Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
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1. HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
Co-Chair: Jane Foard McKesson Provider Technologies
Co-Chair: Klaus D. Veil HL7 Australia
Editor: Frank Oemig Agfa HealthCare GmbH, HL7 Germany
Editor Don Lloyd HL7 Headquarters
Sponsoring TCWG: Publishing (v2) TCWG
List Server: [email protected]
1.1 STYLE GUIDE CONTENTS
1.1 STYLE GUIDE CONTENTS...... 1-1
1.2 PURPOSE...... 1-41-41-2
1.3 GENERAL RULES...... 1-41-41-2 1.3.1 Exceptions...... 1-41-41-2 1.3.2 General Specifications and Settings...... 1-41-41-2 1.3.3 Heading Capitalization...... 1-51-51-2 1.3.4 Enabling Macros...... 1-51-51-2 1.3.5 Definitions...... 1-51-51-3 1.3.6 Auto Correction...... 1-51-51-3 1.3.7 Smart Tags...... 1-51-51-3 1.4 GRAMMAR...... 1-61-61-3 1.4.1 Use of Commas in Series...... 1-61-61-3 1.4.2 A/an Conventions...... 1-61-61-4 1.4.3 "Version" Language Convention...... 1-61-61-4 1.4.4 ANSI approval language...... 1-61-61-4 1.5 DOCUMENT STRUCTURE...... 1-61-81-4 1.5.1 Introductory Page...... 1-61-81-4 1.5.2 Table of Contents...... 1-61-81-4 1.5.3 Statement of Purpose...... 1-71-81-5 1.5.4 Notes to Balloters...... 1-81-81-5 1.5.5 Preparing documents for publishing...... 1-91-101-7
Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 ©2008. All rights reserved Page 1 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.5.6 Event/Message and Segment Definition...... 1-101-101-7 1.5.7 Field Definitions...... 1-101-101-7 1.6 DOCUMENT PROPERTIES...... 1-111-111-8 1.6.1 Summary Properties...... 1-111-111-8 1.6.2 Custom Properties...... 1-111-111-8 1.6.3 Tracking Property...... 1-111-111-8 1.7 FORMATTING...... 1-111-111-8 1.7.1 Text Indentation...... 1-111-111-8 1.7.2 Message Definitions...... 1-111-111-8 1.7.3 Segment Definitions...... 1-141-141-11 1.7.4 Field Definitions...... 1-151-151-12 1.7.5 Field Component Definition...... 1-151-151-13 1.7.6 Data Type Component Table...... 1-151-161-13 1.7.7 Data Type Component Definition...... 1-161-161-14 1.7.8 Table Definitions...... 1-161-171-14 1.7.9 Table Value Definitions...... 1-181-181-16 1.7.10 Notes...... 1-181-191-16 1.7.11 Hyperlinks...... 1-191-191-16 1.7.12 Examples for messages...... 1-201-201-17 1.7.13 Other Examples...... 1-201-201-18 1.7.14 Page Headers...... 1-201-201-18 1.7.15 Page Footers...... 1-201-211-18 1.7.16 Setting Bookmarks...... 1-231-231-19 1.7.17 Inserting Cross References...... 1-241-241-20 1.8 LISTS...... 1-241-241-20
1.9 INDEXING...... 1-251-251-21 1.9.1 Data Types...... 1-251-251-21 1.9.2 Data Elements...... 1-251-251-21 1.9.3 Segments...... 1-251-251-21 1.9.4 Attribute Tables...... 1-251-261-21 1.9.5 Events...... 1-261-261-22 1.9.6 Tables...... 1-261-261-22 1.9.7 Message Types...... 1-261-261-22 1.10 CONFORMANCE STATEMENTS...... 1-261-261-22 1.10.1 Distinct Parts of a Conformance Statement...... 1-261-261-22 1.10.2 Formatting the different parts of a conformance statement with styles...... 1-271-271-23 1.11 OTHER EDITING TASKS AND ISSUES...... 1-291-291-25 1.11.1 Committee Publishing Process...... 1-301-301-26 2.1 AUTHORIZED PARAGRAPH STYLES FOR THE HL7-2 TEMPLATE...... 313127 2.1.1 Style Name Notes...... 373733 2.1.2 Font...... 373733 2.1.3 Kern...... 373733 2.1.4 Line Spacing...... 373733 2.1.5 Space Before...... 373733 2.1.6 Space After...... 373733 2.1.7 Justification...... 373733 2.1.8 Other...... 373733 2.1.9 Indent...... 373733 2.1.10 Tabs...... 373733 2.1.11 Base Style...... 373733 2.1.12 Style for Following Paragraph...... 373733 Page 2 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 2.2 AUTHORIZED CHARACTER STYLES FOR THE HL7-2 TEMPLATE...... 383834
2.3 WITHDRAWN STYLES FOR THE HL7-2 TEMPLATE...... 383834
2.4 LIST OF NEW STYLES FOR THE CONFORMANCE STATEMENT...... 383834
2.5 LIST OF COLUMN WIDTHS FOR ALL TABLES...... 404036
2.6 LIST OF ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES FOR ALL TABLES...... 404036
2.7 REMARKS...... 414137
2.8 A NOTE ON HTML STYLE SHEETS...... 434339
2.9 FORMATTING MACROS (STYLE FIXER)...... 444440 2.9.1 Enabling Macros...... 444440 2.9.2 General Remarks...... 444440 2.9.3 Adjust the properties of the styles...... 454541 2.9.4 Format all Tables within the document...... 454541 2.9.5 References...... 454541 2.9.6 Adjust the numbering of the headings...... 464642 2.9.7 Adjust the Number Gallery...... 464642 2.9.8 Delete unused styles...... 464642 2.9.9 Convert message tables into 5 column format...... 464643 2.9.10 Move group name from 3rd column to 2nd...... 474743 2.9.11 Add 3rd column to tables...... 474743 2.9.12 Reformat Message table...... 474743 2.9.13 What table is this...... 474744 2.9.14 Goto a specific table...... 484844 2.9.15 Correct Curly Quotes...... 484844 2.9.16 Requirements to run the macros...... 484845 2.9.17 Manually Correcting Styles...... 484845 2.9.18 Component Model Work...... 484845 2.10 PROCEDURES...... 494945 2.10.1 Procedure for Troubleshooting Normal List Alpha...... 494946 2.10.2 Troubleshooting styles that change erratically...... 505046 2.10.3 Procedure for inserting a picture...... 505047 2.10.4 Troubleshooting the macro Format All Tables...... 515147 2.10.5 Getting new data element or table numbers from HQ...... 515148 2.10.6 Procedure for de-activating “Replace straight quotes with smart quotes”...... 525248 2.10.7 Generating Table of Contents...... 525249 2.10.8 Fixing an Erratic Document Map...... 535249 2.10.9 Automatic Capitalization...... 555551 2.11 QUESTIONS/ERRORS...... 565652
2.12 HISTORY (LAST CHANGES AT THE END)...... 565652
1.2 PURPOSE This document describes how HL7 Version 2.7 Chapters should be formatted in order to get a uniform layout, which in turn allows automatic generation of the HL7 v2.7 Database. For the automatic scanning and data extraction processing it is important to maintain consistency across all HL7 chapters. To demonstrate the styles this document uses the same formatting rules. Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 3 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide All formatting is set by MS Word “styles”. (The use of a MS Word .DOT template file was found to be too unreliable). A set of macros is available (see the end of this document) to apply the styles to the document.
1.3 GENERAL RULES To reduce the amount of formatting effort and to allow easy processing of HL7 Chapters no direct formatting should be applied. All necessary formatting shall be done by the help of MS Word “styles”.
1.3.1 Exceptions Only a few exceptions are accepted. One is the numbering of the chapter. Others are identified later.
1.3.2 General Specifications and Settings This HL7 Style Guide is for HL7 v2.7 documents. This Style Guide assumes the use of MS Word 2003 SP-2 or a later version of MS word. Some settings are standard: The language is American English Hyphenation is enabled. Paper orientation is portrait “Fast saves” are disabled (keeps the documents to a minimum size) “Templates and Add-Ins automatic updates” is disabled. Smart vs. Straight quotes: (The XML SIG/TC defines the requirements.) 1.3.2.1 Page Setup Top margin: 0.4" (1,016 cm) Bottom margin: 0.5" (1.27 cm) Left margin: 0.75" (1.905 cm) Right margin: 0.75" (1.905 cm) Gutter (for binding): 0.5" (1.27 cm) Header: 0.6” (1.524 cm) Footer: 0.6” (1.524 cm)
1.3.2.2 Filename Conventions The naming convention for the files is:
V27_Ch<99>_NameCode.doc for the chapters including a two digit chapter number
V27_Appendix_
This convention is necessary to achieve hyperlinking across the different chapters.
1.3.3 Heading Capitalization Capitalize the first letter of each word except articles, prepositions, the "to" in infinitives, and coordinate conjunctions (such as “and”, “but”, “or” and “yet").
Page 4 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide The same should be applied to data elements and segment names.
1.3.4 Enabling Macros Regarding disabled macros. Word 2003 will (is supposed to ask) if you want to enable/disable macros when you open a document that contains macros. You can control whether, and which, macros run when you open a document by setting the Macro Security Level. Go to Tools Options: Security. In the Macro Security area, click the Security Level button. This opens the Security dialog and allows you to set the security level. A setting of "Low" will allow all macros to run; however, this is an unsafe setting for general usage. The "Medium" setting should prompt you at document open to ask whether or not you want to run macros. The higher two settings ("High" and "Very High" require additional steps in order to "trust" the macros and allow them to run. It is recommended to use the "Medium" setting when opening the files and manually selecting to allow macros to run. Alternately, if you use the "Low" setting, you should reset the setting to a higher one once you have finished your editing tasks. You can get to the macros directly (not using the buttons) by going to Tools:Macro:Macros or pressing Alt+F8. The window will list the available macros. If the window is empty, then the macros have been disabled via Word's virus protection: Enable Macro Virus Protection (check it) in Tools:Macros: Security, then close and re-open the document and click Enable on the dialog. If the dialog still doesn't show up then get a "fresh" copy of the style guide either re-extract it from the zip or download the zip again. (On the copy that I use I don't get the macro disable dialog, but I do get the dialog when I open a new copy out of the zip file.)
1.3.5 Definitions All segments, segment fields, data types and data type components should have a simple 1 sentence definition. The dictionary style of using fragments is to be avoided. The definition may be followed by 1 or more sentences clarifying usage. This guideline is to be applied to new items or existing ones that are being modified. We are not doing a sweep and clean-up of all definitions for this release.
1.3.6 Auto Correction Normally, Word provides a functionality called "auto correction". This feature automatically exchanges words typed in by another representation, e.g. smileys. In order not to get problems when converting the documents some of the entries must be deleted:
entry normally corrected to ......
1.3.7 Smart Tags Starting with Word 2003, an additional feature called "Smart Tags" was added. This feature automatically recognizes names, dates and address elements and embeds a "smart tag" with additional information around the recognized words. This feature is not desirable, especially for the examples section of the chapters and it should be turned off. To disable Smart Tags, go to Tools: AutoCorrect Options. At the Auto Correct dialog, select the Smart Tags header. Uncheck the Label Text with Smart Tags option. To remove all Smart Tags from a document, go to Tools: AutoCorrect Options. At the Auto Correct dialog, select the Smart Tags header. Click the Remove Smart Tags button and confirm that you want to remove all smart tags from the document.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 5 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.4 GRAMMAR
1.4.1 Use of Commas in Series Do not use comma before last and unless the last item in a list contains the word “and (e.g., the main causes of death are heart attacks, drownings, and hit and run accidents). Here’s what the AP style manual says: Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry. Put a comma before the concluding conduction in a series if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and steak and eggs for breakfast. Use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases: The main points to consider are whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete, whether they have the stamina to endure the training, and whether they have the proper mental attitude. Guideline source: Associate Press Style Guide.
1.4.2 A/an Conventions Use the article "an" before words or abbreviations that begin with a consonant but sound like a vowel (e.g. an ST data type or an NM data type). Guideline source: Associate Press Style Guide.
1.4.3 "Version" Language Convention Use a lower case "v" rather than spelling out the word "version" only if the version number appears, e.g., "v2.7". Otherwise, spell out the word version, e.g., "in earlier versions of the standard".
1.4.4 ANSI approval language Use "ANSI approval of" not "ANSI approval for" when speaking of ANSI approval.
1.5 DOCUMENT STRUCTURE
1.5.1 Introductory Page Every chapter begins with an introductory page which names the number of the chapter, the name of the chapter and the responsible chairs and editors. In addition, as of v2.7, the steward committee(s) for the chapter should be listed, along with the primary mailing list for the committee.
1.5.2 Table of Contents A Table of Contents appears after the introductory information. The TOC lists the chapter contents at the Heading 2 and Heading 3 levels. The TOC is constructed as described in section 2.9.7 in the English version of WORD. Heading 2 3.2 CHAPTER xx CONTENTS { VERZEICHNIS \T "Heading 2,1,Heading 3,2,Heading 4,3" }
Page 6 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
Another important issue is to move the level down, i.e. make “Heading 2” “TOC 1”.
1.5.3 Statement of Purpose Except for chapter 2, the first paragraph specifies the purpose of the chapter. The formatting is as follows:
Heading 1 (consists of a soft end of line [SHIIFT+RETURN] and the heading, but is auto-numbered and sets the number "base" for the whole chapter). In addition, the style has a six point border (large lower border with smaller single line above) added to the bottom of the paragraph. 3. Patient Administration
Co-Chair: Freida B. Hall Ernest & Young
Co- Chair: Michael Hawver Eclipsys Corporation
Editor: Klaus D. Veil HL7S&S
Sponsoring TCWG: Publishing TCWG
List Server: [email protected]
3.1 PURPOSE Heading 2
The list of chairs and the editors is a table with no borderlines. This allows for easy alignment. Furthermore, the sponsoring TC should be listed as it is not always clear who is responsible for the contents of a document. To set the "base" numbering for a chapter, set the number a *one* place in each chapter, namely in the actual chapter number ("3.") with the style of "Heading 1". Go to Format->Bullets and Numbering->Customize->Start at. Heading 3
1.5.4 Notes to Balloters Preparing a document for balloting often requires some additional information which should be taken care of when reading the document. This initial section appears directly below the list of co-chairs and editors, but before the table of contents. This ensures that everybody is aware of this additional information.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 7 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
Notes to Balloters
This is the 1st/2nd Committee/Membership Ballot for v2.7. Please ballot on chapter content only. The formatting of the chapters is mainly driven by the requirement to automatically extract data for automatic consistency checking and to build the HL7 v2.4 Database. The format has been reviewed by the HL7 Architectural Review Board. As HL7 also intends to publish the Standard in PDF and HTML/XML format, variations in presentation may not be avoidable. For this reason, not all style enhancements have change marks. HL7 HQ, the TC Chairs and the International Affiliates thank you for your consideration!
This section makes use of the available styles. Afterwards the whole section (without a section heading) is shaded in grey 15% and border lines are 1½ points. In order to get a single box around all the paragraph indentation must be the same. Following the "Notes to Balloters" header, a table shall be included listing all substantive and other changes deemed by the chapter-owning committee to be significant. The table header will list the following six columns: Section – Indicates the section in the chapter in which the change is located Section Name – Indicates the section name in the chapter in which the change is located Change Type – Briefly describes the nature of the change, i.e., addition of material, change of material, deletion of material, etc. Proposal # -- Indicates the v2.7 proposal # which made the change necessary Subst. – Indicates when a change is substantive in nature. Use 'Y' or 'N' to indicate substantivity; further, use 'SD',' TSC', 'ARB' or 'CTO' to indicate the level of review the item received, if needed. Line Item – Indicates the line item of the change from a ballot comment spreadsheet (Note: this column will be empty for first committee ballot.)
An example of an appropriate table follows:
Section Section Name Change Type Proposal # Subst. Line Item TXA - Transcription XCN Component model added. xxx Y, SD 1 Document Header 9.6.1.5 Segment TXA - Transcription XCN Component model appears yyy N, CTO 2 Document Header twice, second one was deleted. 9.6.1.9 Segment
1.5.5 Preparing documents for publishing a) Run Macros b) Clear number gallery (see procedure in section 1.7.1) c) Correct typos approved by the committee
Page 8 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide d) Make technical corrections approved by ARB that do not need to be balloted e) Make any sections moves that do not involve content change f) Make any other styleguide changes that do not involve content change g) Set place holders for new sections h) Check and correct bookmarks i) Check that Header is correct j) Check that the Footer indicates the proper ballot name or final name and the date k) Turn Tracking (Checkmarking) on l) Make content changes as needed
In order to make identification of new tables and data elements easier – it is not only necessary to replace them in a single spot – a naming scheme reduces checking efforts to find corresponding places: Instead of naming them “?????” or “nnnn” something like “0aa_” for tables and “0ee__” for data elements with “_” a letter running from “a” to “z”. E.g.: Oaaa Oaab Oaac ... And Oeea Oeeb ...
1.5.6 Event/Message and Segment Definition The structure of the HL7 chapters consists of two parts. The first lists events, triggers and messages with the relevant message structures; the second part defines the segments, elements, components and subcomponents in detail.
1.5.7 Field Definitions The field definitions for a segment have to be appended to the segment definition. It starts with the level 4 heading naming the segment after which the fields/elements are defined. No text is necessary. Heading 4 1.5.7.0 PID-1 Set ID - PID (SI) 00104 All field definitions start with a level 4 heading consisting of four parts: 1) The data element identifier
2) the name of the data element
3) the type of the data element (in brackets)
4) the data element ID number
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 9 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 5) The four heading parts are separated by three spaces each.
The field definition header also contains an invisible entry for index generation. Look at the “Set ID – PID” heading above with Tools -> Options -> View -> All checked on.
1.6 DOCUMENT PROPERTIES
1.6.1 Summary Properties Summary Properties are general document properties for the chapter. They include the following: Title: The name of the chapter, i.e.- Chapter 2, Control Subject: “HL7” and the corresponding version number, i.e. – HL7 v2.7 Author: The name of the chapter editor(s).
1.6.2 Custom Properties Custom Properties are specific document properties for the chapter indicating the release and ballot information. These properties are used in the document footer fields. In general, these fields will only be updated by HQ. They include the following: release_month: The month in which the chapter is being balloted/published. release_year: The year in which the chapter is being balloted/published. release_version: The version of the standard being balloted/published, i.e. – v2.7. release_status: The ballot or publishing status, for instance 'Committee Ballot 1,' Membership Ballot 1' or 'Final Standard."
1.6.3 Tracking Property The tracking property is an
1.7 FORMATTING
1.7.1 Text Indentation Text following headings level 1 and 2 are flush left with no indentation; the MS Word style is “Normal”. Text following level 3 headings and lower is formatted using "Normal Indented", indented 1/4" (0.63cm).
1.7.2 Message Definitions Message definitions are in the form of a table to simplify the document data extraction. This table consists of four columns and as many rows as necessary. In addition, as of v2.7, these tables are color coded in order to indicate message status: green – active status; red – deprecated status. The entry above the table (“Msg Table Caption” style) contains the caption for the table. The caption consists of: the message title followed by a colon the message type, the event/trigger code and the message structure ID separated by "^"
For instance (as formatted): Update Message: ADT^A31^ADT_A05 And, in addition, "(DEPRECATED)" will end the caption if the message definition is deprecated. Page 10 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide The first row of the table(“Msg Table Header” style) contains the following column labels: message: message segment code segment: the title of the segment status: a status concerning backward compatibility chapter: the corresponding HL7 chapter All subsequent rows are used for the message description (“Msg Table Body” style). The segments used and structure symbols are listed in the left column. The second column holds the segment name and the group name to identify logical groups of segments. The latter is written in the form "--- ", the name of the group in capital letters and "begin" or "end" according to the place. The third column contains any pertinent backward compatibility status information. The fourth column contains a reference to the relevant v2.7 chapter. If this message applies to more than one event, all event codes are listed within the second field of the first column in the first row. Ranges are separated by dashes (“-“) and single values by commas. The message definition tables are indented by 1/4" (0.63cm).
Msg Table Header Hyperlink to “EVN” Msg Table Body
ADT^A01^ADT_A01: ADT Message Segments Description Status Chapter MSH Message Header 2 [{ SFT }] Software Segment 2 [ UAC ] User Authentication Credential 2 EVN Event Type 3 PID Patient Identification 3 [ PD1 ] Additional Demographics 3 [{ ARV }] Access Restrictions 3 [{ ROL }] Role 15 [{ NK1 }] Next of Kin / Associated Parties 3 PV1 Patient Visit 3 [ PV2 ] Patient Visit - Additional Info. 3 [{ ARV }] Access Restrictions 3 [{ ROL }] Role 15 [{ DB1 }] Disability Information 3 [{ OBX }] Observation/Result 7 [{ AL1 }] Allergy Information 3 [{ DG1 }] Diagnosis Information 6 [ DRG ] Diagnosis Related Group 6 [{ --- PROCEDURE begin PR1 Procedures 6 [{ ROL }] Role 15 }] --- PROCEDURE end [{ GT1 }] Guarantor 6 [{ --- INSURANCE begin IN1 Insurance 6 [ IN2 ] Insurance Additional Info. 6 [{ IN3 }] Insurance Additional Info - Cert. 6 [{ ROL }] Role 15 }] --- INSURANCE end [ ACC ] Accident Information 6 [ UB1 ] Universal Bill Information 6 [ UB2 ] Universal Bill 92 Information 6
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 11 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide Segments Description Status Chapter [ PDA ] Patient Death and Autopsy 3
Columns 1 and 2 are left justified – and columns 3 and 4 are centered. It is required that all segments in the message structure that are defined in the same chapter have a hyperlink to the segment attribute table. Segment Group Names: Whenever brackets are used for one segment only they should appear within the same cell. Otherwise separate rows should be used: The Segment Group Name (SGN) will appear in the segment name column on it's own line. It will be preceded by 3 dashes and followed by the word begin or end depending on context. Indentation can use tabs or spaces. The latter are preferred. If possible the closing brackets should appear below the corresponding opening bracket. "{[" and "[{" are semantically identical. But the latter is preferred. (The "{[" and "]}" bracket pairs will be replaced with "[{" and "}]".) Furthermore,
Segments Description Status Chapter ... [ { --- INSURANCE begin IN1 Insurance 6 [ IN2 ] Insurance Additional Info. 6 [ {IN3} ] Insurance Additional Info. - Cert. 6 } ] --- INSURANCE end
and
Segments Description Status Chapter ... [ --- INSURANCE begin { IN1 Insurance 6 [ IN2 ] Insurance Additional Info. 6 [ {IN3} ] Insurance Additional Info. - Cert. 6 } ] --- INSURANCE end
are the same. The first one requires less editing efforts than the second and is the preferred representation by the publishing committee, but the second one allows for easier checking of message structure correct- ness. 1.7.2.0 Table Color Coding As of v2.7, in order to provide readers with a visual indication of the status of a message definition, color coding of the table header and alternate rows will be used. Normal (non-deprecated message definitions will use green, while deprecated message definitions will be coded red. Standard Message Definition Table format: ACK^A31^ACK : General ACK Message Segments Description Status Chapter MSH Message Header 2 Page 12 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide Segments Description Status Chapter [{ SFT }] Software Segment 2 [ UAC ] User Authentication Credential 2 MSA Message Acknowledgment 2 [ { ERR } ] Error 2
Deprecated Message Definition Table format: ADT^A30^ADT_A30: Merge Message(DEPRECATED) Segments Description Status Chapter MSH Message Header 2 [{ SFT }] Software Segment 2 [ UAC ] User Authentication Credential 2 EVN Event Type 3 PID Patient Identification 3 [PD1] Additional Demographics 3 MRG Merge Information 3
1.7.3 Segment Definitions Attribute headers start on a new page. The attribute tables, i.e. the list of data elements used, are indented 1/4" (0.63cm) and should be formatted as follows:
Attribute Table Caption Attribute Table Header Attribute Table Body Bookmark (“EVN”) Index information Hyperlink to “ID”
HL7 Attribute Table – EVN – Events {XE “HL7 Attribute Table: EVN” }{XE “EVN attributes”} SEQ LEN C.LEN DT OPT RP/ TBL# ITEM ELEMENT NAME # # 1 (1..3) ID B 0003 00099 Event Type Code 2 (4..26) 26 TS R 00100 Recorded Date/Time 3 (4..26) 26 TS O 00101 Date/Time Planned Event 4 (1..3) 3 IS O 0062 00102 Event Reason Code 5 (1..60) XCN O Y 0188 00103 Operator ID 6 26 26 TS O 01278 Event Occurred
The attribute table caption line information is used to generate the index of HL7 attribute tables. Therefore the complete caption is repeated in the index field. To facilitate the generation of the database the index field must be positioned at the end of the line! The attribute table caption line must be bookmarked with the 3-letter segment ID (i.e. "EVN") for referencing by the message structure tables. The header is shaded 10%. The attribute table grid lines are ¾ points, and the border is a dual ¾ point line. Additional index information is added at the end of the paragraph. This kind of information is hidden and therefore only visible when switching on “all” in Extras->Options->non-printable characters. (The information above is formatted as normal text so it appears in the printed version of this document.)
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 13 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide The narrative should precede the Segment Attribute table. In the future we may identify distinct parts of the narrative such as: definition, explanation/description, usage notes, use cases and examples. The fifth column for repeatability is populated only when the field can repeat. Otherwise it should be left blank.
1.7.4 Field Definitions Style “Heading 4” 1.5.10.0 starts with zero to ensure that “field definitions” after a HL7 Attribute Table are automatically renumbered. Where a zero-numbered heading is not desired, hide it with Format -> Font -> Hidden. The Field Definition heading now consists of 5 components: 1) Section heading number: 3.3.2.3 (automatically generated by Word)
2) Element name: PID-3
3) Element description: Patient Identifier List (Use Title Case)
4) Element data type: (CX)
5) Unique data element identifier: 00106
The 5 heading components are separated by 3 spaces each. The complete heading looks as follows: 3.3.2.3 PID-3 Patient Identifier List (CX) 00106
1.7.5 Field Component Definition Whenever a data element consists of components, they are defined first within the description. This definition is done in a paragraph like form. This definition also applies for subcomponents. Components:
Components
The component definition, i.e., the list of components, is repeated within each field definition. The editor should not apply changes to the data types manually. This is done automatically by a macro when the document is prepared for balloting or for publication.
1.7.6 Data Type Component Table The components which make up a data type are specified in form of a table like segments or real tables.
Component Table Caption Component Table Header Component Table Body Bookmark (“DTCE”) Index information Hyperlink to “ST”
HL7 Component Table - CE – Coded Element{XE “HL7 Component Table - CE ” }
SEQ LEN C.LEN DT OPT TBL# COMPONENT NAME COMMENTS SEC.REF.
1 ST R Identifier Page 14 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide SEQ LEN C.LEN DT OPT TBL# COMPONENT NAME COMMENTS SEC.REF.
2 ST O Text 3 IS R 0396 Name Of Coding System 4 ST O Alternate Identifier 5 ST O Alternate Text 6 IS O 0396 Name Of Alternate Coding System Length: 250
Example: |F-11380^CREATININE^I9^2148-5^CREATININE^LN|
The header is shaded 10%. Columns 6 and 7 are left justified. The attribute table grid lines are ¾ points, and the border is a dual ¾ point line. Within the comments column there is no hint whether this component is itself a complex data type. The user can find out by checking the underlying data type. Within the narrative a hint (note) can be found to give an indication the data type which embeds the current one. But this should only apply to sparsely use data types.
1.7.7 Data Type Component Definition Style “Heading 4” 1.5.10.0 starts with zero to ensure that “component definitions” after a HL7 Component Table are automatically renumbered. Where a zero-numbered heading is not desired, hide it with Format -> Font -> Hidden. The Component Definition heading now consists of 4 components: 1) Section heading number: 3.3.2.3 (automatically generated by Word)
2) Component name: CE.1
3) Component description: Identifier (Use Title Case)
4) Component data type: (ST)
The 4 heading components are separated by 3 spaces each. The complete heading looks as follows: 3.3.2.3 CE.1 Identifier (ST)
1.7.8 Table Definitions Whenever a table is referenced within a field description the first time (according to the sequence of chapters) the corresponding values have to be defined in form of a table. If no values can be identified this table should contain one entry saying “no suggested values”. 1.7.8.1 General rules
Tables with double borders are normative; tables with single borders are user-defined. Each table consists of a caption, a header and a body. The header part is shaded. Table structures are to be inserted in the standard, even if values have not been determined.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 15 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.7.8.2 HL7 Tables HL7 Table Caption HL7 Table Header HL7 Table Body Bookmark (“HL70103”) Index information
HL7 Table 0103 – Processing ID{XE “HL7 Table: 0103 - Processing ID ” } Value Description Comment 01 Patient request 02 Physician order 03 Census management Note the index field in the HL7 table caption above. The HL7 table caption line must be bookmarked with the 7-character table ID (ie. "HL70103", see 2.8.3.3) for referencing by all references (ie. HL7 Table 0103 – Processing ID) to that table within the same chapter. The header is shaded 10%. HL7 table grid lines are ¾ points, and the border is a dual ¾ point line. As the width of HL7 tables changes, they are centered.
Note: HL7 Table 0136 - Yes/no Indicator should not be repeated with different values, rather the interpretations should be given in a “normal list” style. (This avoids the duplication of HL7 table 0136 with differing values.) Example: Definition: This field indicates whether or not the patient’s identity is known. Refer to HL7 Table 0136 - Yes/no indicator for suggested values. Y the patient’s identity is unknown N the patient’s identity is known
1.7.8.3 User-defined Tables User Table Caption User Table Header User Table Body Bookmark (“HL70062”) Index information
User-defined Table 0062 - Event reason{XE “ User-defined Table: 0062-Event reason ” } Value Description Comment 01 Patient request 02 Physician order 03 Census management Note the index field in the User Table caption above. The user-defined table caption line must be bookmarked with the 7-character table ID (ie. "HL70062", see 2.8.3.3) for referencing by all references (ie. User-defined Table 0062 – Event Reason) to that table within the same chapter. The header is shaded 10%. User Table grid lines are ¾ points, and the border is a 1½ point line. As the width of User-defined tables changes, they are centered.
Page 16 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide It is a requirement that all user-defined tables are included in a chapter, even if values have not been determined. The tables should be formatted the same as any other user-defined table, but there should be only one "User Table Body" row, which should read: "No suggested values defined." 1.7.8.4 Imported Tables Imported Tables are formatted like HL7 tables. 1.7.8.5 External Tables Imported Tables are formatted like HL7 tables. 1.7.8.6 Other Tables All other tables use the styles Other Table Caption Other Table Header Other Table Body
1.7.9 Table Value Definitions We propose the following notation: The basic structure of a table is value in the left-most column and the description in the 2nd- leftmost column. Only one value pair per row is allowed. If comments, etc. are required, these can be entered in additional columns on the right. A range of values is indicated by three dots separated by spaces from the first and last value:
1.7.10 Table Meta Data Each table should contain a leading table with the meta data. The contents is as shown below:
Table Metadata
Table Steward Has been harmonized with v3 v3 Equivalent Where used Status 0002 PA high priority TBD PID-16 Active Open Issue: there are currently no styles defined for this table.
1.7.11 Notes Note
Note: The official title of UB is “National Uniform Billing Data Element Specifications.” Most of the codes added came from the UB-92 specification, but some came from the UB-82.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 17 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide The “note” box is aligned with the text indentation. The bolded initial text "Note:" is followed by two spaces after the colon. The “Note” style has 4 points before and 3 after each paragraph. Another note style with indentation: Note Indented
Note: The official title of UB is “National Uniform Billing Data Element Specifications.” Most of the codes added came from the UB-92 specification, but some came from the UB-82.
1.7.12 Hyperlinks Three different styles for hyperlinks are necessary. Otherwise the properties for the styles must be overwritten by hand:
Used Style Used in Required attributes
HL70062 Hyperlink Table Attribute Tables (Segment Definition) Arial, 8 pts HL70062 Hyperlink Text normal Text Times New Roman, 10 pts HL70062 Hyperlink Message Tables (Message Definition) Courier New, 8 pts The hyperlinks are valid for all sorts of references. Please note that in order to use hyperlinks effectively you must first create the bookmarks to the section or element you want to link to. See section 1.7.16 for on overview of creating Bookmarks. 1.7.12.1 Referencing Fields The standard method of referencing a segment field in a chapter is by its segment code, sequence number and its full text name. The code and sequence number are separated by a hyphen as are the sequence number and name. The reference is to be italicized, and the name is in title case. The style "Hyperlink Text" is provided therefore. Example: PID-3 - Patient Identifier List. On occasion, if the data element is well understood in context, the code may appear by itself and not italicized. Example: PID-3. The reference should be hyperlinked to the segment field definition in the chapter. The standard method of referencing a segment field component in a chapter is by its segment code, sequence number, component sequence and its full text name. The code and sequence number are separated by a hyphen; the sequence number and the component sequence are separated by a period. The component sequence number and name are separated by a hyphen. The reference is to be italicized, and the name is in title case using "Hyperlink Text". Example: PID-3.2 – Check Digit. On occasion, if the data type component is well understood in context, the code may appear by itself and not italicized. Example: PID-3.2. 1.7.12.2 Referencing Data Types See Bookmark procedure for setting a Bookmark in the caption. The name of the bookmark should be "DT" followed by the name of the data type. The standard method of referencing a data type in a chapter is by its code followed by its full text name. The reference is to be italicized, and the name is in title case. To achieve this aim the style "Hyperlink Text" should be used. Example: CNE Coded With No Exceptions. On occasion, if the data type is well understood in context, the code may appear by itself. Example: CNE. The standard method of referencing a data type component in a chapter is by its code, sequence number, and its full text name. The code and sequence number are separated by a period. The reference is to be italicized, and the name is in title case. Here the same style should be used. Example: CNE.3 Name of Coding System. On occasion, if the data type component is well understood in context, the code may appear by itself. Example: CNE.3.
Page 18 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.7.13 Examples for messages If an example for a message is necessary to illustrate the meaning of a message the style “Example” should be used. Example
MSH|.|..|... EVN|..|..|... PID|||...... Examples and use cases should be placed as close to the relevant chapter section as possible.
1.7.14 Other Examples Some chapters require other examples like message, attribute, HL7 or user-defined tables. For that purpose 4 additional styles are available, which can be used instead of the header. It has the same name, but with the addition “Example”: Attribute Table Header Example Msg Table Header Example HL7 Table Header Example User Table Header Example
1.7.15 Page Headers The header line consists of a ¾ point border line below. It merely names the document. 1.7.15.1 First Page Headers The first page does not have a header. 1.7.15.2 Odd Page Headers
Chapter 3: Patient Administration
The number and name of the chapter is shown in the page header, right justified 1.7.15.3 Even Page Headers
Chapter 3: Patient Administration
The number and name of the chapter is shown in the page header, left justified.
1.7.16 Page Footers Footer lines consist of two lines. The first lists a copyright statement and the page number with total number separated by a dash. The second line contains the status of this document as well as the issue date.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 19 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.7.16.1 Odd pages and first page The footer consists of different parts: 1) the copyright notice including the year and "All rights reserved." [Note that this information comes from a field reading the custom document property "release_year."]
2) a reference to Health Level Seven, Inc.
3) the version number [Note that this information comes from a field reading the custom document property "release_version."]
Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved Page 3-5 Committee Ballot 1 May 2008
4) the release status (i.e. one of: “Draft”, “Committee Ballot," Membership Ballot”, “Final Standard”) [Note that this information comes from a field reading the custom document property "release_status."]
5) the chapter and page number formatted as “
6) the month and year of release, Yk2 compliant and internationally readable. [Note that this information comes from two fields reading the custom document propertiews "release_month" and "release_year."]
1.7.16.2 Even pages
Page 3-6 Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved May 2002 Ballot
Introducing additional document properties, which can be changed by "File -> Properties", no more changes to footer is necessary. These properties maintain the variable information for the footer. Maintaining them this way requires only a single change without updating all footers individually. This is especially helpful when having more than one section (e.g. portrait and landscape formats). The corresponding field function is called "DOCPROPERTY". The dialog box will look as follows:
Page 20 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
You can insert references to the document property as follows:
The footer itself now contains only references. Therefore, it is NOT necessary to update the footer any more. The same can be achieved by modifying the document properties.
Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 21 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide
1.7.16.3 Page Numbering The chapter number should be included into the page numbering. This feature can be enabled via "Insert -> Page Numbers":
The format button opens a new dialog, where the chapter numbers can be included into the page numbering.
1.7.17 Setting Bookmarks Use the following steps to create a bookmark: 1) Highlight the text that you want to bookmark.
2) Go to Insert->Bookmark on the menus.
3) In the Bookmark Name field, enter a name for your new bookmark.
4) Click the ADD button. When you have “bookmark view” or “all hidden characters” turned on , The text will appear in brackets [ ]. Editors should follow established guidelines for table and other element bookmark names. Table bookmark names are defined as described in 1.7.8.2, HL7 Tables.
Page 22 Health Level Seven, Version 2.7 © 2008. All rights reserved June 2008 Draft 40 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide 1.7.18 Inserting Cross References Cross references can be used to insert links to other locations within a document. The advantage of using cross references is that the reference uses a field that can be automatically update, for instance, if the section number of section title is changed. If should be noted, however, that to update a field reference the field needs to be selected and 'Update Field' run from the context menu (right-click). To insert a cross reference, follow these steps: 1. Place the cursor at the location at which you want to insert the cross reference. 2. From the menus, select Insert > Reference > Cross-reference. 3. In the Cross-reference dialog, for the Reference Type field, select 'Heading'; for the Insert Reference To field, select "Heading number" or "Heading text"; and then, in the For which heading list, scroll to the desired heading reference and select it. Click Insert.
In general, cross-references take the following form: "see section [Heading Number], "[Heading text]" … For example: For an explanation of how to insert a cross-reference, see section 1.7.18, "Inserting Cross References."
1.8 LISTS For listing items we provide four different styles: “Normal List” m) “Normal List Alpha”
1) “Normal List Numbered” I) “Normal List Roman”
“Normal List Bullets”
Here is some technical information on lists:
List Gallery
Normal - Alpha Number 5 Numbered Number 2 Roman Number 7 Bullet Bullet 7
Lists should be standardized in its usage. Alpha, numbered and roman lists represents a hierarchy, also in their indentation. Therefore, whenever possible try to use alpha lists first.
Use Normal List Alpha under the following circumstances:
The items occur in a definite sequential order A large number of items are being enumerated.
Use Normal List Numbered under the following circumstances: Health Level Seven, Version 2.5 © 2002. All rights reserved Page 23 Draft 40 June 2008 Chapter 1: HL7 V2.7 Style Guide Steps in a procedure or process are being enumerated Lists embedded within alpha lists
Use Normal List Bullets under the following circumstances:
Fewer than 6 (or perhaps 7 or fewer) items are listed and they do not meet above criteria
Avoid using the Normal List. Consider using a table instead. Avoid deeply indented lists.
Please the procedures section for trouble shooting.
1.9 INDEXING Another important point for documentation is the generation of an index. For this a lot of additional information is necessary. To get a consistent result some rules have to be established how to formulate such entries. In order not to interrupt the parsing process this information must be placed at specific points within the text. The use of a colon (“:”) build up groups like a list of all tables.
1.9.1 Data Types
1) „Data Types:“ + + “ - “ +
2) + “ - “ +
3)
1.9.2 Data Elements The name of the data element is repeated within the title.
1.9.3 Segments Within the title three different entries are necessary: 1)
2) “Segments:” +
3)
1.9.4 Attribute Tables The index information must be added at the end of the paragraph (i.e., line). 1)
2) “HL7 Attribute Table:“ +
1.9.5 Events
1)
1.9.6 Tables
1) “Tables: User-defined or HL7:” +