Encounter

Represents a clinical encounter or visit between a patient and a veterinary practitioner.

Schema ID: https://vetformat.org/schemas/v1/encounter.schema.json

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
resource_type	"Encounter"	Yes	Fixed resource type identifier for this schema.
id	string	Yes	Unique identifier for the encounter. UUID recommended.
patient_id	string	Yes	Reference to the patient this encounter belongs to.
status	enum	Yes	Current status of the encounter.
type	enum	No	The category or type of encounter.
date	string (date-time)	Yes	Start date and time of the encounter in ISO 8601 format.
end_date	string (date-time)	No	End date and time of the encounter in ISO 8601 format.
reason	string	No	The chief complaint or reason for the visit.
practitioner_id	string	No	Reference to the practitioner involved in this encounter. Must match an id in the top-level practitioners array.
notes	string	No	Clinical notes or summary of the encounter.
diagnoses	array<string>	No	Array of condition IDs diagnosed during this encounter. References entries in the conditions array.
diagnoses_display	array<string>	No	Human-readable names of diagnoses for this encounter. Parallel array to diagnoses — same order, same length. Enables standalone readability without cross-referencing the conditions array.
cost	[ovfcost]	No

status values

• planned
• in-progress
• completed
• cancelled

type values

• consultation
• emergency
• follow-up
• vaccination
• surgery
• dental
• grooming
• telehealth
• other

Full Schema

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://vetformat.org/schemas/v1/encounter.schema.json",
  "title": "Encounter",
  "description": "Represents a clinical encounter or visit between a patient and a veterinary practitioner.",
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "resource_type",
    "id",
    "patient_id",
    "status",
    "date"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "properties": {
    "resource_type": {
      "const": "Encounter",
      "description": "Fixed resource type identifier for this schema.",
      "examples": [
        "Encounter"
      ]
    },
    "id": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$",
      "description": "Unique identifier for the encounter. UUID recommended.",
      "examples": [
        "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
      ]
    },
    "patient_id": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$",
      "description": "Reference to the patient this encounter belongs to.",
      "examples": [
        "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
      ]
    },
    "status": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "planned",
        "in-progress",
        "completed",
        "cancelled"
      ],
      "description": "Current status of the encounter.",
      "examples": [
        "completed"
      ]
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "consultation",
        "emergency",
        "follow-up",
        "vaccination",
        "surgery",
        "dental",
        "grooming",
        "telehealth",
        "other"
      ],
      "description": "The category or type of encounter.",
      "examples": [
        "consultation"
      ]
    },
    "date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date-time",
      "description": "Start date and time of the encounter in ISO 8601 format.",
      "examples": [
        "2025-06-15T10:30:00Z"
      ]
    },
    "end_date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date-time",
      "description": "End date and time of the encounter in ISO 8601 format.",
      "examples": [
        "2025-06-15T11:00:00Z"
      ]
    },
    "reason": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The chief complaint or reason for the visit.",
      "examples": [
        "Annual wellness check and vaccination"
      ]
    },
    "practitioner_id": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$",
      "description": "Reference to the practitioner involved in this encounter. Must match an id in the top-level practitioners array.",
      "examples": [
        "pract-001"
      ]
    },
    "notes": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Clinical notes or summary of the encounter.",
      "examples": [
        "Patient presented in good health. Vaccination administered. Next visit recommended in 12 months."
      ]
    },
    "diagnoses": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string",
        "minLength": 1,
        "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$"
      },
      "description": "Array of condition IDs diagnosed during this encounter. References entries in the conditions array.",
      "examples": [
        [
          "cond-001",
          "cond-002"
        ]
      ]
    },
    "diagnoses_display": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "description": "Human-readable names of diagnoses for this encounter. Parallel array to diagnoses — same order, same length. Enables standalone readability without cross-referencing the conditions array.",
      "examples": [
        [
          "Atopic dermatitis",
          "Otitis externa"
        ]
      ]
    },
    "cost": {
      "$ref": "ovf.schema.json#/$defs/cost"
    }
  }
}