HL7 GOL Goal Detail
HL7 field reference GOL fields from HL7 v2.5.1 Show fields
These are the generated fields for the version selected at the top of the page. The document stays the same, but the reference panel follows that version.
Fields
| Field | Name | Required | Repeatable | Type | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOL.1 | Action Code | Yes | No | ID | 0287 |
| GOL.2 | Action Date/Time | Yes | No | TS | |
| GOL.3 | Goal ID | Yes | No | CE | |
| GOL.4 | Goal Instance ID | Yes | No | EI | |
| GOL.5 | Episode of Care ID | No | No | EI | |
| GOL.6 | Goal List Priority | No | No | NM | |
| GOL.7 | Goal Established Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.8 | Expected Goal Achieve Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.9 | Goal Classification | No | No | CE | |
| GOL.10 | Goal Management Discipline | No | No | CE | |
| GOL.11 | Current Goal Review Status | No | No | CE | |
| GOL.12 | Current Goal Review Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.13 | Next Goal Review Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.14 | Previous Goal Review Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.15 | Goal Review Interval | No | No | TQ | |
| GOL.16 | Goal Evaluation | No | No | CE | |
| GOL.17 | Goal Evaluation Comment | No | Yes | ST | |
| GOL.18 | Goal Life Cycle Status | No | No | CE | |
| GOL.19 | Goal Life Cycle Status Date/Time | No | No | TS | |
| GOL.20 | Goal Target Type | No | Yes | CE | |
| GOL.21 | Goal Target Name | No | Yes | XPN |
GOL describes a care goal, including its identifier, lifecycle state, target dates, and responsible parties.
These segments describe clinical goals, problems, roles, referrals, requisitions, incidents, variances, and resource groupings that sit around the core patient/order/result traffic.
They are most useful when responsibilities, dates, identifiers, and status values are kept explicit. Otherwise they become narrative fragments that are hard to act on.
The v2.5.1 structures show GOL in PGL_PC6 - PGL - PC/ goal add, PPG_PCG - Oriented) add, PPP_PCB - Oriented) add, and PPR_PC1 - PPR - PC/ problem add, and 4 other message structures. That tells you where it can appear, but the implementation guide still decides which optional fields are meaningful.
For practical interface work, read the generated field panel for datatype, required, repeatable, and table details, then use the notes below to decide what the field should mean in the receiving workflow.
GOL-1 says what action is being taken for this segment or record: add, update, delete, cancel, clear, or another profile-defined operation. It needs to agree with the message trigger and the previous state.
The generated panel links this to HL7 table 0287; many real interfaces narrow that list further, so follow the receiver's implementation guide.
GOL-2 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-3 identifies the Goal ID for this care-plan or referral workflow. Send the identifier that the receiving system actually keys on, and keep the assigning authority or coding system visible when the datatype supports it.
GOL-4 identifies the Goal Instance ID for this care-plan or referral workflow. Send the identifier that the receiving system actually keys on, and keep the assigning authority or coding system visible when the datatype supports it.
GOL-5 identifies the Episode of Care ID for this care-plan or referral workflow. Send the identifier that the receiving system actually keys on, and keep the assigning authority or coding system visible when the datatype supports it.
GOL-6 qualifies the care-plan or referral workflow rather than identifying it. This is the sort of field receivers often use for branching, filtering, or display grouping.
GOL-7 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-8 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-9 qualifies the care-plan or referral workflow rather than identifying it. This is the sort of field receivers often use for branching, filtering, or display grouping.
GOL-10 is clinical or administrative context for the care-plan or referral workflow. Use the coded value, lifecycle status, and timing fields together so a receiver can decide whether it is new, changed, resolved, cancelled, or historical.
GOL-11 tells the receiver the state of this care-plan or referral workflow. Status fields often drive workflow branches, so use the agreed code and do not infer a status just because another field looks complete.
GOL-12 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-13 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-14 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-15 is clinical or administrative context for the care-plan or referral workflow. Use the coded value, lifecycle status, and timing fields together so a receiver can decide whether it is new, changed, resolved, cancelled, or historical.
GOL-16 is clinical or administrative context for the care-plan or referral workflow. Use the coded value, lifecycle status, and timing fields together so a receiver can decide whether it is new, changed, resolved, cancelled, or historical.
GOL-17 is human-readable context. Keep it useful for display and troubleshooting, but do not hide required workflow logic here unless the implementation guide explicitly says the receiver parses it.
Because the field can repeat, separate distinct statements into separate repetitions instead of creating one long hard-to-parse block.
GOL-18 tells the receiver the state of this care-plan or referral workflow. Status fields often drive workflow branches, so use the agreed code and do not infer a status just because another field looks complete.
GOL-19 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
GOL-20 qualifies the care-plan or referral workflow rather than identifying it. This is the sort of field receivers often use for branching, filtering, or display grouping.
This field can repeat. Use repetitions for separate real-world values, not as a workaround for putting several unrelated ideas in one field.
GOL-21 identifies a person, provider, staff member, or contact involved in this care-plan or referral workflow. Use the structured name or provider datatype instead of flattening everything into display text.
When more than one person is sent, repeats should carry role or identifier context so the receiver can tell who did what.