Template Profile

Canonical	../StructureDefinition/nexus-template-list
Status	draft · 1.26.0
Base	List (constraint)
Source	FSH · JSON

A reusable template: a List that names and identifies the template, carrying the resources it produces as prototypes inside a contained transaction Bundle.

Examples

Specialist Referral Letter

A one-entry template -- a List whose single contained prototype is the Composition a specialist referral letter will become. The prototype carries no subject because a template is about no patient; its date, author and title are the template's OWN, and are overwritten when a letter is made from it. The merge tokens in the section narrative are rendered by the letter composer, not by FHIR

List/nexus-template-letter-example — claims conformance to Template Profile

{
  "resourceType": "List",
  "id": "nexus-template-letter-example",
  "meta": {
    "profile": [
      "../StructureDefinition/nexus-template-list"
    ]
  },
  "text": {
    "status": "generated",
    "div": "<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Specialist Referral Letter template. Its prototypes ride in a contained transaction Bundle: one entry, the Composition a referral letter will become, with the POST that instantiating performs. The List names and identifies the template; its subject is a PLACEHOLDER carrying a population expression, because a template is about nobody until it is used.</p></div>"
  },
  "contained": [
    {
      "resourceType": "Bundle",
      "id": "bundle",
      "type": "transaction",
      "entry": [
        {
          "fullUrl": "urn:uuid:3d41b6c7-0000-4000-8000-000000000001",
          "resource": {
            "resourceType": "Composition",
            "text": {
              "status": "generated",
              "div": "<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Prototype of a specialist referral letter.</p></div>"
            },
            "status": "preliminary",
            "type": {
              "coding": [
                {
                  "system": "http://loinc.org",
                  "code": "51852-2",
                  "display": "Letter"
                }
              ]
            },
            "date": "2026-08-18T09:00:00Z",
            "author": [
              {
                "display": "Cedarbrook Family Health"
              }
            ],
            "title": "Specialist Referral Letter",
            "section": [
              {
                "text": {
                  "status": "additional",
                  "div": "<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>{{clinic.name}}</p><p>{{clinic.address}}</p><p>{{global.todaysDate}}</p><p>Dear Colleague,</p><p>I would be grateful for your assessment of {{patient.fullName}} (DOB {{patient.dob}}, {{patient.healthNumber}}).</p><p>Reason for referral:</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>{{provider.fullName}}{{provider.credentials}}</p></div>"
                }
              }
            ]
          },
          "request": {
            "method": "POST",
            "url": "Composition"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "identifier": [
    {
      "system": "../NamingSystem/nexus-template",
      "value": "specialist-referral-letter"
    }
  ],
  "status": "current",
  "mode": "working",
  "subject": {
    "extension": [
      {
        "url": "http://hl7.org/fhir/uv/sdc/StructureDefinition/sdc-questionnaire-templateExtractValue",
        "valueString": "%patient.reference"
      }
    ],
    "display": "Filled in when the template is used"
  },
  "title": "Specialist Referral Letter",
  "date": "2026-08-18T09:00:00Z",
  "entry": [
    {
      "item": {
        "reference": "#bundle",
        "display": "Prototype Bundle: the letter this template produces"
      }
    }
  ]
}