Libraries Guide

10.5
- 10.4.0

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HL7 Message Structure

An HL7 message is composed of segments that are separated by line breaks. Each segment has a three-character label, such as

MSH

(message header) or

PID

(patient identification). Each segment contains a predefined hierarchy of fields and sub-fields. The fields are delimited by the characters immediately following the

MSH

designator, typically

|^~\&

. The message type is specified by a field in the

MSH

segment.

The following example is a message of type

ADT

, subtype

A01

, which is an

Admit a Patient

message.

In the example, the patient's name,

Smith^William^A

, follows the

PID

label by five

delimiters. The last and first names,

Smith

and

William,

are separated by a

delimiter.

For readability, we have inserted extra line breaks, in addition to the line breaks that were originally in the message.

MSH|^~\&|ADT1|MCM|FINGER|MCM|198808181126|SECURITY|ADT^A01|MSG00001|P|2.3.1
EVN|A01|198808181123
PID|1||PATID1234^5^M11^ADT1^MR^MCM~123456789^^^USSSA^SS||
SMITH^WILLIAM^A^III||19610615|M||C|1200 N ELM STREET^^JERUSALEM^TN^99999?
1020|GL|(999)999?1212|(999)999?3333||S||PATID12345001^2^M10^ADT1^AN^A|
123456789|987654^NC
NK1|1|SMITH^OREGANO^K|WI^WIFE||||NK^NEXT OF KIN
PV1|1|I|2000^2012^01||||004777^CASTRO^FRANK^J.|||SUR||||ADM|A0

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Libraries Guide

Libraries Guide

HL7 Message Structure

HL7 Message Structure