---
title: "Creating Observations"
canonical: "https://wiki.patientsknowbest.com/space/api/5345935383/Creating%20Observations"
format: markdown
---
# **Why this is split by Observation type**

The FHIR `Observation` resource is deliberately generic — it's the same resource whether you're sending a blood pressure reading, a lab result, a PHQ-9 score, or a smoking-status flag. That flexibility means the *type* of Observation drives almost everything about how it should be constructed: which `category` and `code` bindings apply (LOINC vs SNOMED vs local codes), what shape the `value[x]` takes (Quantity, CodeableConcept, string, component groups), which fields are required vs optional, and how it should be interpreted downstream in PKB.

Rather than one page trying to cover every permutation, each sub-page below documents the conventions for a specific category of Observation — the expected profile, coding systems, value structure, and worked examples. Use the overarching guidance here for anything common to all Observations (resource-level requirements, subject/encounter linking, status codes), then follow the relevant sub-page for the specifics of what you're actually sending.

# **Common requirements for all Observations**

Regardless of type, every `Observation` sent to PKB must satisfy the base requirements below before any type-specific rules apply:

- **Logical id** — required, per *[CIR: Logical ids](https://wiki.hub.patientsknowbest.com/wiki/spaces/api/pages/5003673621)*.
- `status` — must be a valid [R4 FHIR status code](https://www.hl7.org/fhir/R4/valueset-observation-status.html#expansion) (`final`, `amended`, `corrected`, etc.).
- `subject` — must reference a Patient already known to PKB (via the standard identifier system). Observations for an unresolved subject will be rejected.  See “References” on [Customer Interface Requirements (CIR)](https://wiki.hub.patientsknowbest.com/wiki/spaces/api/pages/5002330131).
- `code` — must carry a codeable concept identifying what was observed. Even where a type-specific page mandates a particular terminology (LOINC, SNOMED CT, local code), the `code` element itself is mandatory on every Observation.
- `effectiveDateTime`** / **`effectivePeriod` — every Observation must state when the observation was made, not just when it was recorded. `issued` is separate and reflects submission time, not clinical time.
- `category` — required. PKB uses the category to determine which Observation resources are displayed in the UI.  This is also the field that determines which sub-page's rules apply. In addition to the R4 FHIR categories, PKB has its own `observation-category` [observation-category CodeSystem](https://wiki.hub.patientsknowbest.com/wiki/spaces/api/pages/3365011526).

Type-specific pages build on top of this baseline — they don't replace it.

# Observation resources sub-pages

> Macro (children)