Resolving Failed HL7 Messages

Best practice for resolving interface messages is to:

Change the waitlist entry information in the source system.
Re-send the message.
Verify that the patient or waitlist entry has been added/updated in the WTIS accordingly.

Note: If it is not possible to follow this best practice, an alternative is to manually add/update/close the patient or waitlist entry in the WTIS, and save it as necessary.

Important: The MFM resolution process should be conducted daily to ensure the quality and accuracy of data.

Tips to Minimize Failed Messages

Date Fields

Future dates are only accepted for certain fields such as DARTs, DARCs and Scheduled Procedure Date. Other date fields will be rejected if they are in the future.
Ensure business rules regarding date fields are adhered to
(Surgery and DI e.g., Procedure Date must be greater than or equal to Decision to Treat Date)
(ALC e.g., ALC Discharge Destination Determination Date must be greater than or equal to ALC Designation Date)
Ensure proper date and time formats are followed (e.g., YYYYMMDD hh:mm)

Duplicate Patients

Include the HCN or MRN in the message whenever it is available. This is not a required field but including it reduces the number of failed messages
Include all patient address information when possible to minimize message failures

Note: This message failure type is only applicable for facilities integrated to the WTIS at a Complex level.

HL7

Ensure that:

All messages comply with the appropriate WTIS HL7 Specifications
You have a process in place to address failed messages as soon as they arise
The patient’s MRN is always included for:
All DI records
Surgery and ALC records if you are connected to the PCR
Restricted characters (such as “&” or “/”) are excluded from HL7 messages

Note: HL7 restricted characters are: |^~\&%--