# Observations

> Typed measurements of a record against definitions with a UCUM unit, a code (LOINC for the shipped vital signs) and valid, reference and critical ranges: a computed flag, critical alerts to the record team's leads, amendments and entered-in-error corrections, idempotent device ingest, series and latest values, and observations mapped from form submissions.

- Category: People
- Module: `observations`
- Modes: `managed`, `custom`
- Docs: https://bettersupabase.com/docs/blocks/observations
- Page: https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/observations

## Install

```bash
npx better-supabase add observations
```

The command also installs `updated-at`, `memberships`, `permissions`, `subjects`.

## Configure

Add the block to `better-supabase.config.ts`:

```ts
import { defineConfig } from "better-supabase/config";

export default defineConfig({
  blocks: {
    // Required by observations; add installs them too.
    "updated-at": {},
    memberships: {},
    permissions: {},
    subjects: {},
    // Modes: "managed", "custom". The default is "managed".
    observations: { mode: "managed" },
  },
});
```

## Client

The block has no React entry yet. Its server-side TypeScript is in `better-supabase/blocks/observations`.

## Events

- `observation.amended`
- `observation.critical_recorded`
- `observation.error_marked`
- `observation.recorded`
- `observation_definition.created`
- `observation_definition.updated`

## Related blocks

Requires: [memberships](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/memberships.md), [permissions](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/permissions.md), [subjects](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/subjects.md)

Works with: [forms](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/forms.md), [notifications](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/notifications.md), [outbox](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/outbox.md), [audit](https://bettersupabase.com/blocks/audit.md)

## Recipes

- [Observation chart](https://bettersupabase.com/recipes/observation-chart.md): A record's latest vital signs with the flag against each reference range and a sparkline of the recent readings.