SGML and XML as interchange formats for HL7 messages

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Data Standards
• Markup Languages

Background:

• Health Level Seven (HL7) is a critical standard for healthcare data exchange.
• HL7 Version 2.3 and Version 3.0 messages require efficient and robust transfer syntaxes.
• Traditional transfer syntaxes may present challenges in explicit representation and validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the suitability of SGML and XML as transfer syntaxes for HL7 messages.
• To develop specifications for representing HL7 messages using SGML and XML.
• To assess the feasibility and optimal implementation of SGML/XML for HL7 data transfer.

Main Methods:

• Development of detailed specifications for SGML and XML representations of HL7 messages.
• Analysis of key metrics including message length, parsing speed, and interversion compatibility.
• Exploration of local customization, conformance determination, and software tool availability.

Main Results:

• SGML and XML specifications for HL7 messages were successfully developed.
• Some HL7 requirements were more readily expressed, while ambiguities were clarified in the SGML/XML formats.
• SGML/XML parsers can effectively extract any data component from the messages.

Conclusions:

• SGML and XML are implementable message specifications for HL7 Version 2.3 and 3.0.
• Explicit SGML/XML representation facilitates validation of HL7 requirements.
• Optimal HL7 message representation balances functional, technical, and practical considerations.