Tutorial material used for persons interested in HL7 v2 certification testing.

2. • WHERE AND HOW TO TAKE THE EXAM
• KIND OF CERTIFICATIONS OFFERED
• CERTIFICATION EXAM APPLICATION PROCESS
• TESTING DO’S AND DON’TS
• SCOPE OF THE HL7 V2 CONTROL EXAM
• QUESTION DISTRIBUTION BY TOPIC AREA
• PRACTICE QUESTIONS
• AVAILABLE STUDY RESOURCES

3.  HL7 offers computer based testing (CBT) as its certification
testing method. For CBT, you have the option to take your
exam at:
 one of 400 High-stakes Online Secure Testing (HOST)
center locations worldwide, or
 as an Online Proctored test from your own computer with
Internet access and an external webcam meeting minimum
requirements.
 An online proctored test is offered at all HL7 Work Group
Meetings and Educational Summits.
 If your organization is interested in arranging certification
testing at its facility, please contact Mary Ann Boyle, at
Maryann@HL7.org or phone (734) 677-7777.

4.  Certifications in the following are offered by
HL7:
 Hl7 v2 Control
 HL7 v3 Reference Information Model
 HL7 v3 Clinical Document Architecture
 Application Process
 Complete the certification application online to start the
process.
 The application process is the same whether you take the
exam in person or electronically at Kryterion testing centers
or online.
 Allow up to 10 business days to process your application.

5.  Bring a photo id to the test. No reading or writing materials,
except those provided by the instructor, are allowed during the
test. Pencils will be provided.
 Mobile phones, messaging devices, and pagers must be turned
off (not just silenced) during the test. Use of such devices during
the test may result in disqualification.
 If you need to be reachable for emergencies while you are taking
the test, please inform personnel at the test site.
 After the test, you are not allowed to discuss the contents of the
test with others.
 Results will be emailed immediately upon completion of the test
to the address that you designated when you registered for the
examination.
 A Certificate is also immediately emailed to qualifying
individuals.

6.  HL7 2.7 Chapters 2, 2A, and 2B
 Chapter 2: Control
 Chapter 2A: DataTypes
 Chapter 2B: Conformance
 There are 70 questions on the exam.
 Candidates will have 2 hours to complete the
exam.
 Candidates must score at least 70% (correctly
answer a minimum of 49 questions) to pass the
exam.
 The questions are multiple choice and there is no
penalty for guessing incorrectly.

7.  20% Conceptual Approach
and Framework.
 36% Message
Construction and
Processing Rules.
 12% Control Segments
and Message Types
 21% Datatypes
 11% Conformance

8. 2.2 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 CONCEPTUAL APPROACH....................................................................................................................... 3
2.3.1 TRIGGER EVENTS...................................................................................................................................... 3
2.3.2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: ORIGINAL MODE ................................................................................................... 4
2.3.3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: ENHANCED MODE.................................................................................................. 4
2.3.4 QUERIES ................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.4 COMMUNICATIONS ENVIRONMENT.................................................................................................... 5
2.5 MESSAGE FRAMEWORK.......................................................................................................................... 6
2.5.1 MESSAGES................................................................................................................................................ 6
2.5.2 SEGMENTS AND SEGMENT GROUPS ........................................................................................................... 6
2.5.3 FIELDS ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.5.4 MESSAGE DELIMITERS ............................................................................................................................ 10
a) 2.5.5 Length 10
10 to 15 Questions 20% Of the Exam

9.  Which of the following characters is the
suggested HL7 2.x Field Separator?
A. |
B. ^
C. &
D. ~
E.

10.  Which of the following is NOT a possible
designation of optionality for a field within a
segment in the segment attribute tables of
the HL7 2.7 standard?
A. R - Required
B. O - Optional
C. C - Conditional on the trigger event or on some other field(s)
D. Z - User defined
E. B - Left in for Backward compatibility with previous versions of
HL7

11. 2.6 MESSAGE CONSTRUCTION RULES..................................................................................................... 13
2.7 USE OF ESCAPE SEQUENCES IN TEXT FIELDS................................................................................ 18
2.8 VERSION COMPATIBILITY DEFINITION ........................................................................................... 21
2.9 MESSAGE PROCESSING RULES ........................................................................................................... 25
2.10 SPECIAL HL7 PROTOCOLS .................................................................................................................... 29
2.11 LOCAL EXTENSION ................................................................................................................................. 41
2.13 ACKNOWLEDGMENT MESSAGES ....................................................................................................... 46
2.14 MESSAGE CONTROL SEGMENTS ........................................................................................................ 46
2.16 MISCELLANEOUS HL7 TABLES USED ACROSS ALLCHAPTERS ................................................ 74
25 to 30 Questions 36% Of the Exam

12.  If the data type definition calls for a component to be broken into
subcomponents, which of the following rules are used?
I. If more than one subcomponent is included, they are separated by the
subcomponent separator.
II. Subcomponents that are not present are represented by the characters "".
III. A subcomponent that is present but null is represented by including no characters
in the subcomponent.
IV. Subcomponents that are present but null at the end of a component need not be
represented by subcomponent separators.
A. I., II., III., and IV.
B. I., II., and III. only
C. I. and IV. only
D. I. only
E. II., III., and IV. only

13.  The original mode acknowledgment protocol is
equivalent to the enhanced acknowledgment
protocol with which of the following field values?
A. Just the MSH-15-accept acknowledgment type equal to "AL", the
MSH-16-application acknowledgment type doesn't matter.
B. Just the MSH-16-application acknowledgment type equal to "AL",
the MSH-15-accept acknowledgment type doesn't matter.
C. The MSH-15-accept acknowledgment type equal to "NE" and the
MSH-16-application acknowledgment type equal to "AL".
D. The MSH-15-accept acknowledgment type equal to "AL" and the
MSH-16-application acknowledgment type equal to "NE".
E. The MSH-15-accept acknowledgment type equal to "NE", the MSH-
16-application acknowledgment type doesn't matter.

14. 2.14 MESSAGE CONTROL SEGMENTS ........................................................................................................ 46
2.14.1 ADD - ADDENDUM SEGMENT ................................................................................................................. 47
2.14.2 BHS - BATCH HEADER SEGMENT............................................................................................................. 47
2.14.3 BTS - BATCHTRAILER SEGMENT............................................................................................................. 49
2.14.4 DSC - CONTINUATION POINTER SEGMENT............................................................................................... 50
2.14.5 ERR - ERROR SEGMENT.......................................................................................................................... 50
2.14.6 FHS - FILE HEADER SEGMENT................................................................................................................. 54
2.14.7 FTS - FILE TRAILER SEGMENT ................................................................................................................. 56
2.14.8 MSA - MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENT SEGMENT..................................................................................... 56
2.14.9 MSH - MESSAGE HEADER SEGMENT ....................................................................................................... 57
2.14.10 NTE - NOTES AND COMMENTS SEGMENT ................................................................................................ 65
2.14.11 OVR – OVERRIDE SEGMENT ................................................................................................................... 67
2.14.12 SFT – SOFTWARE SEGMENT.................................................................................................................... 71
2.14.13 UAC - USER AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIAL SEGMENT......................................................................... 73
2.17 SAMPLE CONTROL MESSAGES............................................................................................................ 75
2.17.1 GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................... 75
2.17.2 GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, ERROR RETURN.................................................................................... 75
2.17.3 MESSAGE USING SEQUENCE NUMBER: PROTOCOL................................................................................... 75
2.17.4 MESSAGE FRAGMENTATION.................................................................................................................... 76
2.17.5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MESSAGE USING ORIGINAL MODE PROCESSING .................................................... 79
2.17.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MESSAGE USING ENHANCED MODE PROCESSING .................................................. 79
5 to 10 Questions 12% Of the Exam

15.  The segment FHS contains which of the
following fields?
A. Batch Creation Date/Time
B. Batch Control ID
C. File Batch Count
D. File Encoding Characters
E. File Trailer Comment

16.  What acknowledgment code should a system
return as an accept acknowledgment if the
message cannot be accepted because of a
sequence number error?
A. CA
B. CR
C. CE
D. CX
E. None of the above.

17. Data type Data Type Name Data type Data Type Name Data type Data Type Name
AD Address FN Family name RCD Row column definition
AUI Authorization information FT Formatted text RFR Reference range
CCD Charge code and date GTS General timing specification RI Repeat interval
CCP Channel calibration parameters HD Hierarchic designator RMC Room coverage
CD Channel definition ICD Insurance certification definition RP Reference pointer
CE Coded element ID Coded values for HL7 tables RPT Repeat pattern
CF Coded element w ith formatted values IS Coded value for user-defined tables SAD Street Address
CK Composite ID w ith check digit JCC Job code/class SCV Scheduling class value pair
CM Composite LA1 Location w ith address variation 1 SI Sequence ID
CN Composite ID number and name LA2 Location w ith address variation 2 SN Structured numeric
CNE Coded w ith no exceptions MA Multiplexed array SNM String of telephone number digits
CNN Composite ID number and name simplified MO Money SPD Specialty description
CP Composite price MOC Money and charge code SPS Specimen source
CQ Composite quantity w ith units MOP Money or percentage SRT Sort order
CSU Channel sensitivity and units MSG Message type ST String data
CWE Coded w ith exceptions NA Numeric array TM Time
CX Extended composite ID w ith check digit NDL Name w ith date and location TN Telephone number
DDI Daily deductible information NM Numeric TQ Timing/quantity
DIN Date and institution name NR Numeric range TS Time stamp
DLD Discharge to location and date OCD Occurrence code and date TX Text data
DLN Driver's license number OSD Order sequence definition UVC UB value code and amount
DLT Delta OSP Occurrence span code and date VH Visiting hours
DR Date/time range PIP Practitioner institutional privileges VID Version identifier
DT Date PL Person location VR Value range
DTM Date/time PLN Practitioner license or other ID number WVI Channel Identifier
DTN Day type and number PN Person name WVS Waveform source
ED Encapsulated data PPN Performing person time stamp XAD Extended address
EI Entity identifier PRL Parent result link XCN Extended composite ID number and name for persons
EIP Entity identifier pair PT Processing type XON Extended composite name and ID number for organizations
ELD Error location and description PTA Policy type and amount XPN Extended person name
ERL Error location QIP Query input parameter list
FC Financial class QSC Query selection criteria
XTN Extended telecommunications number
15 to 20 Questions 21% Of the Exam

18.  What data type is the following field?
|.in+4.ti-4 1. The cardiomediastinal
silhouette is now within normal limits.^.sp.ti-
4 2. Lung fields show minimal ground glass
appearance.^.sp.ti-4 3. A loop of colon
visible in the left upper quadrant is distinctly
abnormal with the appearance of mucosal
effacement suggesting colitis..in-4|
A. HT - Hypertext Markup Language
B. FT - Formatted text
C. RT - Rich Text
D. TX - Text Data
E. XM - Extended Markup Language

19.  What is the specified maximum field length
for a field of data type IS?
A. 20
B. 64
C. 199
D. 65536 (64K)
E. The maximum length may vary depending
on the longest code in the code set.

20. 2.B CONFORMANCE USING MESSAGE PROFILES............................................... 2-206
2.B.1 MESSAGE PROFILE .............................................................................................................................2-209
2.B.2 USE CASE MODEL...............................................................................................................................2-209
2.B.3 DYNAMIC DEFINITION ........................................................................................................................2-210
2.B.4 STATIC DEFINITION ............................................................................................................................2-212
2.B.5 TABLE DEFINITION .............................................................................................................................2-214
2.B.6 PROFILE TYPE ....................................................................................................................................2-214
2.B.7 STATIC DEFINITION CONCEPTS ...........................................................................................................2-216
2.B.8 STATIC DEFINITION - MESSAGE LEVEL................................................................................................2-221
2.B.9 STATIC DEFINITION - FIELD LEVEL......................................................................................................2-224
2.B.10 MESSAGE PROFILE DOCUMENT ..........................................................................................................2-225
2.B.11 TOOLS ...............................................................................................................................................2-226
2.B.12 MESSAGE PROFILE DOCUMENT DEFINITION .......................................................................................2-226
5 to 10 Questions 11% Of the Exam

21.  If Field 4, “Observation Sub-ID”, is transmitted in a segment
formatted according to the OBX segment definition in Figure I
above, the receiving conformant application:
A. May ignore the field if it is sent, or may raise an
application error
B. Must accept (pending further processing of the field
contents)
C. Must reject
D. Should truncate the field to a length of 250 characters
E. May accept if and only if it is accompanied by at least
one occurrence of Field 3, “Observation Identifier”

22.  Which of the following fields may be omitted from a segment
formatted according to the OBX segment definition in Figure I
above?
A. Field 1, “Set ID - OBX”
B. Field 2, “Value Type”
C. Field 3, “Observation Identifier”
D. Field 5, “Observation Value”
E. Field 6, “Units”

23.  HL7 v2.7 Standard
 HL7 v2.7 Certification Test Study Guide
 HL7 v2.7 Chapter 2 Control (Practice Exam)
 AbdulMalik.Shakir@Hi3Solutions.com

25. Hi3 Solutions ~ Your healthcare standards conformance Partner
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