Metadata Tags

You can use meta.tag to classify, route, and secure FHIR resources in Health Gorilla APIs. Tags support custom workflows, data provenance, record visibility, and regulatory compliance. Proper tagging ensures that data is handled appropriately across clinical, administrative, and patient-facing systems.

Tagging Use Cases

Data routing: Assign a routing tag to direct data to a specific system, inbox, or downstream service.
Access control: Limit visibility to specific roles or users based on applied tags.
Source attribution: Identify which system submitted the resource to support traceability.
Security classification: Mark records as sensitive, restricted, or internal-only as required.
Workflow status: Track review, signature, or transmission status in document flows.
De-identification: Flag resources that have been de-identified for secondary use or research.

Format and Structure

Tags are applied in the meta.tag array as objects with the following fields:

system is a URI that defines the namespace (for example, http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-ActReason or a Health Gorilla custom URI).
code identifies the meaning or function of the tag
display is a human-readable label (optional)

Example

"meta": {
  "tag": [
    {
      "system": "https://healthgorilla.com/tags/routing",
      "code": "p360",
      "display": "Patient360 Aggregated Record"
    },
    {
      "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-ActReason",
      "code": "HTEST",
      "display": "health test data"
    }
  ]
}

Guidance and Best Practices

Persistence: Tags travel with the resource across all updates and versions unless explicitly removed, as defined by HL7 FHIR R4.
Multiple Tags: A resource can have multiple tags from different systems to support cross-organization workflows and regulatory tracking.
Access Rules: Combine tags with Health Gorilla’s access policies to enforce privacy rules such as 42 CFR Part 2 or state-specific consent laws.
Consistency: Use well-defined system URIs for internal tags (for example, https://healthgorilla.com/tags/*) to ensure interoperability and avoid collisions.