Medication Prescription and Dispense (MPD)
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Medication Prescription and Dispense (MPD), published by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE). This guide is not an authorized publication; it is the continuous build for version 1.0.0-comment-2 built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) CI Build. This version is based on the current content of https://github.com/IHE/pharm-mpd/tree/jct-draft and changes regularly. See the Directory of published versions
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PHARM-7: Retrieve Medication Orders

This section corresponds to transaction [PHARM-7] of the IHE Technical Framework. Transaction [PHARM-7] is used by the Medication Order Consumer and the Medication Order Responder actors. The Retrieve Medication Orders [PHARM-7] transaction is used to obtain MedicationRequests for further handling - for example getting a prescription for dispense.

The response to this query is always a search Bundle. When prescriptions have been submitted as prescription Bundles (via PHARM-6), the response can include not only MedicationRequests but also the associated coordination Tasks, RequestOrchestration resources, and referenced supporting resources — providing the consumer with the full prescription context.

X:Y.Z.1 Scope

The Retrieve Medication Orders [PHARM-7] transaction allows the Medication Order Consumer to query the Medication Order Responder for medication orders.

X:Y.Z.2 Actors Roles

Table X:Y.Z.2-1: Actor Roles

Actor Role
Medication Order Consumer Queries existing medication orders from the Order Responder
Medication Order Responder Provides access to stored medication orders

X:Y.Z.3 Referenced Standards

FHIR-R5 HL7 FHIR Release 5.0

X:Y.Z.4 Messages

Retrieve Medication Order [PHARM-7]Retrieve Medication Order [PHARM-7][[actors-transactions.html#order-consumer Medication\nOrder\nConsumer]][[actors-transactions.html#order-responder Medication\nOrder\nResponder]][[actors-transactions.html#order-consumer Medication\nOrder\nConsumer]][[actors-transactions.html#order-responder Medication\nOrder\nResponder]]MedicationOrderConsumerMedicationOrderResponder[[actors-transactions.html#order-consumer Medication\nOrder\nConsumer]][[actors-transactions.html#order-responder Medication\nOrder\nResponder]]Query Medication OrdersMedication Order

Figure X:Y.Z.4-1: Retrieve Medication Orders Interactions

X:Y.Z.4.1 Retrieve Medication Orders Request Message

The Medication Order Consumer submits a query using the HTTP GET or POST method to the /MedicationRequest endpoint or to the /RequestGroup, with the search parameters indicated below. Alternatively, the Medication Order Consumer can submit a query using the HTTP GET or POST method to the / endpoint with the _type search parameter populated - either _type=MedicationRequest, _type=RequestGroup, or both - _type=MedicationRequest,RequestGroup.

X:Y.Z.4.1.1 Trigger Events

This method is invoked when needing to view or process prescriptions, for example when selecting a medication for dispense.

X:Y.Z.4.1.2 Message Semantics

Search parameters that SHALL be supported:

  • group-or-identifier Single search on both request.identifier or groupIdentifier - this is important to check for prescriptions where the prescription ID is known but it is not known if the prescription has one or multiple lines
  • activity-resource - Search on the resources that are linked to a RequestGroup - important to allow for example _revInclude
  • identifier — Search by the identifier of the MedicationRequest.
  • patient — Search by the patient subject of the MedicationRequest.
  • status — Filter MedicationRequests by their status (e.g., active, completed).
  • intent — Filter by the intent of the MedicationRequest (e.g., order, plan).

Include parameters that SHOULD be supported:

  • _include=MedicationRequest:medication — Include referenced Medication resources in the response.
  • _revInclude=Task:focus — Include Tasks that reference the returned MedicationRequests — this is essential for retrieving coordination Tasks that group multiple prescription lines.
  • _include=MedicationRequest:patient — Include the Patient resource.
  • _revInclude=RequestOrchestration:activity-resource — Include RequestOrchestration resources that reference the returned MedicationRequests.

This allows a consumer to retrieve, in a single query, the full prescription context — orders, coordination Tasks, grouping, and supporting resources — regardless of whether the prescription was originally submitted as a single MedicationRequest (PHARM-5) or as a prescription Bundle (PHARM-6).

X:Y.Z.4.1.2.1 Resource content

The Retrieve Medication Orders is a search query. The response is a search Bundle containing MedicationRequest resources conforming to the MedicationOrder profile, along with any included resources.

X:Y.Z.4.1.3 Expected Actions

Upon receiving the MedicationRequest, the Medication Order Responder is expected to respond with the orders if the conditions are met:

X:Y.Z.4.2 Retrieve Medication Orders Response

The Medication Order Responder SHALL respond with a Search Bundle, containing the resources that correspond to the search and can be accessed (e.g. are allowed by any access control mechanisms).

X:Y.Z.4.2.1 Trigger Events

The response is always expected.

X:Y.Z.4.2.2 Message Semantics

The Response SHALL be a search Bundle. The Bundle SHALL contain the matching MedicationRequests. When _include or _revInclude parameters are used, the Bundle SHALL also contain the included resources (Tasks, RequestOrchestration, Medication, Patient, etc.).

X:Y.Z.4.2.2.1 Resource content

The content of the MedicationRequests in the Bundle SHALL conform to the profiles defined in the MedicationOrder profile.

When coordination Tasks are included (via _revInclude=Task:focus), they provide the consumer with fulfillment constraints — for example, which prescription lines must be dispensed together. The consumer SHOULD process these Tasks to understand the coordination requirements before acting on the orders.

In case of error, the response SHALL contain an OperationOutcome.

X:Y.Z.4.2.3 Expected Actions

Upon receiving the response, the Medication Order Consumer can will store, process or initiate handling of the orders as part of the business process.