HL7value ( hl7 ; segment ; repetition ; sequence ; field )

Pulls a value from an HL7 string located by segment, repetition of segment, sequence (position) in the pipe-delimited segment, and field (section within a carrot "^" delimited string).

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L. Allen Poole - Show more from this author
Creative Database Solutions NW
http://cdsnw.com

Sample input:

HL7value ( "OBX|1|NM|URIC^Uric Acid^L^3084-1^^LN||" ; "OBX" ; 1 ; 3 ; 2 )

Sample output:

Uric Acid

Function definition: (Copy & paste into FileMaker's Edit Custom Function window)

/* version 2020 12 22  - first draft
L. Allen Poole <allen@cdsnw.com>
Pulls a value from an HL7 string located by segment, repetition of segment, sequence (position) in the pipe-delimited segment, and field (section within a carrot "^" delimited string).
Sequence and Field counters start at 1, not 0, and are optional (with default being 1 )
This works in limited testing, but will get improvements, as needed, as I work with it more. Comments and questions are welcome.

Here's an example:
In the HL7 message below, 
MSH[1] 2.1 = "HNAM"
OBR[1] 4.2 =  "URIC ACID"
OBX[2] 5.1 =  6.9

"MSH|^~\&|HNAM|Legacy Health||BASKIN123|20200930003152||ORU^R01|Q1495499660T14052152|P|2.3|||AL
PID|1|0001|0001||Testerson^Test^T||19571019|M|||123 Testing Ave Unit 3112^3112^WILSONVILLE^OR^97070||5037801111|||||306624100|543323547
PV1|1||^^^||||38699^Konig^Kristen
OBR|1|1620670|1138239115|URIC^URIC ACID|||20200930082200|||||||20200930122400|B&Blood|1063820041^KONIG^KRISTEN|||53155c8f94adf222|Legacy Eugene Lab^360 S Garden Way^Suite 240^Eugene OR||20200930145756||LAB|F
NTE|1|L|Performed at Legacy Eugene Lab, 360 S Garden Way, Suite 240, Eugene OR
OBX|1|NM|URIC^Uric Acid^L^3084-1^^LN||6.8|mg/dL|3.5-7.2|N|||P|||20200930145755|
OBX|2|NM|URIC^Uric Acid^L^3084-1^^LN||6.9|mg/dL|3.5-7.2|N|||F|||20200930153212|"
*/

Let ( [
  len = Length ( hl7 )
; repetition = If ( repetition ; repetition ; 1 ) // optional, defaults to 1
; field = If ( field ; field ; 1 ) // optional, defaults to 1
; start1 = Position ( hl7 ; segment & "|" ; 1 ; repetition ) + 3
; start2 = Position ( hl7 ; "|" ; start1 ; sequence ) + 1
; start3 = If ( field = 1 ; start2 ; Position ( hl7 ; "^" ; start2 ; field - 1 ) + 1 )

; nextpipe = Position ( hl7 ; "|" ; start3 ; 1 ) 
; nextcarrot = Position ( hl7 ; "^" ; start3 ; 1 )
; nextseg = Position ( hl7 ; "¶" ; start3 ; 1 )
; next = 
Min ( If  ( nextcarrot ; nextcarrot ; len )
;  If  ( nextpipe ; nextpipe ; len )
;  If  ( nextseg ; nextseg ; len )
; len )
; numberOfCharacters = If ( next > start3 ; next - start3 )
; result = Middle ( hl7 ; start3 ; numberOfCharacters )
] ;

List ( "" // un-comment any list element below for debugging
; result // Use this list element only in production
//; segment & "[" & repetition & "]" & " " &  sequence & "." & field & " = " & result
//; start1
//; start2
//; start3
//; "¶"
//; nextcarrot
//; nextpipe 
//; nextseg
//; "¶"
//; next
//; numberofcharacters
)
)

(See comments inside function)

Comments

		Matthew Fero, University of New Mexico Jun 1, 2025
This seems to work well, if the data exists in the message. I have an issue, though, that it will return spurious results, if the data does not exist. For example, in the example you gave, asking for OBX[3] 5.1 returns "BASKIN123".

Note: these functions are not guaranteed or supported by BrianDunning.com. Please contact the individual developer with any questions or problems.

HL7value ( hl7 ; segment ; repetition ; sequence ; field )

Comments

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