Health Level Seven International

Health Level Seven International (HL7) is an ANSI-accredited, not-for-profit standards developing organization founded in 1987. It produces technical standards for the exchange, integration, sharing and retrieval of electronic health information, with the stated aim of enabling health data interoperability across the sector.

Its output includes several widely deployed standards. HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) allows healthcare software applications to communicate with one another; HL7 Version 2 (V2) is a long-standing messaging standard for clinical and administrative health data; and the Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) covers the exchange and retrieval of clinical documents. The standards are implemented by vendors and healthcare systems worldwide and are required by governing bodies in a number of jurisdictions.

The organisation operates through a global membership community and maintains country affiliates in more than 30 countries. Its technical remit spans health information exchange, electronic health record integration, clinical and administrative data exchange, and healthcare software interoperability. It serves healthcare providers, health IT vendors, government and regulatory bodies, clinical care delivery organisations and health information management functions.

HL7 describes its mission as empowering global health data interoperability, working toward universal secure access to health data, and reducing errors caused by data silos in support of coordinated care.