What is FHIR Scheduling?
FHIR scheduling resources let you manage appointments, time slots, and healthcare-provider availability. In ESUS, the scheduling surface is:
| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Schedule | A container of slots for a specific actor (practitioner, room, equipment) |
| Slot | An individual time period that can be booked |
| Appointment | A booking linking a patient to one or more slots and participants |
| AppointmentResponse | A participant’s response (accepted, declined, tentative) to an appointment |
Typical Flow
Create Schedule → Create Slots (status=free) → Create Appointment (status=booked, slot=[<slot-id>]) → Slot flips to busy → Appointment fulfilled
Appointment Status Lifecycle
proposed → pending → booked → arrived/checked-in → fulfilled
↘ cancelled
↘ noshow
↘ waitlist
Each status indicates a different state in the appointment lifecycle.
Use Cases
- Patient self-scheduling — patient books an available slot online.
- Call-center scheduling — staff schedules appointments on behalf of patients.
- Walk-in management — register patients without prior appointments.
- Resource scheduling — book rooms, equipment, or other resources.