept aligns with the FHIR '''Specimen''' resource. Care implements an opinionated subset: the patient, encounter, and order links are set on creation as <code>subject_patient</code>, <code>subject_encounter</code>, and <code>request</code>, and the status set adds a Care-specific <code>draft</code> value not present in FHIR.

{{Related}}

Concepts/Specimen - Revision history

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