How to Version a FHIR Questionnaire and Ensure Data Integrity
How to Version a FHIR Questionnaire - Health Samurai Health
Health Samurai Health provided guidance on how to version a FHIR Questionnaire resource.
Summary
This article explains the versioning process for FHIR Questionnaires, emphasizing its critical role in maintaining data integrity. Since Questionnaires are used to collect structured healthcare data, proper version control is essential for tracking changes and ensuring compatibility.
Details
In FHIR, a Questionnaire resource defines structured forms for collecting healthcare data. As these forms evolve—with new questions added or structures reorganized—a challenge arises: how to ensure that previously collected QuestionnaireResponse data remains accurate and interpretable. Because Questionnaires are canonical resources, they must be versioned. This process allows developers to uniquely identify the form used for data collection, maintain an audit history, and safely introduce improvements without compromising compatibility. The URL serves as a permanent logical identifier, while the 'version' field tracks specific editions of the form. The recommended approach is Semantic Versioning (SemVer) (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH). This model explicitly defines compatibility: MAJOR increments are required for breaking changes (e.g., removing questions or changing linkIds); MINOR increments handle backward-compatible additions (e.g., adding new questions); and PATCH increments cover non-breaking fixes (e.g., typos). Developers must use these rules to determine if a change affects the data structure or interpretation, ensuring that every (url, version) pair is unique and immutable for historical records. This practice guarantees the correct interpretation of historical responses even when newer versions are introduced.
Technology Note
FHIR（Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources）は医療データ交換の国際標準。このエントリの関連技術: FHIR
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