PatientContact

A contact person associated with a patient, such as emergency contacts, guardians, next of kin, or legal representatives. Essential for emergency situations, medical decision-making, and care coordination.

Overview

PatientContact links patients to important people in their support network. These contacts serve various roles from emergency notification to legal healthcare decision-making. The entity captures the relationship type, contact details, authorization levels, and notification preferences to ensure appropriate communication in different healthcare scenarios.

Key Concepts

Contact Roles

Each contact can serve multiple roles:

Role	Purpose
Emergency Contact	First to call in medical emergencies
Healthcare Proxy	Authorized to make medical decisions
Next of Kin	Family notification and coordination
Legal Guardian	Legal authority over patient (minors, incapacitated)
Insurance Subscriber	Primary holder of insurance policy

Contact Authorization

Key authorization flags:

isPrimary - Main contact for general communication
isEmergencyContact - Should be contacted in emergencies
canMakeDecisions - Authorized for medical decisions when patient cannot

Relationship Types

Contacts are categorized via PatientRelationshipType:

Family

Spouse, parent, child, sibling

Legal

Guardian, power of attorney

Social

Friend, emergency contact, neighbor

Professional

Employer, caregiver

Notification Preferences

The notificationPreferences array via PatientNotificationType specifies what communications this contact should receive:

Clinical updates (lab results, imaging)
Administrative notices (appointments, scheduling)
Financial information (invoices, insurance)
General announcements

Validity Period

Contacts can have time-limited validity:

validFrom - When the contact relationship begins
validTo - When the relationship expires (e.g., temporary guardian)

Use Cases

Emergency Notification

When patient has emergency:

Retrieve contacts where isEmergencyContact: true
Sort by isPrimary to get primary contact first
Use contact's phone/email from linked Person
Document notification attempts and responses
Proceed to alternate contacts if primary unreachable

Medical Decision-Making

When patient cannot make decisions:

Query contacts where canMakeDecisions: true
Verify contact's authorization is still valid
Check for advance directives naming healthcare proxy
Document decision-maker and their choices
Ensure proper legal documentation on file

Pediatric Care Coordination

For minor patients:

Identify parent/guardian contacts
Verify canMakeDecisions for treatment consent
Set up notification preferences for both parents if applicable
Document custody arrangements in notes
Ensure school/daycare contacts if needed

Insurance Coordination

When patient is dependent:

Identify subscriber contact
Link to PatientCoverage via subscriber
Use subscriberRelationship to document connection
Coordinate billing communications appropriately

Notification Management

When sending communications:

Check contact's notificationPreferences
Only send relevant notification types
Use preferred contact method from Person record
Respect opt-out preferences
Log all communications sent

Related Entities

Entity	Relationship	Description
Patient	Belongs to	The patient this contact is associated with
Person	References	The contact person's demographic and contact info
PatientRelationshipType	References	Type of relationship to the patient
PatientNotificationType	References many	Types of notifications this contact should receive

10 properties

Schema

Properties

Property	Type	Mode	Description	Required
patient	Patient	stored	Patient this contact is associated with	Required
person	Person	stored	The contact person	Required
relationshipType	PatientRelationshipType	stored	Nature of the relationship to the patient	Required
isPrimary	boolean	stored	Whether this is the primary contact for the patient Example: `true`	Required
isEmergencyContact	boolean	stored	Whether to contact in case of emergency Example: `true`	Required
canMakeDecisions	boolean	stored	Whether authorized to make medical decisions on behalf of patient	Optional
notificationPreferences	PatientNotificationType[]	stored	Types of notifications this contact should receive	Optional
validFrom	Date	stored	Date from which this contact relationship is valid	Optional
validTo	Date	stored	Date until which this contact relationship is valid	Optional
notes	string	stored	Additional notes about the contact or relationship	Optional

Examples

Example 1

{
  "@type": "PatientContact",
  "patient": {
    "@type": "Patient",
    "givenName": "John",
    "familyName": "Smith"
  },
  "person": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "givenName": "Mary",
    "familyName": "Smith"
  },
  "relationshipType": {
    "@type": "PatientRelationshipType",
    "code": "SPOUSE",
    "label": "Spouse",
    "category": "family"
  },
  "isPrimary": true,
  "isEmergencyContact": true,
  "canMakeDecisions": true,
  "notificationPreferences": [
    {
      "@type": "PatientNotificationType",
      "code": "APPOINTMENT_REMINDER",
      "label": "Appointment Reminder",
      "category": "administrative"
    },
    {
      "@type": "PatientNotificationType",
      "code": "LAB_RESULTS",
      "label": "Lab Results",
      "category": "clinical"
    },
    {
      "@type": "PatientNotificationType",
      "code": "INVOICE",
      "label": "Invoice",
      "category": "financial"
    }
  ]
}

Example 2

{
  "@type": "PatientContact",
  "patient": {
    "@type": "Patient",
    "givenName": "Sarah",
    "familyName": "Johnson"
  },
  "person": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "givenName": "Robert",
    "familyName": "Johnson"
  },
  "relationshipType": {
    "@type": "PatientRelationshipType",
    "code": "PARENT",
    "label": "Parent",
    "category": "family"
  },
  "isPrimary": true,
  "isEmergencyContact": true,
  "canMakeDecisions": true,
  "notes": "Primary guardian with legal custody"
}

Example 3

{
  "@type": "PatientContact",
  "patient": {
    "@type": "Patient",
    "givenName": "Sarah",
    "familyName": "Johnson"
  },
  "person": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "givenName": "Emily",
    "familyName": "Johnson"
  },
  "relationshipType": {
    "@type": "PatientRelationshipType",
    "code": "SIBLING",
    "label": "Sibling",
    "category": "family"
  },
  "isPrimary": false,
  "isEmergencyContact": true,
  "canMakeDecisions": false
}