athenahealth Interface Scope
Sample Message Guidelines
February 16, 2016
Contact:
Craig Surette - athenahealth Interface Manager
csurette@athenahealth.com
1.
General Guidelines.................................................................................................... 2
2.
File Format ................................................................................................................ 2
3.
File Creation Process ................................................................................................ 2
4.
Sample Message Formatting Guidelines ................................................................. 2
5.
Additional Content Specific Guidelines .................................................................. 2
6.
Properly Formatted Sample Message Examples ................................................... 3
7.
Improperly Formatted Sample Message Examples ............................................... 3
1. General Guidelines
To aid in timely development cycles, please provide sample interface messages that meet
the following formatting guidelines. If you have questions about the guidelines or
general process, please contact your athena Manager. When at all possible sample
messages should be representative of real data to be sent via the interface.
2. File Format
The sample message file format should be a standard txt file (.txt) for HL7 or a comma
separated file (.csv) for non-HL7 messages. Word, Excel and image based screen shots
are not acceptable as they frequently remove non-printing characters.
3. File Creation Process
All systems are different so we can not provide specific guidelines on how to create
sample messages for reasons of sharing to athenahealth, please consult the vendor system
for guidelines. Sample messages should be generated using the export or download tools
built into the system for such data capture; this should not include screen shots or screen
capture.
4. Sample Message Formatting Guidelines
For interfaces that will utilize the HL7 standard, please ensure that the following
guidelines are met:
 Consistent segment delimiter(s)
 Consistent message delimiter(s), distinct from segment delimiter(s)
 No binary characters, including but not limited to, mainframe low characters
For interfaces that utilize a custom, non-HL7 standard, please ensure that the following
guidelines are met:
 Consistent line delimiter(s)
 No binary characters, including but not limited to, mainframe low characters
5. Additional Content Specific Guidelines


For ADT/patient messages, an external patient ID sequence must be available
[PID.2, PID.3 or PID.4 when using HL7 standard]
For DFT/charge messages, the following minimum fields are required to assemble
a charge:
o Date of service [FT1.4 when using HL7 standard]
o Service location [FT1.16]
o Diagnosis [FT1.19]
o Rendering provider [FT1.20]
o Procedure code [FT1.25]
Interface Scope: Sample Message Guidelines – Version 1.3
athenahealth Confidential: Do not redistribute or copy without permission.
2
6. Properly Formatted Sample Message Examples
HL7 S12:
MSH|^~\&|ATHENANET|432^TESTPRACTICE|ATHENA||200403220359||SIU^S12|403|T|2.2||||||||
SCH|231015|231015||||office visit|office visit|ov^office visit|10|minutes|^^^200403221320|||||iaugusto|||||||||
PID||27921|27921||FONTENOT^SANG^||20000727|M|||8762 STONERIDGE
CT^^QUINCY^MA^02170||(555)762-0881|(888)555-0510||S|||314180839|||||||||||
PV1|||^^^Brockton||||13^kmurphy2||||||||||13^kmurphy2|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DG1||ICD9|V202|ROUTINE INFANT OR CHILD HEALTH CHECK|||||||||||||||
RGS|||
AIG|||kmurphy2|||||200403221320|||10|minutes||
AIL|||2^Brockton|||200403221320|||10|minutes||
HL7 P03:
MSH|^~\&|SYSTEM||ATHENANET|^^|20060727165041||DFT^P03|328379287326378|P|2.3|||AL|AL
PID|1|PATIENTID|||SMITH^PATIENT^A|||||||||||||PATIENTACCOUNTNUMBER||||
PV1|1|O|10||||41^FOX^MICHAEL^J^MD^^^^|REFERRINGPROVIDER|||||||||||VISITNUMBER|||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||APPOINTMENTID
FT1|1|||FROMDATE|20060727|CG|TRANSACTIONCODE|||1||||||DEPARTMENTID|||DIAGNOSIS1~DIA
GNOSIS2|RENDERINGPROVIDER|SUPERVISINGPROVIDER||FILLERORDERNUMBER||PROCED
URECODE|MODIFIER~MODIFIER...
7. Improperly Formatted Sample Message Examples
Incorrectly Terminated Segments:
MSH|^~\&|ATHENANET|432^TESTPRACTICE|ATHENA||200403220359||SIU^S12
|403|T|2.2||||||||
SCH|231015|231015||||office visit|office visit|ov^office visit|
10|minutes|^^^200403221320|||||iaugusto|||||||||
PID||27921|27921||FONTENOT^SANG^||20000727|M|||8762 STONERIDGE CT
^^QUINCY^MA^02170||(555)762-0881|(888)555-0510||S|||314180839|||||||||||
PV1|||^^^Brockton||||13^kmurphy2||||||||||13^kmurphy2|||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||
DG1||ICD9|V202|ROUTINE INFANT OR CHILD HEALTH CHECK||||||||||||||| RGS||
|
AIG|||kmurphy2|||||200403221320|||10|minutes||
AIL|||2^Brockton|||200403221320|||10|minutes||
Inconsistent Message Delimiters:
MSH|^~\&|ATHENANET|432^TESTPRACTICE|ATHENA||200403220359||SIU^S12|403|T|2.2||||||||
SCH|231015|231015||||office visit|office visit|ov^office visit|10|minutes|^^^200403221320|||||iaugusto|||||||||
PID||27921|27921||FONTENOT^SANG^||20000727|M|||8762 STONERIDGE
CT^^QUINCY^MA^02170||(555)762-0881|(888)555-0510||S|||314180839|||||||||||
PV1|||^^^Brockton||||13^kmurphy2||||||||||13^kmurphy2|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DG1||ICD9|V202|ROUTINE INFANT OR CHILD HEALTH CHECK||||||||||||||| RGS|||
AIG|||kmurphy2|||||200403221320|||10|minutes||
AIL|||2^Brockton|||200403221320|||10|minutes||
MSH|^~\&|ATHENANET|432^TESTPRACTICE|ATHENA||200403220359||SIU^S12|403|T|2.2||||||||
SCH|231015|231015||||office visit|office visit|ov^office visit|10|minutes|^^^200403221320|||||iaugusto|||||||||
PID||27921|27921||FONTENOT^SANG^||20000727|M|||8762 STONERIDGE
CT^^QUINCY^MA^02170||(555)762-0881|(888)555-0510||S|||314180839|||||||||||
PV1|||^^^Brockton||||13^kmurphy2||||||||||13^kmurphy2|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interface Scope: Sample Message Guidelines – Version 1.3
athenahealth Confidential: Do not redistribute or copy without permission.
3
DG1||ICD9|V202|ROUTINE INFANT OR CHILD HEALTH CHECK||||||||||||||| RGS|||
AIG|||kmurphy2|||||200403221320|||10|minutes||
AIL|||2^Brockton|||200403221320|||10|minutes||
MSH|^~\&|ATHENANET|432^TESTPRACTICE|ATHENA||200403220359||SIU^S12|403|T|2.2||||||||
SCH|231015|231015||||office visit|office visit|ov^office visit|10|minutes|^^^200403221320|||||iaugusto|||||||||
PID||27921|27921||FONTENOT^SANG^||20000727|M|||8762 STONERIDGE
CT^^QUINCY^MA^02170||(555)762-0881|(888)555-0510||S|||314180839|||||||||||
PV1|||^^^Brockton||||13^kmurphy2||||||||||13^kmurphy2|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DG1||ICD9|V202|ROUTINE INFANT OR CHILD HEALTH CHECK||||||||||||||| RGS|||
AIG|||kmurphy2|||||200403221320|||10|minutes||
AIL|||2^Brockton|||200403221320|||10|minutes||
Interface Scope: Sample Message Guidelines – Version 1.3
athenahealth Confidential: Do not redistribute or copy without permission.
4