VISIT_OCCURRENCE table

THIS IS OUTDATED. All documentation is now on the github wiki. Please refer there or to the CDM working group for more information

This table changed version 5.1 of the OMOP CDM. The fields visit_start_datetime and visit_end_datetime were added. For 5.0.1, the fields admitting_source_concept_id, discharge_to_concept_id, admitting_source_value and discharge_to_source_value were added.


The VISIT_OCCURRENCE table contains the spans of time a Person continuously receives medical services from one or more providers at a Care Site in a given setting within the health care system. Visits are classified into 4 settings: outpatient care, inpatient confinement, emergency room, and long-term care. Persons may transition between these settings over the course of an episode of care (for example, treatment of a disease onset).

FieldRequiredTypeDescription
visit_occurrence_idYesintegerA unique identifier for each Person's visit or encounter at a healthcare provider.
person_idYesintegerA foreign key identifier to the Person for whom the visit is recorded. The demographic details of that Person are stored in the PERSON table.
visit_concept_idYesintegerA foreign key that refers to a visit Concept identifier in the Standardized Vocabularies.
visit_start_dateYesdateThe start date of the visit.
visit_start_datetimeNodatetimeThe date and time of the visit started.
visit_end_dateYesdateThe end date of the visit. If this is a one-day visit the end date should match the start date.
visit_end_datetimeNodatetimeThe date and time of the visit end.
visit_type_concept_idYesIntegerA foreign key to the predefined Concept identifier in the Standardized Vocabularies reflecting the type of source data from which the visit record is derived.
provider_idNointegerA foreign key to the provider in the provider table who was associated with the visit.
care_site_idNointegerA foreign key to the care site in the care site table that was visited.
admitting_source_concept_idNointegerA foreign key to the predefined concept in the Place of Service Vocabulary reflecting the admitting source for a visit.
discharge_to_concept_idNointegerA foreign key to the predefined concept in the Place of Service Vocabulary reflecting the discharge disposition (destination) for a visit.
preceding_visit_occurrence_idNointegerA foreign key to the VISIT_OCCURRENCE table record of the visit immediately preceding this visit.
visit_source_valueNostring(50)The source code for the visit as it appears in the source data.
visit_source_concept_idNoIntegerA foreign key to a Concept that refers to the code used in the source.
admitting_source_valueNostring(50)The source code for the admitting source as it appears in the source data.
discharge_to_source_valueNostring(50)The source code for the discharge disposition as it appears in the source data.

Conventions