HL7 v2 chapters

The official HL7 v2 standard is one document divided into chapters. Each chapter covers one area of hospital work.

The HL7 v2 product suite presents the standard in these 14 chapters, in this order. This site keeps the same division. Every segment, trigger event, message type and code table belongs to one chapter.

We have excluded the introduction and data types chapters from this index. Chapter 1 is the introduction to the standard. Chapter 2A just defines the data types. Neither defines a segment, a trigger event, a message type or any code table.

You can start with the chapter for the work you are doing.

• CH 02Control

  This chapter covers the rules that apply to every message. It defines the header, the delimiters and the acknowledgment a receiver sends back.

  • Segments 12
  • Tables 17
  • Message types 2
• CH 03Patient Administration

  This chapter covers patients arriving, moving and leaving. It defines the ADT messages for admissions, transfers, discharges and registrations.

  • Trigger events 68
  • Segments 12
  • Tables 83
  • Message types 3
• CH 04Order Entry

  This chapter covers orders for tests, drugs and diets. It defines the messages that place, change or cancel an order.

  • Trigger events 43
  • Segments 20
  • Tables 58
  • Message types 40
• CH 05Query

  This chapter covers questions asked to another system and the answers it sends back.

  • Trigger events 61
  • Segments 16
  • Tables 17
  • Message types 18
• CH 06Financial Management

  This chapter covers charges, accounts and insurance. It defines what a patient is billed for and who pays.

  • Trigger events 8
  • Segments 16
  • Tables 77
  • Message types 2
• CH 07Observation Reporting

  This chapter covers results sent back to the system that asked for them. It defines how lab values, vital signs, imaging reports and device readings travel.

  • Trigger events 16
  • Segments 12
  • Tables 42
  • Message types 8
• CH 08Master Files

  This chapter covers the reference lists that two systems share. It defines how staff, locations, test catalogues and charge codes are kept in step between systems.

  • Trigger events 15
  • Segments 22
  • Tables 38
  • Message types 5
• CH 09Medical Records/Information Management

  This chapter covers clinical documents and their status. It defines the messages for a note or a summary that is created, edited, signed or replaced.

  • Trigger events 12
  • Segments 2
  • Tables 14
  • Message types 2
• CH 10Scheduling

  This chapter covers appointments and the resources they use. It defines the messages for booking, rescheduling and cancelling, and for the rooms, devices and staff involved.

  • Trigger events 3
  • Segments 8
  • Tables 7
  • Message types 5
• CH 11Patient Referral

  This chapter covers sending a patient to another provider. It defines the referral request and the replies that accept, decline or return it.

  • Trigger events 9
  • Segments 4
  • Tables 9
  • Message types 13
• CH 12Patient Care

  This chapter covers problems, goals and care plans. It defines the messages for a patient's care over time, not for one encounter.

  • Trigger events 8
  • Segments 5
  • Tables 3
  • Message types 8
• CH 13Clinical Laboratory Automation

  This chapter covers messages between the machines in a lab. It defines how specimen containers, analysers and the track between them report and receive instructions.

  • Trigger events 13
  • Segments 12
  • Tables 22
  • Message types 13
• CH 14Application Management

  This chapter covers systems reporting on their own status. It defines the messages for application status, logs and commands.

  • Trigger events 2
  • Segments 3
  • Tables 2
  • Message types 3
• CH 15Personnel Management

  This chapter covers the people who work at the facility. It defines the messages for staff records, credentials, qualifications and affiliations.

  • Trigger events 8
  • Segments 7
  • Tables 21
  • Message types 1