References/Encounter

referenceclinicalFHIR: EncounterCARE 3.0+

An Encounter records a single interaction between a patient and a facility — a visit, admission, or consultation — and maps to the FHIR Encounter resource. You create one when a patient presents, drive it through its status lifecycle, and read it back to render the clinical timeline.

The Django model is only the storage layer: several fields are opaque JSONFields whose real shape lives in the Pydantic resource specs, so the model alone won't tell you what a write must look like. The spec tables below carry that detail.

Source:

Model: [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/models/encounter.py care/emr/models/encounter.py]
Specs: [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/resources/encounter/spec.py care/emr/resources/encounter/spec.py] · [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/resources/encounter/constants.py constants.py] · [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/resources/encounter/valueset.py valueset.py] · [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/resources/encounter/enum_display_names.py enum_display_names.py]

Models

Model	Purpose
`Encounter`	A single interaction between a patient and a facility (visit, admission, consultation)
`EncounterOrganization`	Links an `Encounter` to a `FacilityOrganization` for access control

Both extend EMRBaseModel, the shared Care EMR base that provides external_id, audit fields, and soft-delete semantics.

`Encounter` fields

Classification & status

Field	Type	Notes
`status`	`CharField(100)`	Nullable in DB; required in API. One of `StatusChoices` (see below)
`status_history`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. Server-maintained. Shape: `{ "history": [{ "status": str, "moved_at": str (ISO datetime) }] }`
`encounter_class`	`CharField(100)`	Nullable in DB; required in API. One of `ClassChoices` (see below)
`encounter_class_history`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. Server-maintained. Shape: `{ "history": [{ "status": str, "moved_at": str (ISO datetime) }] }`
`priority`	`CharField(100)`	Nullable in DB; required in API. One of `EncounterPriorityChoices` (see below)
`external_identifier`	`CharField(100)`	Nullable. Identifier from an external/source system

Subject & facility

Field	Type	Notes
`patient`	`FK → Patient`	`CASCADE`. The patient this encounter is for. Set on create only
`facility`	`FK → Facility`	`PROTECT`. The facility where the encounter takes place. Set on create only {{Field\|model=Encounter\|section=Subject & facility\|name=appointment\|type=FK → TokenBooking\|notes=`SET_NULL`, nullable. Originating [[References/Booking}} {{Field\|model=Encounter\|section=Subject & facility\|name=current_location\|type=FK → FacilityLocation\|notes=`SET_NULL`, nullable. Cached current [[References/Location}}

Timing & disposition

Field	Type	Notes
`period`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. `PeriodSpec { start: datetime (tz-aware, optional), end: datetime (tz-aware, optional) }`. If both set, `start ≤ end`
`hospitalization`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. `HospitalizationSpec` (see shape below). Nullable
`discharge_summary_advice`	`TextField`	Nullable. Free-text discharge advice. Explicitly cleared to `None` on update when omitted

Care team

Field	Type	Notes
`care_team`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. Stored as a list of `{ "user_id": int, "role": Coding }` entries. Not writable on create/update (excluded); managed via the dedicated care-team write spec
`care_team_users`	`ArrayField[int]`	Platform-maintained denormalized cache of user IDs derived from `care_team` via `sync_care_team_users_cache()` on every save

Organization cache, tags & extensions

Field	Type	Notes {{Field\|model=Encounter\|section=Organization cache, tags & extensions\|name=facility_organization_cache\|type=ArrayField[int]\|notes=Platform-maintained cache of facility-[[References/Organization}}
`tags`	`ArrayField[int]`	Tag IDs applied to the encounter. Serialized via `SingleFacilityTagManager().render_tags()`
`extensions`	`JSONField`	Default `{}`. Open extension bag for deployment-specific metadata. Validated by `ExtensionValidator` against `ExtensionResource.encounter`

Nested JSON shapes

`PeriodSpec` (`period`)

Defined in [https://github.com/ohcnetwork/care/blob/develop/care/emr/resources/base.py resources/base.py].

Field	Type	Notes
`start`	`datetime`	Must be timezone-aware if provided
`end`	`datetime`	Must be timezone-aware if provided

validate_period rejects naive datetimes, and when both start and end are set it requires start not to exceed end.

`HospitalizationSpec` (`hospitalization`)

Defined in spec.py. All fields optional/nullable.

Field	Type	Values
`re_admission`	None	—
`admit_source`	None	see [[#admit-source-values-admitsourceschoices
`discharge_disposition`	None	see [[#discharge-disposition-values-dischargedispositionchoices
`diet_preference`	None	see [[#diet-preference-values-dietpreferencechoices

Enum values

Status values (`StatusChoices`)

Value
`planned`
`in_progress`
`on_hold`
`discharged`
`completed`	terminal (in `COMPLETED_CHOICES`)
`cancelled`	terminal (in `COMPLETED_CHOICES`)
`discontinued`	terminal (in `COMPLETED_CHOICES`)
`entered_in_error`	terminal (in `COMPLETED_CHOICES` and `ERROR_CHOICES`)
`unknown`

COMPLETED_CHOICES = [completed, cancelled, entered_in_error, discontinued]; ERROR_CHOICES = [entered_in_error].

Class values (`ClassChoices`)

Value	Meaning
`imp`	inpatient
`amb`	ambulatory
`obsenc`	observation
`emer`	emergency
`vr`	virtual
`hh`	home health

Priority values (`EncounterPriorityChoices`)

Value
`ASAP`
`callback_results`
`callback_for_scheduling`
`elective`
`emergency`
`preop`
`as_needed`
`routine`
`rush_reporting`
`stat`
`timing_critical`
`use_as_directed`
`urgent`

Admit source values (`AdmitSourcesChoices`)

Value	Display (`get_admit_source_display`)
`hosp_trans`	Transferred from other hospital
`emd`	From accident/emergency department
`outp`	From outpatient department
`born`	Born in hospital
`gp`	General Practitioner referral
`mp`	Medical Practitioner/physician referral
`nursing`	From nursing home
`psych`	From psychiatric hospital
`rehab`	From rehabilitation facility
`other`	Other

Discharge disposition values (`DischargeDispositionChoices`)

Value	Display (`get_discharge_disposition_display`)
`home`	Home
`alt_home`	Alternate Home
`other_hcf`	Other Health Care Facility
`hosp`	Hospital
`long`	Long-term Care Facility
`aadvice`	Against Medical Advice
`exp`	Expired
`psy`	Psychiatric Hospital
`rehab`	Rehabilitation Facility
`snf`	Skilled Nursing Facility
`oth`	Other

Diet preference values (`DietPreferenceChoices`)

Value
`vegetarian`
`dairy_free`
`nut_free`
`gluten_free`
`vegan`
`halal`
`kosher`
`none`

Resource specs (API schema)

All specs build on EMRResource, which provides serialize / de_serialize plus the perform_extra_serialization / perform_extra_deserialization hooks. EncounterSpecBase sets __exclude__ = [patient, organizations, facility, appointment, current_location, care_team]; those fields move through hooks or dedicated endpoints rather than direct assignment, which is why the create and read schemas diverge from the raw model.

Spec	Role	Notes
`EncounterSpecBase`	shared	None, default `{}`), `priority`, `external_identifier`, `discharge_summary_advice`. `__model__ = Encounter`
`EncounterCreateSpec`	write · create	None. Resolves FKs by `external_id`; validates appointment belongs to the patient and facility
`EncounterUpdateSpec`	write · update	Extends base + `ExtensionValidator`. Does not accept `patient`/`facility`/`organizations`/`appointment` — only mutable fields. Appends to status/class history on change
`EncounterListSpec`	read · list	Adds serialized `patient` ([[References/Patient
`EncounterRetrieveSpec`	read · detail	Extends list + `EncounterPermissionsMixin`. Adds `appointment` (`TokenBookingReadSpec`), `created_by`/`updated_by` ([[References/User & Skills
`HospitalizationSpec`	nested	Plain `BaseModel`; see shape above
`EncounterCareTeamMemberSpec`	nested (write)	`{ user_id: UUID4, role: Coding }`, `role` bound to the `system-practitioner-role-code` value set
`EncounterCareTeamMemberWriteSpec`	write · care team	`{ members: list[EncounterCareTeamMemberSpec] }`. Dedicated payload for replacing the care team

Server-maintained behaviour

Status history: on create, status_history starts as { "history": [{ status, moved_at }] } carrying the initial status; on update, a new entry is appended only when status changes. encounter_class_history / encounter_class follow the same rule.
FK resolution (create): patient, facility, and appointment resolve from external_id (404 if not found). The appointment must belong to the same patient and to a slot whose resource sits in the same facility.
Organizations (create): organizations, deduplicated to a list of UUIDs, is stashed on obj._organizations, and the resulting EncounterOrganization rows drive facility_organization_cache.
Discharge advice (update): omitting discharge_summary_advice on update clears it to None rather than leaving the prior value.
Care team: role binds to the PRACTITIONER_ROLE_VALUESET (slug system-practitioner-role-code), a SNOMED CT value set of descendants of 223366009 (healthcare professional) and 224930009 (healthcare-related occupation).

Related models

`EncounterOrganization`

Associates an encounter with a facility-scoped organization to drive organization-based access control on encounters.

encounter    → FK Encounter (CASCADE)
organization → FK FacilityOrganization (CASCADE)

Saving an EncounterOrganization calls encounter.sync_organization_cache(), which rebuilds the encounter's facility_organization_cache.

Methods & save behaviour

`sync_care_team_users_cache()`

When care_team is a list, fills care_team_users with int(entry["user_id"]) for each entry, falling back to -1 when a user_id is missing. The flat integer array lets queries skip JSON traversal.

`sync_organization_cache()`

Recomputes facility_organization_cache as the union of:

every linked EncounterOrganization organization plus its parent_cache chain, and
the facility's default_internal_organization_id.

Persists the result with super().save(update_fields=["facility_organization_cache"]).

`save()` side effects

On every save:

sync_care_team_users_cache() runs, refreshing care_team_users.
A record with no pk is flagged as newly created.
Inside a single transaction.atomic() block, the base save() runs. For newly created encounters, evaluate_patient_facility_default_values(patient, facility) then generates facility-scoped patient identifier defaults.
After the transaction, sync_organization_cache() runs, performing a second write (update_fields=["facility_organization_cache"]).

Expect two write passes per create or update through the ORM, plus identifier-default generation on creation.

API integration notes

Reads use EncounterListSpec / EncounterRetrieveSpec; writes use EncounterCreateSpec / EncounterUpdateSpec.
status, encounter_class, and priority are required on write and validated against their enums, even though the DB columns are nullable.
Never set status_history, encounter_class_history, care_team_users, or facility_organization_cache from a client; the server appends history on create and update and derives the caches from care_team and EncounterOrganization.
Create and update don't touch the care team. Replace it through the dedicated care-team endpoint with EncounterCareTeamMemberWriteSpec, where each member's role must resolve within the system-practitioner-role-code value set.
period and hospitalization carry structured JSON matching the nested-spec shapes above; period.start and period.end must be timezone-aware.
current_location is a cached convenience field. The authoritative record is location_history, from FacilityLocationEncounter.
extensions holds custom key-value data without a schema migration, validated by ExtensionValidator.

Pages that link here:

Concept: Concepts/Patient
Reference: References/User & Skills

Models

Encounter fields

Classification & status

Subject & facility

Timing & disposition

Care team

Organization cache, tags & extensions

Nested JSON shapes

PeriodSpec (period)

HospitalizationSpec (hospitalization)

Enum values

Status values (StatusChoices)

Class values (ClassChoices)

Priority values (EncounterPriorityChoices)

Admit source values (AdmitSourcesChoices)

Discharge disposition values (DischargeDispositionChoices)

Diet preference values (DietPreferenceChoices)