Migrating To Health Level 7 Standards

A hospital, doctors office, or clinic will generate a great deal of data throughout the work day

. Much of this data is stored and transmitted electronically through the use of specialized databases. Many medical computer systems have multiple databases, each with a specific role. For example, one database may include patient information, while another may include billing information. Keeping all of these databases in sync can be a challenge.

Medical Data Storage Solutions

One approach to solving this problem is to hire a network engineer to design a computer system that fulfills all of the needs of the medical staff. However, the network engineer will probably create a unique system that isnt compatible with a system built by other engineers for different hospital settings. This is problematic if two medical facilities find that they need to share data and realize that their systems are incompatible.

Fortunately, there is now a standard that facilitates medical database intercommunication. This standard is known as Health Level 7, or HL7. HL7 provides a standard mechanism for communicating data, such as patient files, doctors notes, and more. HL7 compliant networks can easily communicate with one another, which enhance the efficiency of the medical process. This can lead to fewer transmission delays and faster document retrieval, which can have potentially life-saving benefits. For example, consider a traveler who is far from home. He is brought to the local emergency room unconscious. With HL7, doctors can quickly access his records from across the nation. This can help doctors find out any medical data that is pertinent to making a diagnosis and selecting a course of treatment.

Converting to HL7

Switching over from a proprietary medical database to HL7 can require quite a bit of effort. Luckily, there are tools available that assist with HL7 conversion. For example, HL7 integration tools provide a means for converting existing databases to the HL7 format. This can help automate the process of updating hundreds or even thousands of existing patient database entries. In some cases, additional data must be added to the existing medical databases. This is because the HL7 standard requires a minimum amount of data about a patient, which a proprietary system may or may not have records of. For a scenario like this, a data entry specialist may be required to manually input this data.

Advantages of HL7

HL7 conversion is an important step towards joining a wider medical collective community. Medical facilities that adhere to this standard can easily swap files with other facilities, providing easy access to life saving data. With the help of HL7 integration tools, a medical database can be converted to this standard with minimal fuss. This can help keep costs down, while providing an important step towards standards compliance. By staying up-to-date with Health Level 7, a medical facility can serve an important role in the free transmission of medical data among those qualified to view it. This can lead to doctors receiving vital medical information just in time to save a patients life. This technology has the power to limit the suffering of the ill and save lives. There is no better reason to upgrade to Health Level 7.

by: William Hauselberg

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