> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.olira.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create patient

> Creates a patient in your organization.

```python theme={null}
olira.create_patient(
    first_name: str | None = None,
    last_name: str | None = None,
    email: str | None = None,
    phone_number: str | None = None,
    date_of_birth: str | None = None,
    sex: str = "unknown",
    timezone: str = "UTC",
    external_identifiers: list[ExternalIdentifier] | None = None,
    metadata: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
) -> Patient
```

**Requires scope:** `api:manage-patients`

Olira assigns a stable patient id — use it in all subsequent calls. Shell patients are supported if you send at least one anchor field (external id, email, phone, name, or DOB).

## Parameters

<ParamField body="first_name" type="str | None">
  Given name; omit for shell patients.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="last_name" type="str | None">
  Family name; omit for shell patients.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="email" type="str | None">
  Contact email.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="phone_number" type="str | None">
  Contact phone.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="date_of_birth" type="str | None">
  ISO 8601 datetime string.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="sex" type="str" default="&#x22;unknown&#x22;">
  Stored sex/gender field.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="timezone" type="str" default="&#x22;UTC&#x22;">
  IANA timezone (e.g. America/New\_York).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="external_identifiers" type="list[ExternalIdentifier] | None">
  Links to your systems (Epic MRN, FHIR id, etc.).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="metadata" type="dict[str, Any] | None">
  Arbitrary JSON-safe metadata.
</ParamField>

## Returns

`Patient` — Created patient including Olira-assigned id.

<ResponseField name="id" type="str">
  Olira patient id.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="first_name" type="str | None">
  Given name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="last_name" type="str | None">
  Family name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="sex" type="str | None">
  Sex/gender.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="timezone" type="str">
  IANA timezone.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="status" type="str">
  Patient lifecycle status from API.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="email" type="str | None">
  Email.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="phone_number" type="str | None">
  Phone.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="date_of_birth" type="str | None">
  DOB ISO string.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="created_at" type="str | None">
  Creation timestamp.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="external_identifiers" type="list[ExternalIdentifier]">
  External ids.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="metadata" type="dict[str, Any] | None">
  Metadata blob.
</ResponseField>

## Raises

| Exception         | When                                                                                                                  |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `AuthError`       | HTTP 401 or 403 — invalid API key or insufficient OAuth scope for this endpoint.                                      |
| `ValidationError` | HTTP 400, 404, or 422 — malformed JSON, unknown patient, or validation failure (message includes response excerpt).   |
| `ServerError`     | HTTP 409 (e.g. conflicting external identifier) or repeated 5xx after retries; includes status\_code when applicable. |
| `RateLimitError`  | HTTP 429 — rate limited; check retry\_after (seconds).                                                                |
| `NetworkError`    | Connection timeout, DNS failure, or read error after retries.                                                         |

<RequestExample>
  ```python Python theme={null}
  import olira

  olira.init(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

  patient = olira.create_patient(
      first_name="Ada",
      last_name="Lovelace",
      email="ada@example.com",
      timezone="UTC",
  )
  print(patient.id)
  ```

  ```http HTTP theme={null}
  POST /v1/patients
  Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
  Content-Type: application/json

  {
    "first_name": "Ada",
    "last_name": "Lovelace",
    "email": "ada@example.com",
    "sex": "unknown",
    "timezone": "UTC"
  }
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```python 200 theme={null}
  Patient(
      id="019b2f80-0000-7000-8000-000000000001",
      first_name="Ada",
      last_name="Lovelace",
      email="ada@example.com",
      sex="unknown",
      timezone="UTC",
      status="active",
      phone_number=None,
      date_of_birth=None,
      created_at="2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      external_identifiers=[],
      metadata=None,
  )
  ```

  ```json 401 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 401,
    "error_type": "authentication_error",
    "message": "Could not validate credentials",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "authentication_error",
        "message": "Could not validate credentials"
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```

  ```json 403 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 403,
    "error_type": "authorization_error",
    "message": "Insufficient OAuth scope for this endpoint",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "authorization_error",
        "message": "Insufficient OAuth scope for this endpoint"
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```

  ```json 404 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 404,
    "error_type": "not_found_error",
    "message": "Patient not found",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "not_found_error",
        "message": "Patient not found"
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```

  ```json 422 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 422,
    "error_type": "validation_error",
    "message": "Request validation failed (1 error)",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "missing",
        "message": "Field required",
        "field": "patient_id",
        "location": ["body", "patient_id"],
        "input_value": null
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```

  ```json 429 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 429,
    "error_type": "server_error",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "rate_limit",
        "message": "Too many requests; retry after backoff"
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```

  ```json 500 theme={null}
  {
    "error": true,
    "status_code": 500,
    "error_type": "internal_server_error",
    "message": "An internal server error occurred",
    "details": [
      {
        "type": "internal_server_error",
        "message": "An unexpected error occurred while processing your request"
      }
    ],
    "timestamp": "2026-05-06T12:00:00+00:00"
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>