A Definitive Guide to HL7 Integration

Posted in Healthcare Management

Healthcare systems like clinics and hospitals use a complex network of information systems to function efficiently. This includes hospital information systems (HIS), electronic health records (EHR), radiology information systems (RIS), electronic medical records (EMR), and lab information systems (LIS) that operate in different languages. In addition, the healthcare system increasingly relies on multiple applications to streamline its functions, necessitating the need for a universal communication language. That’s where the HL7 interface engine comes into play.

HL7 data integration is the simplest approach to ensure communication between different medical systems and applications. The language was exclusively developed as a universal communicator between medical systems and applications and was introduced in the industry back in 1987. In this digital health blog, we will look at everything you would want to know about the HL7 language, including the software, HL7 integration, and HL7 integration engine.

What is HL7?

HL7 interface engine software is a tool that helps healthcare organizations manage, store, and exchange electronic medical records (EMRs) between multiple systems, such as hospitals, laboratories, or insurance companies.

HL7 is an exclusive universal language that ensures consistent communication between different systems used across all healthcare industries. Today, the entire healthcare industry communicates in one or more HL7 messages. 

What Does HL7 Stand For?

HL7 or Health Level-7 was created by Health Level Seven International. It is a non-profit organization that develops standards for exchanging electronic health care data. HL7 is a set of globally recognized standards used to transfer and share data between various healthcare providers.

The HL7 language comprised of 7 different layers of the ISO communication model, including;

• Physical: The communication layer of the HL7 language is responsible for connecting the medical facility to the transmission media.
• Datalink: The data link layer in the HL7 language is responsible for managing and minimizing errors between adjacent nodes.
• Network: The HL7 network layer is responsible for routing the information across the network.
• Transport: It is responsible for the end-to-end communication control.
• Session: It manages the non-communication issues.
• Presentation: The presentation layer of the HL7 language is responsible for transforming the information.
• Application: Lastly, the application layer of the language is responsible for delivering services to applications.

If we broadly categorize the 7 different layers that together make up the HL7 layers, we can say that layers 1 to 4 are responsible for communication purposes. On the other hand, layers 5 to 7 are for functioning. All of these HL7 language layers are important for completing the transfer or retrieval of medical communications between different applications and systems.

What is the Objective of HL7?

The core vision behind the development of the HL7 connection was to offer the healthcare industry a unified and universal language to promote faster and more secure medical data sharing. It is important to have a simple and logical workflow to achieve the goal of data interoperability. This consequently improves quality, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness for healthcare providers.

What is HL7 Integration?

HL7 data integration refers to implementing HL7 standards in healthcare organizations to enable data interoperability. The data is trasferred through HL7 messages composed by following HL7 rules with defined structures and data formats easily interpreted by all systems. 

In this day and age, multiple healthcare facilities use different systems and applications that rely on HL7 standards. This means that different software systems, like electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory information systems (LIS), and radiology information systems (RIS), can easily communicate with each other.  

However, to fully realize the benefits of HL7 integration, reduce costs, and improve services, these facilities need an HL7 integration engine that acts as a bridge connecting all these systems and applications. 

The HL7 integration can be accomplished by one of the two ways:

1. Point-to-Point

The Point-to-Point interface HL7 EMR integration is the simplest approach to ensure data communication between medical systems. Since there’s a dedicated link/interface between the two systems/applications, the data format used for communication between them is easily recognized. However, the downside or challenge of this approach is the large number of interfaces/links that must be generated between the systems/applications. For instance, to connect 4 systems with ADT data, 4 different interfaces/links would have to be built.

2. Interface and HL7 Integration Engine

The HL7 integration engine is a sort of middleware meant to connect multiple structures and convert the data formats as per the requirements of different systems. This approach removes any need for individual (point-to-point) interfaces between systems. While the interfaces (from a point-to-point approach) and integration engines can be difficult to differentiate, the main point of differentiation is the range of functionalities each supports.

Regarding HL7 integration, the primary consideration should be your strategy, irrespective of the HL7 connection version you choose. To fully utilize HL7 potential, healthcare facilities must carefully set their needs and determine whether an HL7 integration engine or a point-to-point interface is the most suitable approach. 

Additionally, they must identify the desired integration functions like patient demographics, clinical data, and orders. An extensive integration strategy, is what leads to successful implementation.

How HL7 Works?

Who Uses the HL7 Integration Software Engine? 

HL7 interface engine helps medical organizations manage EMRs and other health information between multiple systems. At present, over 90% of healthcare facilities, including hospitals and private clinics in the United States, have integrated the HL7. Across the world, there are over 25 HL7 organizations working to make it the global standard in the healthcare industry. The users of the HL7 engine are divided into 3: 

1. Clinical Interface Specialists

This segment includes specialists required to move clinical data. They are tasked with creating tools or applications that enable easy sharing and recognition of data between medical systems/applications. Such users are responsible for communicating data between healthcare providers and applications/systems.

2. Government or Regulatory Authorities

Government and regulatory authorities are interested in sharing healthcare data to improve public health. To facilitate this, they often mandate the use of HL7 standards that promotes interoperability. There are a few legacy systems available at present as well. Such users take benefit from HL7 compliance to achieve seamless exchange of information. 

3. Medical informaticists

Lastly, we have medical informaticists primarily related to healthcare informatics. They deal with the logic of healthcare and study the creation of clinical knowledge. These HL7 users are primarily interested in creating or adapting clinical ontology.

What are the HL7 Integration Challenges?

Variance in the Implementation of HL7 Standards

One key challenge in the HL7 software integration is the variation in the implementation of the HL7 standards, which leads to increased time and cost required for the integration. In simple words, the variance in the implementation of standards means programmers/system analysts are required to maintain multiple code bases and integration points. It also means more dedicated resources are required for integration development, leaving fewer resources for other work processes. Moreover, the replacement or addition of interfaces influences all the related applications, subsequently impacting the entire communication network. 

Unreliable HL7 Data Semantics and Data Misinterpretation

The complexity of today’s healthcare industry means that healthcare applications must identify and understand the data values and their real meaning. To avoid any misinterpretations due to data semantics, the HL7 must integrate/integrate the engine to communicate its interpretation of the standards being used. 

To give you an example, the HL7 interface needs to interpret if “NA” means “Not Applicable” or “No Allergies”. Similarly, the value “3” may interpret the patient as “Smoker” or “Former Smoker” in different systems. 

There can be hundreds and thousands of such cases, which all lead to the importance of communicating the right interpretation of data semantics because this interpretation will eventually lead to the quality of the data and may have dire consequences for healthcare delivery to patients. At a time when the healthcare industry is increasingly becoming regional with various patient touchpoints, HL7 integrations must offer accurate and comprehensive data interpretation.

Unplanned EHR Migration and Legacy Data Loss

There is always a certain degree of challenge and risk involved during the migration of EHR for healthcare institutes. To avoid data loss, many healthcare facilities go with multiple EHRs, which require doctors, physicians, and other related staff to maintain login details for multiple platforms. In the worst cases, the healthcare facilities may require medical and paramedic staff to maintain paper records as well. Alternatively, some institutes may transfer the data into a new system. 

However, unplanned data migration may lead to the loss of legacy data. Before the data migration, healthcare institutes must prioritize the data (which is the most important and which should be migrated at the first stage).

Generally, the basic essential medical data, including allergies, medications, and others, should be the data of choice for initial migration. Another complicacy in this regard arises due to data incompatibility or errors after data conversion into other formats.

Integrate EMR/EHR Solutions Powered By HL7 With Folio3 Digital Health 

The healthcare industry is rapidly moving towards EMR/EHR solutions to store and exchange patient records with the HL7 integration engine. Tailored comprehensive solutions by Folio3 Digital Health with HL7 interoperability improve patient care, increase efficiency, and ensure data security. Our team of developers and designers is available to help you every step of the way, from ideation to system deployment and post-deployment support. Each Folio3 Digital Health product is HIPAA-compliant and uses the latest HL7 and FHIR interoperability standards.

Conclusion

HL7 integration engine enables smooth and secure data exchange between multiple healthcare management systems. Adopting HL7 standards can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance patient care. However, successful integration requires careful planning, implementation, and maintenance. With the evolution of healthcare technology, HL7 will remain a standard for the efficient and secure exchange of patient information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can UX Design Help Improve HL7 Compliance?

HL7 standards are responsible for bridging the gap between health apps and healthcare providers while improving interoperability. Similarly, modern healthcare facilities integrate HL7 standards information into healthcare apps for better compliance. However, a well-built UX design for healthcare apps is also necessary for optimizing app usage.

About the Author