The Practitioner Qualification backbone element is intended to cover:
- Formal Qualifications (e.g. Bachelor of Science, University of Melbourne, with Honours graduated in 1993, majoring in veterinary science, 3 year degree)
- Registrations (e.g. AHPRA Registered Nurse, expiry date 2020-09-01)
- Training (e.g. Cert 3 Aged care, completed 2019-07-01)
- License to practice (e.g. Member of the college of surgeons, start 2019-09-01, expiry date 2020-09-01)
These often have associated rule that require people to maintain the currency of the required pre-requisites (e.g. keeping up to date with latest advances in the field etc)
Property | Formal | Registration | Training | Licensing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifier | ID issued by the issuer of the qualification (may not exist in many cases) | likely to exist HPI-I, AHPRA Reg ID | ||
| Code | The example valueset included in the specification | Nurse practitioner number | http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v2-0203 AC Accreditation/Certification Identifier ON Optometrist license number Nurse practitioner number | |
| period.start | when was the qualification was conferred/graduated, and the practitioner now has this qualification | the start of the registration | when the training was completed | start of license validity |
| period.end | this is typically not used, unless for some reason the qualification was revoked | when registration expires | when the training is valid until | when license expires |
| issuer.display | the name of the institution that issued the qualification | the name of the issuer, or the training provider? | issuer of the license | |
| issuer.reference | if the institution was codified (often not used) | |||
| (ext) Specialty | likely included | possibly here too | highly likely | |
| (ext) where valid | the location/area/jurisdiction that the license is valid within. e.g. state based license to practice | |||
| (ext) status | active, inactive, revoked, pending, unknown | active, inactive, revoked, pending, unknown | active, inactive, revoked, pending, unknown |
Do we need a new Type property to indicate the type of qualification: qual, reg, train, licence etc...
Should the http://hl7.org/fhir/v2/0360/2.7/index.html valueset have levels in it? Is this the extra type level that would be in the property above, e.g. Bachelor Degree, Diploma, etc.
This is a good start on the issue, would like to pass the terminology parts of this problem to the Agency, HISA or someone else involved.
Does the difference between a testing provider and issuer of a certification make any difference, and does that need to be recorded?
The VhDir also has some extensions on this backbone element: http://build.fhir.org/ig/HL7/VhDir/StructureDefinition-practitioner-qualification.html
(specifically the where valid and status extensions)
Use Case Pathologist:
- Formal Qualification from university (Medical degree + specialty + RCPA fellowship)
- Registration with AHPRA medical board as a pathologist
- Member of RCPA (Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia)
Use Case General Practitioner:
- Formal qualification from university
- Registration with AHPRA as general practitioner
- member of RACGP (optional?) - multiple levels of this too
- registration? with CASA for performing aviation medicals?
Use Case Surgeon:
- Formal qualification from university
- Registration with AHPRA as surgeon
- member of College of surgeons
Use Case for Registered Nurse:
- Formal qualification from university (degree of nursing)
- Registration with AHPRA as a nurse (possible endorsement of nurse practitioner)
- Union membership? (there are multiple unions - this may not be recorded or a requirement)
Use case for an Aged Care Worker
- Possible formal qualification
- Appropriate Certificate of training
Note: There could be confusion around the difference between a registration and a license, would like to seek additional guidance on this to see if others have more detail that could assist.
How far outside the medical capacity would we consider using this information, e.g. Accounts and other such things in the Practice Management space?