HL7 Transport Method: FTP
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is an application layer TCP/IP protocol which moves files between local and remote file systems or vice versa. FTP initiates two TCP connections in parallel to transfer a file; a control connection, to send commands for interacting with the server (for example, authenticating) and initiating file actions (for example, download or rename a file); and a data connection, to send out the file.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
When sending HL7 messages that contain electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI), it’s essential to use a secure transport. Two common secure options related to FTP are:
- SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) — an SSH-based protocol for secure file transfer, access, and management.
- FTPS (FTP Secure) — FTP with TLS/SSL for encryption and authentication.
Although often described as “secure versions of FTP,” SFTP and FTPS are distinct and incompatible protocols. Either can work well for HL7 batch delivery (and even some near-real-time feeds) if both endpoints support the chosen option.
HL7 Batch Processing Using FTP
HL7 batch processing typically sends files via an FTP/SFTP/FTPS transfer or email attachment. Under the HL7 Standard, individual messages start with an MSH segment. In a batch file, multiple HL7 messages (each beginning with MSH) are wrapped by batch headers and trailers: FHS/BHS (headers) and FTS/BTS (trailers). Example:
FHS|^~\&|MESA|XYZ_HOSPITAL|IHIE|IHIE|20120703094005||||||
BHS|^~\&|MESA|XYZ_HOSPITAL|IHIE|IHIE|20120703094005||||||
MSH|^~\&|MESA_ADT|XYZ_ADMITTING|iFW|XYZ_HOSPITAL|||ADT^A04|101102|P|2.3.1||||||||
EVN||200004211000||||200004210950
PID|||583020^^^ADT1||WHITE^CHARLES||19980704|M||AI|7616 STANFORD AVE^^ST. LOUIS^MO^63130|||||||20-98-1701||||||||||||
PV1||E||||||5101^NELL^FREDERICK^P^^DR|||||||||||V1002^^^ADT1|||||||||||||||||||||||||200004210950||||||||
MSH|^~\&|MESA_OP|XYZ_HOSPITAL|iFW|XYZ_RADIOLOGY|||ORM^O01|101104|P|2.3.1||||||||
PID|||583020^^^ADT1||WHITE^CHARLES||19980704|M||AI|7616 STANFORD AVE^^ST. LOUIS^MO^63130|||||||20-98-1701||||||||||||
PV1||E|$PATIENT_LOCATION$||||$ATTENDING_DOCTOR$|5101^NELL^FREDERICK^P^^DR|||||||||||V1002^^^ADT1|||||||||||||||||||||||||200004210950||||||||
ORC|NW|A101Z^MESA_ORDPLC|||||1^once^^^^S||200004210955|^ROSEWOOD^RANDOLPH||7101^ESTRADA^JAIME^P^^DR||3145551212|200004210955||922229-10^IHE-RAD^IHE-CODE-231||
OBR|1|A101Z^MESA_ORDPLC||P1^Procedure 1^ERL_MESA|||||||||xxx||Radiology^^^^R|7101^ESTRADA^JAIME^P^^DR|||||||||||1^once^^^^S|||WALK|Project Manager||||||||||A||
MSH|^~\&|MESA_ADT|XYZ_ADMITTING|iFW|XYZ_HOSPITAL|||ADT^A06|101126|P|2.3.1||||||||
EVN||200004211000||||200004210950
PID|||583020^^^ADT1||WHITE^CHARLES||19980704|M||AI|7616 STANFORD AVE^^ST. LOUIS^MO^63130|||||||20-98-1701||||||||||||
PV1||I|1E^111^1^XYZ_HOSPITAL|||$PRIOR_LOCATION$|1234^WEAVER^TIMOTHY^P^^DR|5101^NELL^FREDERICK^P^^DR|||||||||||V1002^^^ADT1|||||||||||||||||||||||||200004210950||||||||
BTS|3|Batch Message Count
FTS|1|Have a Nice Day
Configuring FTP for Sending HL7
FTP/SFTP/FTPS are common choices for batch transport of HL7 messages. Proper setup of user accounts, directories, file naming conventions, and success/error handling is essential for reliable exchanges.
How does Iguana assist with FTP-based HL7 delivery?
Developed by iNTERFACEWARE, Iguana is a data integration platform that can send HL7 via FTP, SFTP, or FTPS quickly and reliably. It offers prebuilt components and a scripting environment with APIs for file/FTP operations, making it straightforward to implement custom workflows and robust error handling.
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