Key Capabilities
- Healthcare data exchange using HL7 over MLLP (Minimal Lower Layer Protocol) transport
- Embedded MLLP server functionality with SSL/TLS encryption support
- Bidirectional HL7 document translation between HL7 and XML formats
- MSH header validation with configurable application and facility identifiers
- Automatic acknowledgment handling with retry and resend capabilities for reliable delivery
Overview
HL7 MLLP connectors provide two sets of functionality:- File transfer over the MLLP transport protocol
- EDI document parsing and generation according to the HL7 EDI standard
- XML files are translated to HL7 before being sent
- HL7 documents are sent as-is
Profile Configuration
The HL7 MLLP Profile must be configured before connections can be established with individual HL7 MLLP connectors. Click Profiles on the navbar, then click the HL7 MLLP tab.HL7 MLLP Profile Tab
Server Configuration
Settings for hosting a local MLLP server.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Port | The port on which to listen for incoming MLLP connections. |
| Use SSL/TLS | Whether to require incoming connections to use SSL/TLS encryption for transport security. |
| TLS Server Certificate | The public key certificate used to verify the identity of a TLS/SSL server. If the target server uses TLS/SSL, set this field to the certificate that identifies the server. If the server’s certificate is not available, you can leave this setting blank to allow the underlying OS/JVM to perform certificate validation, or set it to Any Certificate to implicitly trust the server’s identity. (This field only appears if you check Use SSL/TLS.) |
HL7 Personal Ids
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Application Namespace Id (MSH3.1) | The application Id that identifies the local namespace for the HL7 protocol exchange. |
| Application Universal Id (MSH3.2) | The local application universal Id for the HL7 protocol exchange. |
| Application Universal Id Type (MSH3.3) | A type qualifier to provide context to the local application universal Id. |
| Facility Namespace Id (MSH4.1) | The facility Id that identifies the local namespace for the HL7 protocol exchange. |
| Facility Universal Id (MSH4.2) | The local facility universal Id for the HL7 protocol exchange. |
| Facility Universal Id Type (MSH4.3) | A type qualifier to provide context to the local facility universal Id. |
Other Settings
Settings that rarely need to be modified.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Inactivity Timeout | The amount of time (in seconds) that the server allows clients to remain inactive before the connection is terminated. |
Logging
Miscellaneous
Connector Configuration
Once you configure the global HL7 MLLP profile settings, create and configure individual HL7 MLLP connectors for each trading partner on the Flows page.Settings Tab
Connector Settings
Settings related to the core operation of the connector.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Connector Id | The static, unique identifier for the connector. |
| Connector Type | Displays the connector name and a description of what it does. |
| Connector Description | An optional field to provide a free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow. |
| Remote Host | The hostname or IP address of your remote host. |
| Port | The port on which to listen for incoming MLLP connections. |
| Version | The version of MLLP being used. |
| Connection Timeout | The length of time (in seconds) the connector waits for a connection response before throwing a timeout error. |
| Use SSL/TLS | Whether to require incoming connections to use SSL/TLS encryption for transport security. |
HL7 Configuration
Settings related to the message headers. When converting HL7 documents into XML, the document headers are validated against these settings; when generating HL7 documents from XML, these settings are used to generate document headers.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Application Namespace Id (MSH5.1) | In conjunction with the other 5.X elements, identifies the application on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
| Application Universal Id (MSH5.2) | In conjunction with the other 5.X elements, identifies the application on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
| Application Universal Id Type (MSH5.3) | In conjunction with the other 5.X elements, identifies the application on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
| Facility Namespace Id (MSH6.1) | In conjunction with the other 6.X elements, identifies the facility on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
| Facility Universal Id (MSH6.2) | In conjunction with the other 6.X elements, identifies the facility on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
| Facility Universal Id Type (MSH6.3) | In conjunction with the other 6.X elements, identifies the facility on the remote side of the HL7 exchange. |
Acknowledgments
Settings related to generating and requesting acknowledgments.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgment Type | Whether or not acknowledgments should be generated and requested. |
Sample Files Tab
Advanced Tab
EDI Delimiters
Settings that specify which characters separate elements, segments, and so on.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Data Element Separator | The character that separates individual data elements in the document. |
| Component Element Separator | The character that separates elements within a composite data structure in the document. |
| Segment Terminator | The character that indicates the end of a segment in the document. |
| Release Char | The character that releases (escapes) the next character, overriding its usual meaning. This allows reserved characters to appear as data within documents, as long as they are preceded by the Release Char. |
| Repetition Char | The character that indicates repetition of element values. |
| Suffix | Appended to the Segment Terminator to distinguish segments. |
Proxy Settings
Advanced Settings
Settings not included in the previous categories.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Generate Description As | When translating HL7 into XML, descriptions of the HL7 segments and elements can be provided as context for the HL7 data. Use this dropdown to choose whether to add this context as an XML comment or as XML attributes. |
| Processing Delay | The amount of time (in seconds) by which the processing of files placed in the Transactions tab is delayed. This is a legacy setting. Best practice is to use a File connector to manage local file systems instead of this setting. |
| Strict Schema Validation | Whether the connector should Ignore, Warn, or Fail when the following are detected: repeat counts above the allowed number, missing required elements or segments, invalid qualifier and code values, disallowed element lengths, and invalid element values. |
| Local File Scheme | A scheme for assigning filenames to messages that are output by the connector. You can use macros in your filenames dynamically to include information such as identifiers and timestamps. For more information, see Macros. |
| TLS Enabled Protocols | The list of TLS/SSL protocols supported when establishing outgoing connections. Best practice is to only use TLS protocols. SSL v2 and SSL v3 are considered vulnerable and should only be used if your partner does not support higher versions. Keep in mind that TLS v1.3 is not universally adopted, and might be refused if the destination server does not support it. |
| Validate Identifiers | When checked, the connector ensures that the identifiers in the translated document match the identifiers specified in the connector configuration. |
| Duplicate File Action | How the connector should behave when it receives a message with a control number that the connector has seen before (a duplicate). When set to Ignore, the connector silently skips the duplicate and continues processing. When set to Warn, the connector processes the file but returns a warning. When set to Fail, the connector does not accept the file and returns an error. |
| Upload Schema | Use this to upload a schema and install it in the connector’s Schema folder. If a schema already exists, you are asked if you want to overwrite it. |
| Reset State | EDI connectors keep track of control numbers that have been used and increment that number to ensure that future runs do not duplicate data. Use this button to reset the counter to its initial state without changing any of the configured settings. |
Logging
Miscellaneous
Automation Tab
Automation Settings
Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Send | Whether files arriving at the connector are automatically sent as HL7 or XML messages. |
| Retry Interval | The number of minutes before a failed send is retried. A retry is triggered when the server does not respond to a send attempt, or responds negatively to communicate that the file was not received. |
| Max Attempts | The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file. Success is based on a successful server acknowledgement and validation of the receipt (when requested synchronously). If you set this to 0, the connector retries the file indefinitely. |
| Resend Interval | The number of minutes before unacknowledged messages are resent. A resend is triggered when the server receives the file, but an asynchronous MDN receipt is not provided within the expected timeframe. |
| Max Attempts (async) | The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file when asynchronous receipts are requested. Success is based on the return of an asynchronous receipt within the Resend Interval after a successful server acknowledgement. If a successful server acknowledgement is not returned, Max Attempts is applied instead. If this is set to 0, the connector resends the file indefinitely. |