Which resource would be used to collect and report errors or warnings resulting from a system action?

• A. MessageHeader
• B. OperationOutcome
• C. Linkage
• D. DocumentReference

Answer: (B)

In FHIR, when something goes wrong during a system action, the standard way to report it is with an OperationOutcome resource. This resource is built to collect one or more issues that occurred during processing, each issue carrying a severity (such as error or warning), a code describing the kind of problem, and human- and machine-readable details like diagnostics and the location within the resource that’s affected. This makes it possible for a client to understand exactly what failed, why, and where, and to react accordingly.

Because OperationOutcome is specifically designed for reporting processing problems, it’s the best fit for conveying errors or warnings from a system action. In contrast, MessageHeader is about metadata for a message exchange, Linkage is about identifying related records across systems, and DocumentReference points to a document. They serve different purposes and aren’t intended for standardized error reporting.