VisionPrescription — Vision prescription
Glasses, contact lenses, prisms: VisionPrescription carries the precise optical parameters (sphere, cylinder, axis, add).
Purpose
VisionPrescription is the FHIR counterpart of an optical prescription. One prescription = two lensSpecification (left/right), with sphere, cylinder, axis, add (progressives), prism, base. The optician (DispenseManager) uses this resource to manufacture lenses or order contact lenses.
Key fields
| Field | Type | Cardinality | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
status | code | 1..1 | active, cancelled, draft, entered-in-error. |
created | dateTime | 1..1 | Creation date. |
patient | Reference(Patient) | 1..1 | Patient. |
dateWritten | dateTime | 1..1 | Prescription date. |
prescriber | Reference(Practitioner | PractitionerRole) | 1..1 | Prescriber (ophthalmologist, optometrist). |
lensSpecification | BackboneElement[] | 1..* | Per-eye specification (sphere, cylinder, axis, add, prism, base, color, brand, duration). |
JSON example
Progressive prescription with prism:
{
"resourceType": "VisionPrescription",
"id": "example",
"status": "active",
"created": "2026-05-16",
"patient": { "reference": "Patient/example" },
"dateWritten": "2026-05-16",
"prescriber": { "reference": "Practitioner/dr-eye-specialist" },
"lensSpecification": [{
"product": { "coding": [{ "code": "lens", "display": "Spectacle lens" }] },
"eye": "right",
"sphere": -2.50,
"cylinder": -0.75,
"axis": 90,
"prism": [{ "amount": 1.0, "base": "down" }],
"add": 2.00
}, {
"product": { "coding": [{ "code": "lens", "display": "Spectacle lens" }] },
"eye": "left",
"sphere": -2.75,
"cylinder": -0.50,
"axis": 85,
"add": 2.00
}]
}Common pitfalls
- Unsigned sphere/cylinder: negative convention for myopia. An unsigned positive value is ambiguous.
- Axis outside [0, 180]: invalid. Always validate.
- Only one lensSpecification: error — each eye must have its specification, even if OD=OS.
Related resources
- Patient — The beneficiary.
- MedicationRequest — Comparable for ocular medications.
- DeviceRequest — For other ophthalmic devices.