> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.suki.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Interoperable Identifiers > Understand EMR Encounter ID, Encounter ID, Composition ID, and naming conventions for Ambient interoperability
Ambient interoperability uses a few identifiers to keep multiple ambient sessions on the same clinical note. Pass `emr_encounter_id` for the patient visit, pass `encounter_id` to continue or re-ambient the same note, and use **`composition_id`** as **`note_id`** to retrieve note content, context, and structured data.
Suki uses a small set of identifiers to associate multiple ambient sessions with the same clinical note. If a clinician starts an ambient session on one Suki product and later continues or re-ambients it on another, your application must pass the correct identifiers so that every ambient session is linked to the same patient encounter and clinical note. You provide these identifiers when calling the [Create ambient session](/api-reference/ambient-sessions/create) API or other note-level Ambient APIs. ### Identifiers you provide * **`emr_encounter_id`**: Your EMR or EHR encounter identifier for the patient visit. Suki uses this identifier to create or locate the shared clinical note for that encounter. * **`encounter_id`**: Also called the **Session Group ID**. This identifier groups related ambient sessions so they all contribute to the same clinical note. ### Identifiers returned by Suki * **`ambient_session_id`**: Uniquely identifies an individual ambient recording session. * **`composition_id`**: Uniquely identifies the shared clinical note created for the patient encounter. Use this value as the **`note_id`** when calling note-level Ambient APIs to retrieve or manage the note. ## Identifier hierarchy Use this hierarchy when you design interoperable ambient workflows: ```mermaid actions={false} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-dark","dark":"material-theme-darker"}} %%{init: {'theme':'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor':'#FFF394','primaryTextColor':'#111827','primaryBorderColor':'#FFE148','lineColor':'#FFE148','secondaryColor':'#FFF394','tertiaryColor':'#FFFADE','mainBkg':'#FFF394','secondBkg':'#FFFADE','tertiaryBorderColor':'#FFE148','border1':'#FFE148','border2':'#FFE148','arrowheadColor':'#FFE148','fontFamily':'Inter, system-ui, sans-serif','fontSize':'14px','nodeBorder':'#FFE148','edgeLabelBackground':'#FFE148','clusterBkg':'#FFFADE','clusterBorder':'#FFE148','defaultLinkColor':'#FFE148','titleColor':'#111827','nodeTextColor':'#111827'}}}%% flowchart TD E[EMR Encounter ID
emr_encounter_id] --> N[Clinical note
composition_id / note_id] N --> SG[Session Group ID
encounter_id] N --> S1[Ambient session 1
ambient_session_id] N --> S2[Ambient session 2
ambient_session_id] style E fill:#FFF394,stroke:#FFE148,stroke-width:2px,color:#111827 style N fill:#FFF394,stroke:#FFE148,stroke-width:2px,color:#111827 style SG fill:#FFF394,stroke:#FFE148,stroke-width:2px,color:#111827 style S1 fill:#FFF394,stroke:#FFE148,stroke-width:2px,color:#111827 style S2 fill:#FFF394,stroke:#FFE148,stroke-width:2px,color:#111827 ``` | Identifier | Purpose | Where it's used | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **EMR Encounter ID** | Identifies the patient encounter in your EMR or EHR. Suki uses this value to create or locate the shared clinical note for that visit. | Provide it as **`emr_encounter_id`** when calling [Create ambient session](/api-reference/ambient-sessions/create). | | **Session Group ID** | Groups multiple ambient sessions that belong to the same clinical note. Use it when adding another ambient session (re-ambient) for the same patient encounter. | Provide it as **`encounter_id`** when creating additional ambient sessions for the same note. | | **Composition ID**
(Note ID for Ambient APIs) | Identifies the shared clinical note created for the patient encounter. All interoperable ambient sessions contribute to this note. | Returned as **`composition_id`**. Pass it as **`note_id`** when calling note-level Ambient APIs. | | **ambient session ID** | Identifies a single ambient recording session. Each recording has its own unique session ID, even when multiple sessions belong to the same clinical note. | Returned as **`ambient_session_id`**. Use it with session-level APIs for streaming, status, context, and session content. | ## EMR Encounter ID **`emr_encounter_id`** is required when you want ambient sessions to share one clinical note across Ambient APIs, Mobile SDK, Headless Web SDK, and Web SDK. Use it when: * You want Mobile SDK and Web SDK to work on the same visit note * You want Ambient APIs and an SDK to share the same note * You want to list all notes for that EMR encounter later **You must remember these rules:** * Always pass a valid **UUID** for **`emr_encounter_id`** * Without **`emr_encounter_id`**, the ambient session is created, but the note is **not interoperable** across Suki products * In the Web SDK, the encounter identifier you supply maps to this same **EMR Encounter ID** value * In the Mobile SDK, pass **`SukiAmbientConstant.kEmrEncounterId`**. Refer to [Mobile SDK interoperability](/mobile-sdk/ambient-guides/ambient-interoperability) for more details. ## Encounter ID (Session Group ID) When you create an ambient session, the request field name is **`encounter_id`**. For interoperability, treat that value as the **Session Group ID**. Use the same Session Group ID when you want to: * Group more than one ambient session under the same clinical note * Re-ambient from another supported ambient product **You must remember these rules:** * Session Group IDs can be up to **255** characters * [Create ambient session](/api-reference/ambient-sessions/create) does **not** return a separate **`encounter_id`** field * If you pass **`encounter_id`**, store the value you sent * If you omit **`encounter_id`** on the first session, the generated Session Group ID is the same as the returned **`composition_id`** To re-ambient across ambient products, create a new ambient session with the same **`emr_encounter_id`**, and pass the existing Session Group ID as **`encounter_id`**. ## Composition ID and Note ID When you create an ambient session, Suki returns **`composition_id`**. Use that value as **`note_id`** with the note-level Ambient APIs: * [Note Content](/api-reference/ambient-content/note-content) to retrieve the note content * [Note Context](/api-reference/ambient-content/note-context) to retrieve the note context * [Note Structured Data](/api-reference/ambient-content/note-structured-data) to retrieve the note structured data ## Best practices and naming conventions The Ambient APIs, Mobile SDK, and Web SDK support the same interoperability workflow, but they use different names for some identifiers. When your application uses more than one product, map these identifiers correctly. Using the wrong identifier can create a new clinical note instead of continuing an existing one. ### Identifier mapping for all Ambient products Refer to the following table for the identifier mapping for all ambient products: | Concept | Ambient APIs | Mobile SDK | Web SDK | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | | Patient encounter in your EMR or EHR | `emr_encounter_id` | `SukiAmbientConstant.kEmrEncounterId` (`"emrEncounterId"`) | `encounter.identifier` | | Session Group ID that links related ambient sessions for the same clinical note (used for re-ambienting) | `encounter_id` | `SukiAmbientConstant.kSessionId` (`"sessionId"`). Pass the same value as `encounterId` for `encounterContent`. Create response `sessionId` is not the Session Group ID. `compositionId` is the note id, not the Session Group ID. | Session Group ID | | Shared clinical note | `composition_id` (used as `note_id` in note APIs) | Returned as `compositionId` in the create session response (online). Note APIs accept `noteId`. | `noteId` | | Individual ambient recording session | `ambient_session_id` | Returned as `sessionId` in the create session response; conflict responses return `blockingSessionId` | — | ### Understand the two encounter identifiers The names `emr_encounter_id` and `encounter_id` represent different concepts. | Identifier | Purpose | | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `emr_encounter_id` | Identifies the patient encounter in your EMR or EHR. This value is supplied by your application and is used to create or locate the shared clinical note. In the Web SDK, this is referred to as the **Encounter ID**. | | `encounter_id` | Identifies the **Session Group**. It groups multiple ambient sessions that contribute to the same clinical note. You pass this Ambient API field when creating ambient sessions that should join a Session Group. | Do **not** use these values interchangeably. Although their names are similar, they serve different purposes. Using the wrong identifier prevents ambient sessions from being associated with the same clinical note. For every interoperable ambient workflow, store the following identifiers in your application. | Identifier | Why you should store it | | ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **`emr_encounter_id`** | Create additional ambient sessions for the same patient encounter. | | **Session Group ID** (`encounter_id`) | Re-ambient or continue the same clinical note across supported ambient products. If you did not provide an **`encounter_id`** when creating the first session, store the value returned as **`composition_id`**, which becomes the Session Group ID. | | **`ambient_session_id`** | Identify and manage an individual ambient recording session. | | **`composition_id`** | Retrieve and manage the shared clinical note using note-level Ambient APIs. | Store both the **Session Group ID** and the `composition_id`. The `composition_id` identifies the shared clinical note, while the **Session Group ID** is required to create additional ambient sessions for that note. If you only store the **`composition_id`**, you cannot determine the Session Group ID later for re-ambient workflows. ## Next steps Refer to [How to use interoperability across Suki products](/documentation/how-to/ambient-clinical-notes/use-ambient-across-modalities) to create, continue, and retrieve interoperable ambient notes. Refer to [Best practices and FAQs](/documentation/how-to/ambient-clinical-notes/ambient-interoperability-faqs) for implementation guidance, conflict handling, and common questions. Refer to [Create ambient session](/api-reference/ambient-sessions/create) for the request and response fields used by interoperable ambient sessions. Refer to [Ambient interoperability](/documentation/concepts/ambient-clinical-notes/ambient-interoperability) for an overview of how ambient products share the same clinical note.