HL7 V3 Message Development Process

The V3 message development process is based on information models produced by the development groups. An information model represents data in object oriented way. It has classes with relationships, properties, states and constraints. The information models are refined and localized to come up with messages that can be exchanged with different systems.

• Reference Information Model (RIM): The RIM is an information model collectively developed by the HL7 working group. It is the information model that encompasses the HL7 domain of interest as a whole. The RIM is a coherent, shared information model that is the source for the data content of all HL7 messages. The RIM is intentionally abstract to represent the HL7 data in a standard way across all the domains of Healthcare. It is the root of all information models and structures developed as part of the V3 development process.

• Domain Message Information Model (D-MIM): The classes, attributes, state-machines, and relationships in the RIM are used to derive domain-specific information models called D-MIMs. A D-MIM is a refined subset of the RIM that includes a set of class clones, attributes and relationships that can be used to create messages for a particular domain (a particular area of interest in healthcare)

  Domains under Administrative Management

  • Accounting and Billing

  • Claims & Reimbursements

  • Patient Administration

  • Personnel Management

  • Scheduling

  Domains under Health and Clinical Management:

  • Clinical Document Architecture

  • Medical Records

  • Public Health Reporting

  • Clinical Genomics

  • Specimen Domain

  • Regulated Studies

• Refined Message Information Model (R-MIM): The R-MIM is a subset of a D-MIM that is used to express the information content for a message or set of messages with annotations and refinements that are message specific. The D-MIM is used as a common base upon which all R-MIMs within a domain are built.

• Hierarchical Message Descriptions (HMD): The HMDs are abstract message structures which represent the information from R-MIMs. The HMD represents R-MIM in an organized way which can be exchanged between systems. The HMDs are called abstract because they define the message structure without reference to the implementation technology.

• XML Schemas: HL7 V3 defines Implementation technology specifications (ITS). These ITS define how the abstract message types should be transmitted using an underlying technology. V3 currently defines XML ITS and UML ITS. The XML ITS defines data types and structures. The XML datatypes represents HL7 datatypes in XML specific way. And the XML structures represent the structures defined by HMDs. Thus, for every message type there is a corresponding HMD and XSD .