Background

HL7 is a messaging standard that helps clinical applications exchange healthcare information. This is a series of articles on this standard that I have been working on slowly, and my goal is to enable a beginner to understand the basics quickly when needing to be part of a healthcare-related technology initiative, especially when it comes to developing custom software applications involving HL7-related message exchange.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. ~ Dr. Seuss

Overview Tutorials on HL7 (and related topics)

• A Very Short Introduction to the HL7 2.x Standard
• HL7 V3 Standard - A High-Level Overview
• Introduction to the DICOM Standard
• Overview of IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise)
• Use of Coded Vocabularies and Nomenclatures in HL7 and DICOM
• Basics of FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)
• HIPAA and Regulatory Compliance for Healthcare
• SOC Reports and their role in Healthcare
• GDPR - An Overview for Software Developers

HL7 Programming Tutorials using HAPI and Java

• HL7 Programming using Java - A Short Tutorial
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Creating HL7 Messages
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Sending HL7 Messages
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Receiving HL7 Messages
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Parsing Operations
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Using Tersers
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Message Validation
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Conformance Profiles and Testing
• HL7 Programming using Java and HAPI - Handling Binary Data

HL7 Programming Tutorials using NHAPI and .NET

• HL7 Programming using .NET - A Short Tutorial
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Creating HL7 Messages
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Sending HL7 Messages
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Parsing Operations
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Using Tersers
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Handling Binary Data
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Message Validation
• HL7 Programming using .NET and NHAPI - Advanced Message Validation using NHAPI Tools
• HL7 Programming using .NET - Additional Tools for HL7 Message Validation

Challenges (new)

Take an Interactive Quiz

HL7 Development Tools and SDKs

• HL7 Soup - HL7 Viewer and Editor
• HAPI Java HL7 Toolkit
• NHAPI .NET HL7 Toolkit
• NHAPI Tools
• HAPI HL7 Test Panel - Open Source Tool for HL7 V2 troubleshooting
• 7Edit - A Commercial Tool for HL7 V2 troubleshooting

Other Useful Links

• HL7 Main Site
• DICOM Home Page
• IHE Home Page

Disclaimer

I want to make a disclaimer about these articles. I do not serve on the HL7 standards committee. Therefore, I must caution you to take the information provided here with a grain of salt, and ultimately refer to the standard itself and its latest recommendations before starting any project involving the standard. For more information about the standard, you can contact your regional affiliate, or visit its main site here.