# Provenance - 2026 US Quality Core Implementation Guide v0.5.0

## Provenance

US Quality Core addresses provenance at a data element level, in accordance with how each respective FHIR resource defines data element provenance. Each FHIR resource has its own way of addressing provenance, such as author, performer, authored or issued date, occurrence date, and other similar elements. Therefore, US Quality Core supports provenance based on the resource modeling. The [Quality Data Model (QDM)](https://ecqi.healthit.gov/qdm/about) handles provenance in the same way, and the mapping tables from QDM attributes to US Quality Core/FHIR resource elements are defined at that level.

There are some instances in which US Quality Core relies on extensions defined in QI-Core 6.0.0 to ensure resource-specific data provenance is captured. The decisions to create those QI-Core extensions were intentionally aligned with each resource owner's planned direction for future FHIR versions and with discussions with the HL7 Work Groups responsible for the respective resources. US Quality Core closely follows US Core and will address future US Core versions that enhance its approach to provenance.

