HL7 terms to better understand what is HL7. The Producer’s ID in HL7 v2.x is a specific field of the OBX segment. This field (OBX-15) contains a unique identifier of the responsible producing service provider.
In the HL7 standard, there are messages used to communicate orders and results for procedures like lab tests, x-rays, etc. The clinical laboratory is a producer of lab test results and the radiology department is the producer of an imaging diagnostic report.
Typically, when the Producer’s ID field is null, the receiving system assumes that the observations were produced by the sending organization. The Producer’s ID should be reported explicitly when the test results are produced at outside laboratories. This information supports CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) regulations in the US. In the US, the Medicare number of the producing service is suggested as the identifier.
In HL7 messaging, the exact field contents can be negotiated based on interface specifications between the sending and receiving systems.
An example OBX segment follows where the Producer’s ID (45D0505003) is reported in OBX-15-1:
OBX|1|NM|1001^WBC|1|3.3|K/CUMM|5.5 – 15.5|L|||F|||200510021302|45D0505003||
