The FHIR R4 Observation resource represents measurements, test results, assessments, and other discrete clinical findings. This includes vital signs, lab results, social history, and imaging interpretations. Observations are central to longitudinal patient records and are often imported from multiple external sources in Health Gorilla's network.

Use Cases

View a patient’s vitals, lab results, or imaging reports
Monitor trends in blood pressure, glucose, or cholesterol
Retrieve structured result values by LOINC code
Link observations to encounters or diagnostic reports

Base URLs

Production: https://api.healthgorilla.com/fhir/R4/Observation
Sandbox: https://sandbox.healthgorilla.com/fhir/R4/Observation

Authentication

All requests require OAuth 2.0 authentication using a Bearer Token. Unauthorized requests return 401 Unauthorized responses.

Required Scopes

observation.read for GET
observation.write for POST, PUT, DELETE

For more information, go to: OAuth 2.0 Authentication.

Supported Methods

Method	Operation	Description
`GET`	Read Observation	Retrieves a specific Observation record by its FHIR ID.
`GET`	Search Observation	Searches for Observation records for a specified patient.
`POST`	Create Observation	Submits a new Observation record to the Health Gorilla FHIR server.
`PUT`	Update Observation	Updates an existing Observation record by full resource replacement.
`DELETE`	Delete Observation	Removes an existing Observation record from the system by full deletion.

Frequently Used Search Parameters

Parameter	Description	FHIR Value Set / Example Values	FHIR Data Type	Required
`patient`	Filters by patient ID	`Patient/{id}`	`Reference`	Yes
`category`	Filters by category of observation	`ObservationCategory` (`vital-signs`, `laboratory`)	`token`	No
`code`	Filters by the type of observation	`LOINC` codes (`718-7`, `55284-4`, `39156-5`)	`token`	No
`status`	Filters by status of the observation	`ObservationStatus` (`final`, `amended`)	`token`	No
`date`	Filters by effective or issued date	`ge2023-01-01`, `le2023-12-31`	`date`	No
`encounter`	Filters by associated encounter	`Encounter/{id}`	`Reference`	No
`performer`	Filters by the individual or organization who reported	`Practitioner/{id}`, `Organization/{id}`	`Reference`	No
`identifier`	Filters by a unique observation identifier	`12345-abc`	`token`	No

Commonly Returned Resource Attributes

Attribute	Description	Example Values	FHIR Data Type	Required
`id`	Unique FHIR ID for the observation	`obs-456789`	`id`	Yes
`status`	Status of the observation	`final`	`code`	Yes
`category`	Broad category of observation	`vital-signs`	`CodeableConcept[]`	No
`code`	Specific observation code	`55284-4` — Blood pressure panel	`CodeableConcept`	Yes
`subject`	The patient associated with the observation	`Patient/{id}`	`Reference(Patient)`	Yes
`effectiveDateTime`	When the observation was made	`2024-03-01T08:00:00-07:00`	`dateTime`	Yes
`issued`	Time when the observation was released	`2024-03-01T08:30:00-07:00`	`instant`	No
`valueQuantity`	Measurement result (numerical)	`120 mmHg`	`Quantity`	No
`valueCodeableConcept`	Measurement result (coded text)	`Negative`, `Reactive`	`CodeableConcept`	No
`dataAbsentReason`	Why a value is missing	`not-performed`, `unknown`	`CodeableConcept`	No
`referenceRange`	Normal range associated with the result	`80–120 mmHg`	`Observation.ReferenceRange[]`	No
`interpretation`	Clinical interpretation of the result	`high`, `normal`, `low`	`CodeableConcept[]`	No
`performer`	Who performed or reported the observation	`Practitioner/{id}`, `Organization/{id}`	`Reference[]`	No
`note`	Comments or annotations	`"Patient was fasting"`	`Annotation[]`	No

Webhooks

Clients can subscribe to webhook notifications when new observations are added to a patient’s chart (e.g., lab results, vitals). Webhooks may also trigger on updates to existing records depending on client configuration.

For more information, go to: Webhooks & Polling.

Error Handling

All Observation operations follow standard Health Gorilla error handling, including use of FHIR OperationOutcome for structured responses.
For more information, go to: Error Handling.

Additional Resources

HL7 FHIR Observation