XML Implementation Technology Specification - Data Types

<!-- type ED --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) representation = (B64 | TXT) : TXT language = CS mediaType = CS compression = CS integrityCheck = BIN integrityCheckAlgorithm = (SHA-1 | SHA-256) : SHA-1 > Content: ( reference, thumbnail, (#PCDATA | any) ) </x> <!-- type EN --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) use = CS* > Content: ( (delimiter | family | given | prefix | suffix)*, validTime ) </x>

Definition:      An exceptional value expressing missing information and possibly the reason why the information is missing.

Every data element has either a proper value or it is considered NULL. If and only if it is NULL, a "null flavor" provides more detail as to in what way or why no proper value is supplied.

Domain NullFlavor

code	name	definition
NI	NoInformation	No information whatsoever can be inferred from this exceptional value. This is the most general exceptional value. It is also the default exceptional value.
OTH	other	The actual value is not an element in the value domain of a variable. (e.g., concept not provided by required code system).
NINF	negative infinity	Negative infinity of numbers.
PINF	positive infinity	Positive infinity of numbers.
UNK	unknown	A proper value is applicable, but not known.
ASKU	asked but unknown	Information was sought but not found (e.g., patient was asked but didn't know)
NAV	temporarily unavailable	Information is not available at this time but it is expected that it will be available later.
NASK	not asked	This information has not been sought (e.g., patient was not asked)
TRC	trace	The content is greater than zero, but too small to be quantified.
MSK	masked	There is information on this item available but it has not been provided by the sender due to security, privacy or other reasons. There may be an alternate mechanism for gaining access to this information.Note: using this null flavor does provide information that may be a breach of confidentiality, even though no detail data is provided. Its primary purpose is for those circumstances where it is necessary to inform the receiver that the information does exist without providing any detail.
NA	not applicable	No proper value is applicable in this context (e.g., last menstrual period for a male).
NP	not present	Value is not present in a message. This is only defined in messages, never in application data! All values not present in the message must be replaced by the applicable default, or no-information (NI) as the default of all defaults.

nullFlavor is represented by the XML attributenullFlavor whose value, if present, must be a valid value from the NullFlavor domain (Domain NullFlavor).

<!-- type BL --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = (true | false) />

The first example shows true and false negation and context conduction indicators.

The second example shows the use of true and false inclusive interval boundaries.

<!-- type BN --> <x value = (true | false) />

Definition:      The data itself represented in the XML instance encoding according to the binary data representation element (text or base64 form.) ST and types that specialize ST use only the text representation.

data is represented as the text content of the XML element representing the BIN value, whose value, if present must be the base64 encoding of the actual value.

Definition:      Specifies the representation of the binary data that is the content of the binary data value.

BIN in the Data Types Abstract Specification does not have a representation property since, for HL7's purposes, representation is not a meaningful property of data. Therefore applications need not retain the representation.

representation is represented by the XML attributerepresentation whose value, if present, must be TXT or B64. The default value is TXT.

TXT indicates that the character data of the BIN is to be interpreted directly as characters; B64 indicates that the BIN data has been base64 encoded and must be decoded in order to recover the original data.

<!-- type ED --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) representation = (B64 | TXT) : TXT language = CS mediaType = CS compression = CS integrityCheck = BIN integrityCheckAlgorithm = (SHA-1 | SHA-256) : SHA-1 > Content: ( reference, thumbnail, (#PCDATA | any) ) </x>

Definition:      The data itself represented in the XML instance encoding according to the binary data representation element (text or base64 form.) ST and types that specialize ST use only the text representation.

Definition:      Specifies the representation of the binary data that is the content of the binary data value.

Definition:      Identifies the type of the encapsulated data and identifies a method to interpret or render the data.

The IANA defined domain of media types is established by the Internet standard RFC 2046 [].

To promote interoperability, this specification prefers certain media types to others. This is to define a greatest common denominator on which interoperability is not only possible, but that is powerful enough to support even advanced multimedia communication needs.

Domain MediaType below assigns a status to certain MIME media types, where the status means one of the following:

required: Every HL7 application must support at least the required media types if it supports a given kind of media. One required media-type for each kind of media exists. Some media types are required for a specific purpose, which is then indicated as "required for ..."

recommended: Other media types are recommended for a particular purpose. For any given purpose there should be only very few additionally recommended media types and the rationale, conditions and assumptions of such recommendations must be made very clear.

indifferent: This status means, HL7 does neither forbid nor endorse the use of this media type. All media types not mentioned here by default belong into the indifferent category. Since there is one required and several recommended media types for most practically relevant use cases, media types of this status should be used very conservatively.

deprecated: Deprecated media types should not be used, because these media types are flawed, because there are better alternatives, or because of certain risks. Such risks could be security risks, for example, the risk that such a media type could spread computer viruses. Not every flawed media type is marked as deprecated, though. A media type that is not mentioned, and thus considered other by default, may well be flawed.

Domain MediaType

code	name	status	definition
text/plain	Plain Text	required	For any plain text. This is the default and is equivalent to a character string (ST) data type.
text/html	HTML Text	recommended	For marked-up text according to the Hypertext Mark-up Language. HTML markup is sufficient for typographically marking-up most written-text documents. HTML is platform independent and widely deployed.
text/x-hl7-ft	HL7 Text	recommended	For compatibility, this represents the HL7 v2.x FT data type. Its use is recommended only for backward compatibility with HL7 v2.x systems.
text/xml	XML Text	indifferent	For structured character based data. There is a risk that general SGML/XML is too powerful to allow a sharing of general SGML/XML documents between different applications.
text/rtf	RTF Text	indifferent	The Rich Text Format is widely used to share word-processor documents. However, RTF does have compatibility problems, as it is quite dependent on the word processor. May be useful if word processor edit-able text should be shared.
text/sgml	SGML Text	indifferent	For structured character based data. There is a risk that general SGML/XML is too powerful to allow a sharing of general SGML/XML documents between different applications.
image/png	PNG Image	required	Portable Network Graphics (PNG) [http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png] is a widely supported lossless image compression standard with open source code available.
image/jpeg	JPEG Image	required	This format is required for high compression of high color photographs. It is a "lossy" compression, but the difference to lossless compression is almost unnoticeable to the human vision.
image/g3fax	G3Fax Image	recommended	This is recommended only for fax applications.
image/gif	GIF Image	indifferent	GIF is a popular format that is universally well supported. However GIF is patent encumbered and should therefore be used with caution.
image/tiff	TIFF Image	indifferent	Although TIFF (Tag Image File Format) is an international standard it has many interoperability problems in practice. Too many different versions that are not handled by all software alike.
audio/basic	Basic Audio	required	This is a format for single channel audio, encoded using 8bit ISDN mu-law [PCM] at a sample rate of 8000 Hz. This format is standardized by: CCITT, Fascicle III.4 -Recommendation G.711. Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) of Voice Frequencies. Geneva, 1972.
audio/mpeg	MPEG audio layer 3	required	MPEG-1 Audio layer-3 is an audio compression algorithm and file format defined in ISO 11172-3 and ISO 13818-3. MP3 has an adjustable sampling frequency for highly compressed telephone to CD quality audio.
audio/k32adpcm	K32ADPCM Audio	indifferent	ADPCM allows compressing audio data. It is defined in the Internet specification RFC 2421 [ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2421.txt]. Its implementation base is unclear.
video/mpeg	MPEG Video	required	MPEG is an international standard, widely deployed, highly efficient for high color video; open source code exists; highly interoperable.
video/x-avi	X-AVI Video	deprecated	The AVI file format is just a wrapper for many different codecs; it is a source of many interoperability problems.
model/vrml	VRML Model	recommended	This is an openly standardized format for 3D models that can be useful for virtual reality applications such as anatomy or biochemical research (visualization of the steric structure of macromolecules)
application/pdf	PDF	recommended	The Portable Document Format is recommended for written text that is completely laid out and read-only. PDF is a platform independent, widely deployed, and open specification with freely available creation and rendering tools.
application/dicom	DICOM	recommended	Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) MIME type defined in RFC3240 [http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc3240.txt].
application/msword	MSWORD	deprecated	This format is very prone to compatibility problems. If sharing of edit-able text is required, text/plain, text/html or text/rtf should be used instead.
multipart/x-hl7-cda-level1	CDA Level 1 Multipart	recommended	The HL7 clinical document Architecture, Level 1 MIME package.

The set of required media types is very small so that no undue requirements are forced on HL7 applications, especially legacy systems. In general, no HL7 application is forced to support any given kind of media other than written text. For example, many systems just do not want to receive audio data, because those systems can only show written text to their users. It is a matter of application conformance statements to say: "I will not handle audio". Only if a system claims to handle audio media, it must support the required media type for audio.

mediaType is represented by the XML attributemediaType whose value, if present, must be a valid mediaType as specified by the Internet standard RFC 2046 []. The default value is text/plain.

Definition:      For character-based encoding types, this property specifies the character set and character encoding used. The charset shall be identified by an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Charset Registration [] in accordance with RFC 2978 [].

charset is not explicitly represented in the XML ITS. Rather, the value of charset is to be inferred from the encoding used in the XML entity in which the ED value is contained.

Definition:      For character based information the language property specifies the human language of the text.

The HL7 table for human languages is based on RFC 3066, Tags for the Identification of Languages []. It is a set of pre-coordinated pairs of one 2-letter ISO 639 language code and one 2-letter ISO 3166 country code (e.g., en-us [English, United States]).

Language tags do not modify the meaning of the characters found in the text; they are only an advice on if and how to present or communicate the text. For this reason, any system or site that does not deal with multilingual text or names in the real world can safely ignore the language property.

language is represented by the XML attributelanguage whose value, if present, must be a valid language tag as defined by RFC 3066 [].

Definition:      Indicates whether the raw byte data is compressed, and what compression algorithm was used.

Domain CompressionAlgorithm

code	name	status	definition
DF	deflate	required	The deflate compressed data format as specified in RFC 1951 [http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1951.txt].
GZ	gzip	indifferent	A compressed data format that is compatible with the widely used GZIP utility as specified in RFC 1952 [http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1952.txt] (uses the deflate algorithm).
ZL	zlib	indifferent	A compressed data format that also uses the deflate algorithm. Specified as RFC 1950 [http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1952.txt]
Z	compress	deprecated	Original UNIX compress algorithm and file format using the LZC algorithm (a variant of LZW). Patent encumbered and less efficient than deflate.

compression is represented as the XML attributecompression whose value, if present, must be a valid value from the CompressionAlgorithm domain (Domain CompressionAlgorithm). There is no compression by default.

Definition:      A telecommunication address (TEL), such as a URL for HTTP or FTP, which will resolve to precisely the same binary data that could as well have been provided as inline data.

The semantic value of an encapsulated data value is the same, regardless whether the data is present inline data or just by-reference. However, an encapsulated data value without inline data behaves differently, since any attempt to examine the data requires the data to be downloaded from the reference.

An encapsulated data value may have both inline data and a reference. The reference must point to the same data as provided inline.

reference is represented as the XML elementreference which, if present, must be a valid TEL.

Definition:      The integrity check is a short binary value representing a cryptographically strong checksum that is calculated over the binary data. The purpose of this property, when communicated with a reference is for anyone to validate later whether the reference still resolved to the same data that the reference resolved to when the encapsulated data value with reference was created.

The integrity check is calculated according to the integrity check algorithm. By default, the Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1) shall be used. The integrity check is binary encoded according to the rules of the integrity check algorithm.

The integrity check is calculated over the raw binary data that is contained in the data component, or that is accessible through the reference. No transformations are made before the integrity check is calculated. If the data is compressed, the Integrity Check is calculated over the compressed data.

integrityCheck is represented by the XML attributeintegrityCheck whose value, if present, must be a valid BIN. There is no default value.

When generating instances, applications must base64 encode the integrity check prior to populating the XML attributeintegrityCheck. When receiving instances, applications must base64 decode the value of the XML attributeintegrityCheck to obtain the integrity check value.

Definition:      Specifies the algorithm used to compute the integrityCheck value.

Domain IntegrityCheckAlgorithm

code	name	definition
SHA-1	secure hash algorithm - 1	This algorithm is defined in FIPS PUB 180-1: Secure Hash Standard. As of April 17, 1995.
SHA-256	secure hash algorithm - 256	This algorithm is defined in FIPS PUB 180-2: Secure Hash Standard.

integrityCheckAlgorithm is represented by the XML attributeintegrityCheckAlgorithm whose value must be a valid value from the IntegrityCheckAlgorithm domain (Domain IntegrityCheckAlgorithm). The default value is SHA-1.

Definition:      A thumbnail is an abbreviated rendition of the full data. A thumbnail requires significantly fewer resources than the full data, while still maintaining some distinctive similarity with the full data. A thumbnail is typically used with by-reference encapsulated data. It allows a user to select data more efficiently before actually downloading through the reference.

For example, a large image may be represented by a small image; a high quality audio sequence by a shorter low-quality audio; a movie may be represented by a shorter clip (or just an image); text may be summarized to an abstract.

A thumbnail may not itself contain a thumbnail.

thumbnail is represented as the XML elementthumbnail which, if present, is a restricted form of ED that does not allow thumbnail children.

The first example shows an Adobe Acrobat document that has been compressed using the GZip compression algorithm.

The next example contains a reference to an image, stored at particular URL and available for the next month. An integrity check is provided for the image, as well as in inline thumbnail.

<!-- type ST --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) representation = (TXT) : TXT mediaType = (text/plain) : text/plain language = CS > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </x>

Definition:      Specifies the representation of the binary data that is the content of the binary data value.

Definition:      Identifies the type of the encapsulated data and identifies a method to interpret or render the data.

Definition:      For character-based encoding types, this property specifies the character set and character encoding used. The charset shall be identified by an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Charset Registration [] in accordance with RFC 2978 [].

Definition:      For character based information the language property specifies the human language of the text.

Definition:      Indicates whether the raw byte data is compressed, and what compression algorithm was used.

Definition:      A telecommunication address (TEL), such as a URL for HTTP or FTP, which will resolve to precisely the same binary data that could as well have been provided as inline data.

Definition:      The integrity check is a short binary value representing a cryptographically strong checksum that is calculated over the binary data. The purpose of this property, when communicated with a reference is for anyone to validate later whether the reference still resolved to the same data that the reference resolved to when the encapsulated data value with reference was created.

Definition:      Specifies the algorithm used to compute the integrityCheck value.

Definition:      A thumbnail is an abbreviated rendition of the full data. A thumbnail requires significantly fewer resources than the full data, while still maintaining some distinctive similarity with the full data. A thumbnail is typically used with by-reference encapsulated data. It allows a user to select data more efficiently before actually downloading through the reference.

This example shows a simple case of a character string for Act.text.

<!-- type CS --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST />

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

This example shows a US realmCode.

This example shows a ControlAct with a classCode of CACT and a moodCode of EVN, both of which are CS.

<!-- type CV --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST > Content: ( originalText ) </x>

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

Definition:      A set of other concept descriptors that translate this concept descriptor into other code systems.

The first example shows the LOINC code for "consultation note".

The second example shows a SNOMED-CT code with CD.originalText for "osteoarthritis of the right knee".

The final example shows the use of nullFlavor='OTHER' to indicate that a code does not exist in a coding system.

<!-- type CO --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST > Content: ( originalText ) </x>

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

Definition:      A set of other concept descriptors that translate this concept descriptor into other code systems.

<!-- type CE --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST > Content: ( originalText, translation* ) </x>

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      Specifies additional codes that increase the specificity of the primary code.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

Definition:      A set of other concept descriptors that translate this concept descriptor into other code systems.

This example shows an observation whose value is the SNOMED-CT code for "asthma" as well as a translation of that code in ICD9CM.

For additional examples see Examples.

<!-- type CD --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST > Content: ( originalText, qualifier*, translation* ) </x>

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

code is represented by the XML attributecode whose value, if present, must be a valid xs:token with no internal whitespace.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

codeSystem is represented by the XML attributecodeSystem whose value, if present, must be a valid UID.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

codeSystemName is represented by the XML attributecodeSystemName whose value, if present, must be a valid ST.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

codeSystemVersion is represented by the XML attributecodeSystemVersion whose value, if present, must be a valid ST.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

displayName is represented by the XML attributedisplayName whose value, if present, must be a valid ST.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

originalText is represented by the XML elementoriginalText which, if present, must be a valid ED.

Definition:      A set of other concept descriptors that translate this concept descriptor into other code systems.

translation is represented by a 0 or more XML elementstranslation each which must be a valid CD.

Definition:      Specifies additional codes that increase the specificity of the primary code.

qualifier is represented by a 0 or more XML elementsqualifer each of which must be a valid CR.

The first example shows the SNOMED-CT code with qualifier for "skin of palmer surface of left index finger".

The second example shows an observation whose value is the SNOMED-CT code with qualifier and originalText for "osteoarthritis of the right knee".

<!-- type CR --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) inverted = (true | false) : false > Content: ( name, value ) </x>

Definition:      Specifies the manner in which the concept role value contributes to the meaning of a code phrase. For example, if SNOMED RT defines a concept "leg", a role relation "has-laterality", and another concept "left", the concept role relation allows to add the qualifier "has-laterality: left" to a primary code "leg" to construct the meaning "left leg". In this example "has-laterality" is name.

The name component can be NULL if a coding system allows postcoordination but no role names.

name is represented by the XML elementname which, if present, must be a valid CV.

Definition:      The concept that modifies the primary code of a code phrase through the role relation. For example, if SNOMED RT defines a concept "leg", a role relation "has-laterality", and another concept "left", the concept role relation allows adding the qualifier "has-laterality: left" to a primary code "leg" to construct the meaning "left leg". In this example "left" is value.

value is of type CD and thus can be in turn have qualifiers. This allows qualifiers to nest. Qualifiers can only be used as far as the underlying code system defines them. It is not allowed to use any kind of qualifiers for code systems that do not explicitly allow and regulate such use of qualifiers.

value is represented by the XML elementvalue which, if present, must be a valid CD.

Definition:      Indicates if the sense of the role name is inverted. This can be used in cases where the underlying code system defines inversion but does not provide reciprocal pairs of role names. By default, inverted is false.

For example, a code system may define the role relation "causes" besides the concepts "Streptococcus pneumoniae" and "Pneumonia". If that code system allows its roles to be inverted, one can construct the post-coordinated concept "Pneumococcus pneumonia" through "Pneumonia - causes, inverted - Streptococcus pneumoniae."

Roles may only be inverted if the underlying coding systems allows such inversion. Notably, if a coding system defines roles in inverse pairs or intentionally does not define certain inversions, the appropriate role code (e.g. "caused-by") must be used rather than inversion. It must be known whether the inverted property is true or false, if it is NULL, the role cannot be interpreted.

inverted is represented by the XML attributeinverted whose value, if present, must be either true or false. The default value is false.

See the examples using CD.qualifier in Examples.

<!-- type SC --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </x>

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      A globally unique string representing an ISO Object Identifier (OID) in a form that consists only of non-negative numbers with no leading zeros and dots (e.g., "2.16.840.1.113883.19.3.1"). According to ISO, OIDs are paths in a tree structure, with the left-most number representing the root and the right-most number representing a leaf.

Each branch under the root corresponds to an assigning authority. Each of these assigning authorities may, in turn, designate its own set of assigning authorities that work under its auspices, and so on down the line. Eventually, one of these authorities assigns a unique (to it as an assigning authority) number that corresponds to a leaf node on the tree. The leaf may represent an assigning authority (in which case the OID identifies the authority), or an instance of an object. An assigning authority owns a namespace, consisting of its sub-tree.

OIDs are the preferred scheme for unique identifiers. OIDs should always be used except if one of the inclusion criteria for other schemes apply.

Definition:      A DCE Universal Unique Identifier is a globally unique string consisting of 5 groups of upper- or lower-case hexadecimal digits having 8, 4, 4, 4, and 12 places respectively. UUIDs are assigned using Ethernet MAC addresses, the point in time of creation and some random components. This mix is believed to generate sufficiently unique identifiers without any organizational policy for identifier assignment (in fact this piggy-backs on the organization of MAC address assignment.)

UUIDs are not the preferred identifier scheme for use as UIDs. UUIDs may be used when identifiers are issued to objects representing individuals (e.g., entity instance identifiers, act event identifiers, etc.) For objects describing classes of things or events (e.g., catalog items), OIDs are the preferred identifier scheme.

Definition:      HL7 reserved identifiers are strings consisting only of (US-ASCII) letters, digits and hyphens, where the first character must be a letter. HL7 may assign these reserved identifiers as mnemonic identifiers for major concepts of interest to HL7.

See the examples in Examples.

<!-- type II --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) root = UID extension = ST assigningAuthorityName = ST displayable = BL />

Definition:      A unique identifier that guarantees the global uniqueness of the instance identifier. The root alone may be the entire instance identifier.

root is represented by the XML attributeroot whose value, if present, must be a valid UID.

Definition:      A character string as a unique identifier within the scope of the identifier root.

extension is represented by the XML attributeextension whose value, if present, must be a valid ST.

Definition:      A human readable name or mnemonic for the assigning authority. This name may be provided solely for the convenience of unaided humans interpreting an II value and can have no computational meaning. Note: no automated processing must depend on the assigning authority name to be present in any form.

assigningAuthorityName is represented by the XML attributeassigningAuthorityName whose value, if present, must be a valid ST.

Definition:      Specifies if the identifier is intended for human display and data entry (displayable = true) as opposed to pure machine interoperation (displayable = false).

displayable is represented by the XML attributedisplayable whose value, if present, must be a valid BL.

The first example shows a root that is an OID.

The next example shows a root that is a UUID.

The final example shows a root that is a RUID.

Telephone and FAX Numbers. There is no special data type for telephone numbers. Telephone numbers are telecommunication addresses and are specified as a URL. Voice telephone URLs begin with "tel:" and fax URLs begin with "fax:".

The telephone number URL is defined in the Internet RFC 2806 [] URLs for Telephone Calls. For example, "tel:+1(317)630-7960" is a phone number, and "fax:+49(30)8101-724" is a FAX number. The global absolute telephone numbers starting with the "+" and country code are preferred. Separator characters serve as decoration but have no meaning for the telephone number, thus "tel:+13176307960" and "fax:+49308101724" are the same telephone and FAX numbers as the previous respective examples.

See the examples in Examples.

<!-- type TEL --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = ST use = CS* > Content: ( useablePeriod* ) </x>

Definition:      Specifies the periods of time during which the telecommunication address can be used. For a telephone number, this can indicate the time of day in which the party can be reached on that telephone. For a web address, it may specify a time range in which the web content is promised to be available under the given address.

useablePeriod is represented by 0 or more XML elementsuseablePeriod each of which must be a valid GTS.

Definition:      One or more codes advising a system or user which telecommunication address in a set of like addresses to select for a given telecommunication need.

The telecommunication address use codes are defined by the HL7 domain TelecommunicationAddressUse (Domain TelecommunicationAddressUse).

Domain TelecommunicationAddressUse

code	name	definition
H	home address	A communication address at a home, attempted contacts for business purposes might intrude privacy and chances are one will contact family or other household members instead of the person one wishes to call. Typically used with urgent cases, or if no other contacts are available.
HP	primary home	The primary home, to reach a person after business hours.
HV	vacation home	A vacation home, to reach a person while on vacation.
WP	work place	An office address. First choice for business related contacts during business hours.
DIR	Direct	Indicates a work place address or telecommunication address that reaches the individual or organization directly without intermediaries. For phones, often referred to as a 'private line'.
PUB	Public	Indicates a work place address or telecommunication address that is a 'standard' address which may reach a reception service, mail-room, or other intermediary prior to the target entity.
BAD	bad address	A flag indicating that the address is bad, in fact, useless.
TMP	temporary address	A temporary address, may be good for visit or mailing. Note that an address history can provide more detailed information.
AS	answering service	An automated answering machine used for less urgent cases and if the main purpose of contact is to leave a message or access an automated announcement.
EC	emergency contact	A contact specifically designated to be used for emergencies. This is the first choice in emergencies, independent of any other use codes.
MC	mobile contact	A telecommunication device that moves and stays with its owner. May have characteristics of all other use codes, suitable for urgent matters, not the first choice for routine business.
PG	pager	A paging device suitable to solicit a callback or to leave a very short message.

The telecommunication use code is not a complete classification for equipment types or locations. Its main purpose is to suggest or discourage the use of a particular telecommunication address. The use code should not be considered in isolation. The data element in which the telephone number appears (class and attribute) and the context to other data may express the precise nature and use of the telecommunication address more appropriately than a use code.

use is represented by the XML attributeuse whose value, if present, must be 0 or more valid values from the TelecommunicationAddressUse (Domain TelecommunicationAddressUse) separated by whitespace.

The first example shows a work email address.

The second example shows a PNG file that is only accessible between 08:45 and 09:45 on July 20, 2000.

The final example shows a home phone number of 555-555-5001.

<!-- type ADXP --> <additionalLocator nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (ADL) : ADL > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </additionalLocator> <unitID nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (UNID) : UNID > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </unitID> <unitType nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (UNIT) : UNIT > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </unitType> <deliveryAddressLine nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DAL) : DAL > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryAddressLine> <deliveryInstallationType nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DINST) : DINST > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryInstallationType> <deliveryInstallationArea nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DINSTA) : DINSTA > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryInstallationArea> <deliveryInstallationQualifier nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DINSTQ) : DINSTQ > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryInstallationQualifier> <deliveryMode nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DMOD) : DMOD > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryMode> <deliveryModeIdentifier nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DMODID) : DMODID > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </deliveryModeIdentifier> <streetAddressLine nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (SAL) : SAL > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </streetAddressLine> <houseNumber nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (BNR) : BNR > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </houseNumber> <buildingNumberSuffix nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (BNS) : BNS > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </buildingNumberSuffix> <postBox nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (POB) : POB > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </postBox> <houseNumberNumeric nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (BNN) : BNN > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </houseNumberNumeric> <streetName nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (STR) : STR > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </streetName> <streetNameBase nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (STB) : STB > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </streetNameBase> <streetNameType nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (STTYP) : STTYP > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </streetNameType> <direction nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DIR) : DIR > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </direction> <careOf nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (CAR) : CAR > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </careOf> <censusTract nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (CEN) : CEN > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </censusTract> <country nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (CNT) : CNT > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </country> <county nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (CPA) : CPA > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </county> <city nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (CTY) : CTY > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </city> <delimiter nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DEL) : DEL > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </delimiter> <precinct nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (PRE) : PRE > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </precinct> <state nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (STA) : STA > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </state> <postalCode nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (ZIP) : ZIP > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </postalCode>

Definition:      Specifies whether an address part names the street, city, country, postal code, post box, etc. If the type is NULL the address part is unclassified and would simply appear on an address label as is.

Address part types are as defined in Domain AddressPartType

Domain AddressPartType

code	name	definition
ADL	additional locator	This can be a unit designator, such as apartment number, suite number, or floor. There may be several unit designators in an address (e.g., "3rd floor, Appt. 342"). This can also be a designator pointing away from the location, rather than specifying a smaller location within some larger one (e.g., Dutch "t.o." means "opposite to" for house boats located across the street facing houses).
UNID	unit identifier	The number or name of a specific unit contained within a building or complex, as assigned by that building or complex.
UNIT	unit designator	Indicates the type of specific unit contained within a building or complex. E.g. Appartment, Floor
DAL	delivery address line	A delivery address line is frequently used instead of breaking out delivery mode, delivery installation, etc. An address generally has only a delivery address line or a street address line, but not both.
DINST	delivery installation type	Indicates the type of delivery installation (the facility to which the mail will be delivered prior to final shipping via the delivery mode.) Example: post office, letter carrier depot, community mail center, station, etc.
DINSTA	delivery installation area	The location of the delivery installation, usually a town or city, and is only required if the area is different from the municipality. Area to which mail delivery service is provided from any postal facility or service such as an individual letter carrier, rural route, or postal route.
DINSTQ	delivery installation qualifier	A number, letter or name identifying a delivery installation. E.g., for Station A, the delivery installation qualifier would be 'A'.
DMOD	delivery mode	Indicates the type of service offered, method of delivery. For example: post office box, rural route, general delivery, etc.
DMODID	delivery mode identifier	Represents the routing information such as a letter carrier route number. It is the identifying number of the designator (the box number or rural route number).
SAL	street address line
BNR	building number	The number of a building, house or lot alongside the street. Also known as "primary street number". This does not number the street but rather the building.
BNN	building number numeric	The numeric portion of a building number
BNS	building number suffix	Any alphabetic character, fraction or other text that may appear after the numeric portion of a building number
STR	street name
STB	street name base	The base name of a roadway or artery recognized by a municipality (excluding street type and direction)
STTYP	street type	The designation given to the street. (e.g. Street, Avenue, Crescent, etc.)
DIR	direction	Direction (e.g., N, S, W, E)
CAR	care of	The name of the party who will take receipt at the specified address, and will take on responsibility for ensuring delivery to the target recipient
CEN	census tract	A geographic sub-unit delineated for demographic purposes.
CNT	country	Country
CPA	county or parish	A sub-unit of a state or province. (49 of the United States of America use the term "county;" Louisiana uses the term "parish".)
CTY	municipality	The name of the city, town, village, or other community or delivery center
DEL	delimiter	Delimiters are printed without framing white space. If no value component is provided, the delimiter appears as a line break.
POB	post box	A numbered box located in a post station.
PRE	precinct	A subsection of a municipality
STA	state or province	A sub-unit of a country with limited sovereignty in a federally organized country.
ZIP	postal code	A postal code designating a region defined by the postal service.

Addresses are conceptualized as text with added mark-up. The mark-up may break the address into lines and may describe in detail the role of each address part if it is known. Address parts occur in the address in the order in which they would be printed on a mailing label. The model is similar to HTML or XML markup of text.

partType is represented simultaneously in Element and Attribute forms. In the Element form, the name of the element is determined by the part type, as specified in AddressPartType Element Names below. Additionally, each such element has an XML attributepartType whose value, if present, must be a valid value from the domain AddressPartType (Domain AddressPartType) corresponding to the part type represented by the element on which it appears. Since the XML attributepartType always has a fixed value, it is not normally present in the XML instance.

AddressPartType Element Names

Element Name	Part Type
additionalLocator	ADL
unitID	UNID
unitType	UNIT
deliveryAddressLine	DAL
deliveryInstallationType	DINST
deliveryInstallationArea	DINSTA
deliveryInstallationQualifier	DINSTQ
deliveryMode	DMOD
deliveryModeIdentifier	DMODID
streetAddressLine	SAL
houseNumber	BNR
buildingNumberSuffix	BNS
postBox	POB
houseNumberNumeric	BNN
streetName	STR
streetNameBase	STB
streetNameType	STTYP
direction	DIR
careOf	CAR
censusTract	CEN
country	CNT
county	CPA
city	CTY
delimiter	DEL
precinct	PRE
state	STA
postalCode	ZIP

See the examples in Examples.

<!-- type AD --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) isNotOrdered = BL use = CS* > Content: ( ( delimiter | country | state | county | city | postalCode | streetAddressLine | houseNumber | houseNumberNumeric | direction | streetName | streetNameBase | streetNameType | additionalLocator | unitID | unitType | careOf | censusTract | deliveryAddressLine | deliveryInstallationType | deliveryInstallationArea | deliveryInstallationQualifier | deliveryMode | deliveryModeIdentifier | buildingNumberSuffix | postBox | precinct | #PCDATA )*, useablePeriod* ) </x>

Definition:      A set of codes advising a system or user which address in a set of like addresses to select for a given purpose.

The postal address use codes are defined by the PostalAddressUse domain (Domain PostalAddressUse).

Domain PostalAddressUse

code	name	definition
H	home address	A communication address at a home, attempted contacts for business purposes might intrude privacy and chances are one will contact family or other household members instead of the person one wishes to call. Typically used with urgent cases, or if no other contacts are available.
HP	primary home	The primary home, to reach a person after business hours.
HV	vacation home	A vacation home, to reach a person while on vacation.
WP	work place	An office address. First choice for business related contacts during business hours.
DIR	Direct	Indicates a work place address or telecommunication address that reaches the individual or organization directly without intermediaries. For phones, often referred to as a 'private line'.
PUB	Public	Indicates a work place address or telecommunication address that is a 'standard' address which may reach a reception service, mail-room, or other intermediary prior to the target entity.
BAD	bad address	A flag indicating that the address is bad, in fact, useless.
TMP	temporary address	A temporary address, may be good for visit or mailing. Note that an address history can provide more detailed information.
Identifies the different representations of a name. The representation may affect how the name is used. (E.g. use of Ideographic for formal communications.)
ABC	Alphabetic	Alphabetic transcription of name (Japanese: romaji)
IDE	Ideographic	Ideographic representation of name (e.g., Japanese kanji, Chinese characters)
SYL	Syllabic	Syllabic transcription of name (e.g., Japanese kana, Korean hangul)
PHYS	physical visit address	Used primarily to visit an address.
PST	postal address	Used to send mail.

The postal address use code is not a complete classification for locations or activities that take place at these locations. Its main purpose is to suggest or discourage the use of a particular address. The use code should not be considered in isolation. The data element in which the address appears (class and attribute) and the context to other data may express the precise nature and use of the address more appropriately than a use code.

use is represented by the XML attributeuse whose value, if present, must be 0 or more valid values from the PostalAddressUse domain (Domain PostalAddressUse) separated by whitespace.

Definition:      A GTS specifying the periods of time during which the address can be used. This is used to specify different addresses for different times of the year or to refer to historical addresses.

useablePeriod is represented by 0 or more XML elementsuseablePeriod each of which must be a valid GTS.

Definition:      A boolean value specifying whether the order of the address parts is known or not. While the address parts are always a Sequence, the order in which they are presented may or may not be known. Where this matters, isNotOrdered can be used to convey this information.

isNotOrdered is represented by the XML attributeisNotOrdered whose value, if present, must be a valid BL.

The following are examples of addresses in an XML encoded form, where the XML tag is the address part type and the data content is the address part value.

The address:

1050 W Wishard Blvd,
RG 5th floor,
Indianapolis, IN 46240

can be encoded in any of the following forms:

The first form would result from a system that only stores addresses as free text or in a list of fields line1, line2, etc.:

The second form is more specific about the role of the address parts than the first one and is the typical form seen in the U.S., where street address is sometimes separated, and city, state and ZIP code are always separated.

The third is even more specific:

The latter form above is not often used in the USA. However, it is useful in Germany, where many systems keep house number as a distinct field. For example, the German address:

Windsteiner Weg 54a,
D-14165 Berlin

would most likely be encoded as follows:

<!-- type ENXP --> <family nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (FAM): FAM qualifier = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </family> <given nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (GIV) : GIV qualifier = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </given> <prefix nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (PFX) : PFX qualifier = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </prefix> <suffix nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (SFX) : SFX qualifier = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </suffix> <delimiter nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) language = CS partType = (DEL) : DEL qualifier = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA ) </delimiter>

Definition:      Indicates whether the name part is a given name, family name, prefix, suffix, etc.

Entity name part types are as defined in Domain EntityNamePartType

Domain EntityNamePartType

code	name	definition
FAM	family	Family name, this is the name that links to the genealogy. In some cultures (e.g. Eritrea) the family name of a son is the first name of his father.
GIV	given	Given name (don't call it "first name" since this given names do not always come first)
PFX	prefix	A prefix has a strong association to the immediately following name part. A prefix has no implicit trailing white space (it has implicit leading white space though). Note that prefixes can be inverted.
SFX	suffix	A suffix has a strong association to the immediately preceding name part. A prefix has no implicit leading white space (it has implicit trailing white space though). Suffices can not be inverted.
DEL	delimiter	A delimiter has no meaning other than being literally printed in this name representation. A delimiter has no implicit leading and trailing white space.

Not every name part must have a type code, if the type code is unknown, not applicable, or simply undefined this is expressed by a null value (type.isNull). For example, a name may be "Rogan Sulma" and it may not be clear which one is a given name or which is a last name, or whether Rogan may be a title.

Entity names are conceptualized as text with added mark-up. The mark-up may describe in detail the role of each name part if it is known. Name parts occur in the order in which they would be printed on a mailing label. The model is similar to HTML or XML markup of text.

partType is represented simultaneously in Element and Attribute forms. In the Element form, the name of the element is determined by the part type, as specified in EntityNamePartType Element Names below. Additionally, each such element has an XML attributepartType whose value, if present, must be a valid value from the domain EntityNamePartType (Domain EntityNamePartType) corresponding to the part type represented by the element on which it appears. Since the XML attributepartType always has a fixed value, it is not normally present in the XML instance.

EntityNamePartType Element Names

Element Name	Part Type
delimiter	DEL
family	FAM
given	GIV
prefix	PFX
suffix	SFX

Definition:     qualifier is a set of codes each of which specifies a certain subcategory of the name part in addition to the main name part type. For example, a given name may be flagged as a nickname, a family name may be a pseudonym or a name of public records.

Entity name part qualifiers are as defined in Domain EntityNamePartQualifier

Domain EntityNamePartQualifier

code	name	definition
LS	Legal status	For organizations a suffix indicating the legal status, e.g., "Inc.", "Co.", "AG", "GmbH", "B.V." "S.A.", "Ltd." etc.
AC	academic	Indicates that a prefix like "Dr." or a suffix like "M.D." or "Ph.D." is an academic title.
NB	nobility	In Europe and Asia, there are still people with nobility titles (aristocrats). German "von" is generally a nobility title, not a mere voorvoegsel. Others are "Earl of" or "His Majesty King of..." etc. Rarely used nowadays, but some systems do keep track of this.
PR	professional	Primarily in the British Imperial culture people tend to have an abbreviation of their professional organization as part of their credential suffices.
VV	voorvoegsel	A Dutch "voorvoegsel" is something like "van" or "de" that might have indicated nobility in the past but no longer so. Similar prefixes exist in other languages such as Spanish, French or Portugese.
AD	adopted	The name the person was given at the time of adoption.
BR	birth	A name that a person had shortly after being born. Usually for family names but may be used to mark given names at birth that may have changed later.
SP	spouse	The name assumed from the partner in a marital relationship (hence the "M"). Usually the spouse's family name. Note that no inference about gender can be made from the existence of spouse names.
CL	callme	A callme name is (usually a given name) that is preferred when a person is directly addressed.
IN	initial	Indicates that a name part is just an initial. Initials do not imply a trailing period since this would not work with non-Latin scripts. Initials may consist of more than one letter, e.g., "Ph." could stand for "Philippe" or "Th." for "Thomas".
TITLE	title	Indicates that a prefix or a suffix is a title that applies to the whole name, not just the adjacent name part.

qualifier is represented as the XML attributequalifier whose value, if present, must be 0 or more values from the EntityNamePartQualifier domain (Domain EntityNamePartQualifier) separated by whitespace.

See the examples in Examples, Examples and Examples.

<!-- type EN --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) use = CS* > Content: ( (delimiter | family | given | prefix | suffix | #PCDATA)*, validTime ) </x>

Definition:      A set of codes advising a system or user which name in a set of like names to select for a given purpose. A name without specific use code might be a default name useful for any purpose, but a name with a specific use code would be preferred for that respective purpose.

The entity names use codes are defined by the EntityNameUse domain (Domain EntityNameUse).

Domain EntityNameUse

code	name	definition
C	License	As recorded on a license, record, certificate, etc. (only if different from legal name)
I	Indigenous/Tribal	e.g. Chief Red Cloud
L	Legal	Known as/conventional/the one you use
P	pseudonym	A self asserted name that the person is using or has used.
A	Artist/Stage	Includes writer's pseudonym, stage name, etc
R	Religious	e.g. Sister Mary Francis, Brother John
SRCH	search	A name intended for use in searching or matching.
PHON	phonetic	A name spelled phonetically.
SNDX	Soundex	A name spelled according to the SoundEx algorithm.
ABC	Alphabetic	Alphabetic transcription of name (Japanese: romaji)
SYL	Syllabic	Syllabic transcription of name (e.g., Japanese kana, Korean hangul)
IDE	Ideographic	Ideographic representation of name (e.g., Japanese kanji, Chinese characters)

use is represented by the XML attributeuse whose value, if present, must be 0 or more valid values from the EntityNameUse domain (Domain EntityNameUse) separated by whitespace.

Definition:      An interval of time specifying the time during which the name is or was used for the entity. This accomodates the fact that people change names for people, places and things.

validTime is represented by 0 or more XML elementsvalidTime each of which must be a valid IVL<TS>.

See the examples in Examples, Examples and Examples.

<!-- type PN --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) use = CS* > Content: ( (delimiter | family | given | prefix | suffix | #PCDATA)*, validTime ) </x>

Definition:      A set of codes advising a system or user which name in a set of like names to select for a given purpose. A name without specific use code might be a default name useful for any purpose, but a name with a specific use code would be preferred for that respective purpose.

Definition:      An interval of time specifying the time during which the name is or was used for the entity. This accomodates the fact that people change names for people, places and things.

A very simple encoding of "Adam A. Everyman" would be:

None of the special qualifiers need to be mentioned if they are unknown or irrelevant. The next example shows extensive use of multiple given names, prefixes, suffixes, for academic degrees, nobility titles, vorvoegsels ("van"), and professional designations.

The following example shows a Japanese name in the three forms: ideographic (Kanji), syllabic (Hiragana), and alphabetic (Romaji).

<!-- type ON --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) use = CS* > Content: ( (delimiter | prefix | suffix | #PCDATA)*, validTime ) </x>

Definition:      A set of codes advising a system or user which name in a set of like names to select for a given purpose. A name without specific use code might be a default name useful for any purpose, but a name with a specific use code would be preferred for that respective purpose.

Definition:      An interval of time specifying the time during which the name is or was used for the entity. This accomodates the fact that people change names for people, places and things.

The following is the name of HL7 with the legal status "Inc." as a distinguished name part:

<!-- type TN --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) use = CS* > Content: ( #PCDATA, validTime ) </x>

Definition:      A set of codes advising a system or user which name in a set of like names to select for a given purpose. A name without specific use code might be a default name useful for any purpose, but a name with a specific use code would be preferred for that respective purpose.

Definition:      An interval of time specifying the time during which the name is or was used for the entity. This accomodates the fact that people change names for people, places and things.

The following is the organization name, "Health Level Seven, Inc." in a simple string form:

<!-- type INT --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = xs:integer />

<!-- type REAL --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = Union of (xs:decimal xs:double) />

<!-- type PQ --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = REAL unit = CS > Content: ( translation* ) </x>

Definition:      The magnitude of the quantity measured in terms of the unit.

value is represented by the XML attributevalue whose value, if present, must be a valid REAL.

Definition:      The unit of measure specified in the Unified Code for Units of Measure (UCUM) [].

More detail on the Unified Code for Units of Measure, and example tables of units commonly seen in practice with HL7 are provided in an appendix of the Data Types Abstract Specification.

The default unit of measure is 1 (the "unity").

unit is represented by the XML attributeunit whose value, if present, must be a valid unit of measure as defined in UCUM [].

Definition:      An alternative representation of the same physical quantity expressed in a different unit, of a different unit code system and possibly with a different value.

translation is represented by 0 or more XML elementstranslation each of which must be a valid PQR.

This example shows a value of 22.35 millimoles per milliliter.

The final example shows a value of 1.77 meters as well as a translation into inches.

<!-- type PQR --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) code = ST codeSystem = UID codeSystemName = ST codeSystemVersion = ST displayName = ST value = REAL > Content: ( originalText ) </x>

Definition:      The magnitude of the measurement value in terms of the unit specified in the code.

value is represented by the XML attributevalue whose value, if present, must be a valid REAL.

Definition:      The plain code symbol defined by the code system. For example, "784.0" is the code symbol of the ICD-9 code "784.0" for headache.

Definition:      Specifies the code system that defines the code.

Definition:      A common name of the coding system.

Definition:      If applicable, a version descriptor defined specifically for the given code system.

Definition:      A name or title for the code, under which the sending system shows the code value to its users.

Definition:      The text or phrase used as the basis for the coding.

See the example using PQ.translation in Examples.

<!-- type MO --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = REAL currency = CS />

Definition:      The magnitude of the monetary amount in terms of the currency unit.

value is represented by the XML attributevalue whose value, if present, must be a valid REAL.

Definition:      The currency unit as defined in ISO 4217.

Domain Currency

code	name	definition
ARS	Argentine Peso	Argentine Peso, monetary currency of Argentina
AUD	Australian Dollar	Australian Dollar, monetary currency of Australia
BRL	Brazilian Real	Brazilian Real, monetary currency of Brazil
CAD	Canadian Dollar	Canadian Dollar, monetary currency of Canada
CHF	Swiss Franc	Swiss Franc, monetary currency of Switzerland
CLF	Unidades de Formento	Unidades de Formento, monetary currency of Chile
CNY	Yuan Renminbi	Yuan Renminbi, monetary currency of China
DEM	Deutsche Mark	Deutsche Mark, monetary currency of Germany
ESP	Spanish Peseta	Spanish Peseta, monetary currency of Spain
EUR	Euro	Euro, monetary currency of European Union
FIM	Markka	Markka, monetary currency of Finland
FRF	French Franc	French Franc, monetary currency of France
GBP	Pound Sterling	Pound Sterling, monetary currency of United Kingdom
ILS	Shekel	Shekel, monetary currency of Israel
INR	Indian Rupee	Indian Rupee, monetary currency of India
JPY	Yen	Yen, monetary currency of Japan
KRW	Won	Won, monetary currency of Korea (South)
MXN	Mexican Nuevo Peso	Mexican Nuevo Peso, monetary currency of Mexico
NLG	Netherlands Guilder	Netherlands Guilder, monetary currency of Netherlands
NZD	New Zealand Dollar	New Zealand Dollar, monetary currency of New Zealand
PHP	Philippine Peso	Philippine Peso, monetary currency of Philippines
RUR	Russian Ruble	Russian Ruble, monetary currency of Russian Federation
THB	Baht	Baht, monetary currency of Thailand
TRL	Lira	Lira, monetary currency of Turkey
TWD	Taiwan Dollar	Taiwan Dollar, monetary currency of Taiwan
USD	US Dollar	US Dollar, monetary currency of United States
ZAR	Rand	Rand, monetary currency of South Africa

This table only shows a representative subset of the codes defined by ISO 4217. All codes from ISO 4127 are valid for this attribute.

currency is represented by the XML attributevalue whose value, if present, must be a valid currency code as defined by ISO 4217.

This example shows an amount of 10 Euros.

<!-- type RTO --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) > Content: ( numerator, denominator ) </x>

Definition:      The quantity that is being divided in the ratio. The default is the integer number 1 (one).

numerator is represented by the XML elementnumerator which, if present, must be valid instance of a descendant of QTY.

Definition:      The quantity that devides the numerator in the ratio. The default is the integer number 1 (one). The denominator must not be zero.

denominator is represented by the XML elementdenominator which, if present, must be valid instance of a descendant of QTY.

The first example shows a ratio of INTs, where the types of the numerator and demoninator are asserted individually.

The second example shows a ratio of MO and PQ where the types of the numerator and demoninator are asserted on the element representing the RTO value.

The final example shows a ratio of PQs, where the types of the numerator and demoninator are asserted individually.

<!-- type TS --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) value = ST />

This example shows April 7, 2000.

The next example shows 12:42 pm (in the time zone that is 8 hours before UTC) on September 21, 2005.

The first example shows an Act with a set of id's.

The next example shows an Act with a set of reasonCode's.

The final example shows an Act with an effectiveTime that uses the intersect SXCM.operator.

<!-- type SXCM --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) {any attributes from T} operator = (I | E | A | H | P) : I > Content: ( {any elements from T} ) </x>

Definition:      A code specifying whether the set component is included (union) or excluded (set-difference) from the set, or other set operations with the current set component and the set as constructed from the representation stream up to the current point.

Domain SetOperator

code	name	definition
A	intersect	Form the intersection with the value.
E	exclude	Form the set-difference with this value, i.e., exclude this element or set from the resulting set.
H	convex hull	Form the convex hull with the value. The convex hull is defined over ordered domains and is the smallest contiguous superset (interval) that of all the operand sets.
I	include	Form the union with this value, i.e., include this element or set in the resulting set.
P	periodic hull	Form the periodic hull with the value. The periodic hull is defined over ordered domains and is the periodic set that contains all contiguous supersets of pairs of intervals generated by the operand periodic intervals.

operator is represented as the XML attributeoperator, whose value, if present, must be a valid code from the SetOperator domain (Domain SetOperator). The default value is I.

See the examples using operator in Examples.

The first example shows a list of templateId's.

The second example shows a regionOfInterest whose value is a list of INT (that specifies the coordinates of the endpoints of the major and minor axes.

<!-- type GLIST --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) period = INT denominator = INT > Content: ( head, increment ) </x>

Definition:      This is the start-value of the generated list.

head is represented as XML elementhead which, if present, must be a valid T.

Definition:      The difference between one value and its previous different value. For example, to generate the sequence (1; 4; 7; 10; 13; ...) the increment is 3; likewise to generate the sequence (1; 1; 4; 4; 7; 7; 10; 10; 13; 13; ...) the increment is also 3.

increment is represented as the XML elementincrement which, if present, must be a valid T.diff.

Definition:      If non-NULL, specifies that the sequence alternates, i.e., after this many increments, the sequence item values roll over to start from the initial sequence item value. For example, the sequence (1; 2; 3; 1; 2; 3; 1; 2; 3; ...) has period 3; also the sequence (1; 1; 2; 2; 3; 3; 1; 1; 2; 2; 3; 3; ...) has period 3 too.

period is represented as the XML attributeperiod, whose value, if present, must be a valid INT.

Definition:      The integer by which the index for the sequence is divided, effectively the number of times the sequence generates the same sequence item value before incrementing to the next sequence item value. For example, to generate the sequence (1; 1; 1; 2; 2; 2; 3; 3; 3; ...) the denominator is 3.

denominator is represented as the XML attributedenominator, whose value, if present, must be a valid INT.

The first example shows the time base for an EKG strip written at October 29, 2002 at 16:51:13 at a per 2 ms sampling rate.

The second example shows a RADAR scan that increments in 2 degrees and has a period of 360 degrees, i.e., of 180 increments.

<!-- type SLIST --> <x nullFlavor = (NI | OTH | NINF | PINF | UNK | ASKU | NAV | NASK | TRC | MSK | NA | NP) > Content: ( origin, scale, digits ) </x>

Definition:      The origin of the list item value scale, i.e., the physical quantity that a zero-digit in the sequence would represent.

origin is represented as the XML elementorigin which, if present, must be a valid T.

Definition:      A ratio-scale quantity that is factored out of the digit sequence.

scale is represented as the XML elementscale which, if present, must be a valid T.diff.

Definition:      A sequence of raw digits for the sample values. This is typically the raw output of an A/D converter.

digits is represented as the XML elementdigits which, if present, is a whitespace separated list of the Attribute form of INT.

Note: The representation of this property does not match any of the allowed representations for LIST<INT>.

This example shows Lead II of an EKG tracing, with origin calibrated at 0 μV and with a scale factor of 2.5 μV.