Medication Dispense Resource

Overview

The MedicationDispense resource represents the provision of a medication to a patient or a care provider. It records the details of a medication that was actually supplied to the patient, capturing when, where, and by whom the medication was dispensed.

Critical Components

Field	Description	Standard Values/Examples
`resourceType`	Always "MedicationDispense"	"MedicationDispense"
`id`	Unique identifier for the dispense record	"1336766"
`meta`	Contains version information and metadata	Includes `versionId`, `lastUpdated`, and `profile`
`status`	Current state of the dispense	Standard Values: "preparation", "in-progress", "cancelled", "on-hold", "completed", "entered-in-error", "stopped", "declined", "unknown"
`medicationCodeableConcept`	Medication that was dispensed	Typically uses RxNorm codes in the US
`subject`	Reference to the patient	Format: "Patient/[ID]"
`performer`	Who dispensed the medication	References a Practitioner resource, typically a pharmacist
`authorizingPrescription`	Prescription that authorized this dispense	References MedicationRequest resources
`type`	Category of dispense	Common Values: "TF" (Trial Fill), "FF" (First Fill), "RF" (Refill), "DF" (Dispense as Written)
`quantity`	Amount of medication dispensed	Numeric value with units
`daysSupply`	Days the dispense is expected to last	Number of days
`whenHandedOver`	When product was given to patient	ISO 8601 datetime format
`dosageInstruction`	Instructions for use	Same format as MedicationRequest dosageInstruction

Example (from your provided data):

{
    "resourceType": "MedicationDispense",
    "id": "1336766",
    "meta": {
        "versionId": "1",
        "lastUpdated": "2025-03-20T14:23:19.420+00:00",
        "source": "#3a5cc8ee8d121660",
        "profile": [
            "http://hl7.org/fhir/us/core/StructureDefinition/us-core-medicationdispense"
        ]
    },
    "status": "completed",
    "medicationCodeableConcept": {
        "coding": [
            {
                "system": "http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm",
                "code": "197381",
                "display": "Amlodipine 5 MG Oral Tablet"
            }
        ],
        "text": "Amlodipine 5mg tablet"
    },
    "subject": {"reference": "Patient/CR7794222774698-5"},
    "performer": [
        {
            "actor": {
                "reference": "Practitioner/pharmacist-789012",
                "display": "Pharmacist John Doe"
            }
        }
    ],
    "authorizingPrescription": [
        {"reference": "MedicationRequest/medication-request-123456"}
    ],
    "type": {
        "coding": [
            {
                "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-ActCode",
                "code": "RF",
                "display": "Refill"
            }
        ]
    },
    "quantity": {
        "value": 30,
        "unit": "tablet",
        "system": "http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-orderableDrugForm",
        "code": "TAB"
    },
    "daysSupply": {
        "value": 30,
        "unit": "days",
        "system": "http://unitsofmeasure.org",
        "code": "d"
    },
    "whenHandedOver": "2025-02-20T10:30:00Z",
    "dosageInstruction": [
        {
            "text": "Take 1 tablet by mouth once daily",
            "timing": {
                "repeat": {"frequency": 1, "period": 1, "periodUnit": "d"}
            }
        }
    ]
}

Key Details

Relationship to MedicationRequest

MedicationDispense represents what was actually given to the patient
MedicationRequest (prescription) represents what was ordered
authorizingPrescription links these resources together

Additional Optional Fields

location: Where the dispense occurred
receiver: Who collected the medication
note: Additional information about the dispense
substitution: Information about medication substitutions
detectedIssue: Clinical issues observed when dispensing
eventHistory: A list of events that occurred with this dispense

Common Coding Systems

RxNorm (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm): For medications
HL7 v3 ActCode (http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-ActCode): For dispense types
UCUM (http://unitsofmeasure.org): For units of measure

Links to MedicationRequest resources via authorizingPrescription
Links to Patient resources via subject
Links to Practitioner resources via performer.actor
May relate to MedicationAdministration resources (what was actually taken by the patient)

Medication Dispense Resource

Medication Dispense Resource

Overview

Critical Components

Example (from your provided data):

Key Details

Relationship to MedicationRequest

Additional Optional Fields

Common Coding Systems

Related Resources