HL7 (Health Level Seven)

HL7 (Health Level Seven) refers to a set of international standards for the transfer of clinical and administrative data between healthcare information systems. The name "Level Seven" refers to the seventh layer (application layer) of the OSI communication model. HL7 International is the standards development organization responsible for creating and maintaining these specifications.

The HL7 v2 messaging standard has been the workhorse of healthcare data exchange for decades, used extensively for lab results, admissions/discharge/transfer (ADT) messages, and order communications. While HL7 v2 remains widely deployed, the newer FHIR standard represents the future of healthcare interoperability with its modern web-based approach and developer-friendly design.

Healthcare technology solutions that integrate with clinical systems must understand HL7 standards to ensure proper data exchange. Vital signs data transmitted from contactless monitoring solutions can be formatted according to HL7 specifications for compatibility with legacy systems, while FHIR-based integration is used for modern EHR platforms that support RESTful APIs.