GitHub - angusmillar/PeterPiper: Peter Piper a HL7 V2 parser for .net

|Peter Piper Parser| is a HL7 V2.x parser for .NET Core available on Nuget.org

Compatible with .NET Core 7

MSH|^~\&|Peter Piper parsed a peck of pickled patients~A peck of pickled patients Peter Piper parsed~If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled patients~Where's the peck of pickled patients Peter Piper parsed?

Below is a quick reference guide of the uses of Peter Piper.

Parse any HL7 V2.x message

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.CustomException;

string MyHL7V2Message = "[Any HL7 V2.x message as a string]";
IMessage oHL7 = null;
try
{
  oHL7 = Creator.Message(MyHL7V2Message);
}
catch(PeterPiperException Exec)
{
  string Message = Exec.Message;
  //boring stuff here
}

string PatientFamilyName = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(1).AsString;
string PatientGivenName =  oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).AsString;

Create a new message:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

string MessageVersion = "2.4";
string MessageType = "ADT";
string MessageTrigger = "A01";

IMessage oHL7 = Creator.Message(MessageVersion, MessageType, MessageTrigger);

//Or

IMessage oHL7 = Creator.Message(@"MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01|||2.4|");

//Output the finished message:

string FinalMessage = oHL7.AsRawString;

Add or Insert a Segment:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

IMessage oHL7 = Creator.Message("2.4", "ADT", "A01");

ISegment oPID = Creator.Segment("PID");
ISegment oEVN = Creator.Segment("EVN");
oHL7.Add(oEVN); //Will add to the end of the message
oHL7.Add(oPID); //Will add to the end of the message

//Or

oHL7.Insert(2, oPID); //Will insert at index 2 in the message segment list (1 based index)
oHL7.Insert(3, oPID); //Will insert at index 3 in the message segment list (1 based index)

Accessing Fields:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M
 
string PatientSex = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(8).AsString;

Accessing Repeats:

using System.Linq;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M

//The following 3 examples all achieve the same outcome.

//'.Field()' is just short hand for the first repeat
IField AcmeMRNRepeat = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(3);

//Or

//'.Element()' provides access to the repeating Fields via the '.Repeat()' method
AcmeMRNRepeat = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(1)

//Or

//We can also use .NET Linq to select from the list of repeats
AcmeMRNRepeat = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).RepeatList.SingleOrDefault(x => x.Component(4).AsString == "AcmeHealth");
if (AcmeMRNRepeat != null)
{
  string AcmeHealthMRNValue = AcmeMRNRepeat.Component(1).AsString;
}

Accessing Components:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M

string PatientFamilyName = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(1).AsString;
string PatientGivenName =  oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).AsString;

Accessing SubComponents:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example OBR Segment:
// OBR|1|112233|15P000005|26604007^Complete blood count^SCT||||||||||||||||||201504101115+1000||HM|F|||||||DRPRIH&DrSurname&PrincipalResultInterpreterHaem&&&DR

string PrincipalResultInterpreterFamilyName = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(32).Component(1).SubComponent(2).AsString;
string PrincipalResultInterpreterGivenName = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(5).Component(1).SubComponent(3).AsString;

Setting Fields:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M
 
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(8).AsString = "F";

Setting Repeats:

using System.Linq;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M

//The following 3 examples all achieve the same outcome.

//'.Field()' is just short hand for the first repeat
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(3).Component(1) = "PA30000005";

//Or

//'.Element()' provides access to the repeating Fields via the '.Repeat()' method
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(1).Component(1) = "PA30000005";

//Or

//We can also use .NET Linq to select from the list of repeats
AcmeMRNRepeat = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).RepeatList.SingleOrDefault(x => x.Component(4).AsString == "AcmeHealth");
if (AcmeMRNRepeat != null)
{
  AcmeMRNRepeat.Component(1).AsString = "PA30000005";
}

Setting Components:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M

oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(1).AsString = "Smith"
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).AsString = "Bob";

Setting SubComponents:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example OBR Segment:
// OBR|1|112233|15P000005|26604007^Complete blood count^SCT||||||||||||||||||201504101115+1000||HM|F|||||||DRPRIH&DrSurname&PrincipalResultInterpreterHaem&&&DR

oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(32).Component(1).SubComponent(2).AsString = "NewSurname";
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(5).Component(1).SubComponent(3).AsString = "NewGivenName";

Convenience Methods on IMessage

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

IMessage oHL7= Creator.Message("[Any HL7 V2.x message as a string]");

DateTimeOffset MessageCreationDateTime = oHL7.MessageCreationDateTime;
string MessageControlID = oHL7.MessageControlID;
string MessageType = oHL7.MessageType;
string MessageTrigger = oHL7.MessageTrigger;
string MessageStructure = oHL7.MessageStructure;      
string MessageVersion = oHL7.MessageVersion;

HasElements, HasFields, HasRepeats, HasComponents, HasSubComponents and HasContents :

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUS\T\HIC^MC|123^^^NamespaceID&UniversalID&UniversalIdType|Dow^John||19850930|M
                                       //Equals: 1
// HasElements and HasFields are alway equal to each other.
// The difference between an Element and a Field is what they contain. Elements contains a list of repeating fields where Field 
// is always the first Field repeat. So that is, oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(1) is equal to oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(3)   
bool HasElements = oHL7.Segment("PID").HasElements;                                  //Equals: True
bool HasFields = oHL7.Segment("PID").HasFields;                                      //Equals: True
bool HasRepeats = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).HasRepeats;                         //Equals: True
bool HasComponents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).HasComponents;                     //Equals: True
bool HasSubComponents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(4).Component(4).HasSubComponents;  //Equals: True
//Content is the parts between the HL7 escapes, so below is 1=AUS, 2=T, 3=HIC from the string 'AUS\T\HIC' which when unescaped is AUS&HIC
//See Escaping for more info 
bool HasContents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(2).Component(4).HasContents;//Equals: True

// However, given a message oHL7 with the very simple example PID Segment of:
// PID|1

bool HasElements = oHL7.Segment("PID").HasElements;                                  //Equals: False
bool HasFields = oHL7.Segment("PID").HasFields;                                      //Equals: False

// And, given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR|123^^^NamespaceID|Dow||19850930|M

bool HasRepeats = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).HasRepeats;                         //Equals: False
bool HasComponents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).HasComponents;                     //Equals: False
bool HasSubComponents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(4).Component(4).HasSubComponents;  //Equals: False

//And of course an empty item is also False, for example PID-100 is empty
bool HasComponents = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(100).HasComponents;                   //Equals: False

Field, Element, Repeat, Component, SubComponent and Content counts:

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUS\T\HIC^MC|123^^^NamespaceID&UniversalID&UniversalIdType|Dow^John||19850930|M

int SegmentCount = oHL7.SegmentCount("PID");                                          //Equals: 1
// ElementCount and FieldCount are alway equal to each other.
// The difference between an Element & a Field is what they contain. Elements contains a list of repeating fields where Field 
// is always the first Field repeat. So that is, oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(1) is equal to oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(3)   
int ElementCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").ElementCount;                                  //Equals: 8
int FieldCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").FieldCount;                                      //Equals: 8
// RepeatCount is how many Field repeats exist in the Element
int RepeatCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).RepeatCount;                         //Equals: 2
int ComponentCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).ComponentCount;                     //Equals: 2
int SubComponentCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(4).Component(4).SubComponentCount;  //Equals: 3
//Content is the parts between the HL7 escapes, so below is 1=AUS, 2=T, 3=HIC from the string 'AUS\T\HIC' which when unescaped is AUS&HIC
//See Escaping for more info 
int ContentCount = oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(2).Component(4).ContentCount;//Equals: 3

Cloning or Copying items

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given two messages oHL71 and oHL72:
// Lets say I wish to copy the PID Segment From message 1 to message 2.

// The following would fail as all Peter Piper message objects instances must be cloned 
// if they are to be copied from one place to another.  

// ISegment MsgOnePIDSegment = oHL71.Segment("PID");
// oHL72.Insert(3, MsgOnePIDSegment); //would throw a PeterPiperException

// However, there are .Clone() methods for use on each Peter Piper item.
// Here are a set of working examples:

//Clone a whole message
IMessage oHL71 = Creator.Message("[An ADT^A08 Message]");
IMessage oHL72 = oHL71.Clone(); 

//Clone a whole Segment
ISegment PIDSegment = oHL71.Segment("PID").Clone();
oHL72.Insert(3, PIDSegment);

//Clone a whole Element
IElement PatientIdentifersElement = oHL71.Segment("PID").Element(3).Clone();
oHL72.Segment("PID").Insert(3, PatientIdentifersElement);

//Clone a whole Field
IField FirstPatientIdentifierField = oHL71.Segment("PID").Element(3).Repeat(1).Clone();
oHL72.Segment("PID").Insert(3, FirstPatientIdentifierField);

//Clone a whole Component
IComponent PatientGivenName = oHL71.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).Clone();
oHL72.Segment("PID").Field(5).Insert(2, PatientGivenName);

//Clone a whole SubComponent
ISubComponent SomeSubComponent = oHL71.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).SubComponent(3).Clone();
oHL72.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(5).Insert(3, SomeSubComponent);

//Clone Content (Content is the data between HL7 escapes)
IContent SomeContent = oHL71.Segment("PID").Field(5).Content(3).Clone();
oHL72.Segment("PID").Field(5).Insert(3, SomeContent);

Adding, Inserting and Removing (Segments, Fields, Repeats, Components, SubComponents and Content)

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example PID Segment:
// PID|1||PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI||Dow^John||19850930|M

//Create a new Field instance for a new identifer
IField NewPyroIdentifier = Creator.Field();
NewPyroIdentifier.Component(1).AsString = "123456";
NewPyroIdentifier.Component(4).AsString = "PyroHealth";
NewPyroIdentifier.Component(5).AsString = "MR";

//Add the new Field as a repeat to the end of the list of repeats in PID-3
//PID-3 = |PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~22222221111^^^AUSHIC^MC~WA123456B^^^AUSDVA^DVG~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI~123456^^^PyroHealth^MR|
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Add(NewPyroIdentifier);

//Remove repeats in position two (one based index) of the list of repeats in PID-3, done twice to remove two instances
//PID-3 = |PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI~123456^^^PyroHealth^MR|
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).RemoveRepeatAt(2);
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).RemoveRepeatAt(2);

//Create another new Field instance for another identifer
IField NewMillarIdentifier = Creator.Field();
NewMillarIdentifier.Component(1).AsString = "654321";
NewMillarIdentifier.Component(4).AsString = "MillarHealth";
NewMillarIdentifier.Component(5).AsString = "MR";

//Insert a repeat into the second position among the repeats in PID-3
//PID-3 = |PA30000004^^^AcmeHealth^MR~654321^^^MillarHealth^MR~8003608833357361^^^AUSHIC^NI~123456^^^PyroHealth^MR|
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(3).Insert(2, NewMillarIdentifier);

// The same Add, Insert and Remove methods are available for all items (Segments, Fields, Repeats, Components, SubComponents and Content), 
// Here are a few contrived examples of inserting and removing:

//Segments
oHL7.Insert(3, Creator.Segment("PID"));
oHL7.RemoveSegmentAt(3);

//Elements
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(5).Repeat(1).Insert(2, Creator.Component("PatientGivenName"));
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(5).Repeat(1).RemoveComponentAt(2);

//Fields (Using Field just means the first Field/Repeat within an Element)
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Insert(2, Creator.Component("PatientGivenName"));
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).RemoveComponentAt(2);

//SubComponents
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(15).Insert(2, Creator.SubComponent("Weird Stuff"));
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(15).RemoveSubComponentAt(2);

//But it is also worth mentioning that these inserts are only really required if working with the PeterPiper objects.
//The last three inserts could have just as easily been achieved by string assignment to 'AsString', as follows:
oHL7.Segment("PID").Element(5).Repeat(1)..Component(2).AsString = "PatientGivenName";
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(2).AsString = "PatientGivenName";
oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(15).SubComponent(2).AsString = "Weird Stuff";

HL7 Null & Empty items:

HL7 Null which is represented by |""| indicates that the source system is flagging to the receiving system to delete any data it previous received for this item.
An empty item represented by || indicates nothing at all, the source system has nothing to say about this item.

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example OBR Segment:
// OBR|1||""|Rhubarb^SerumRhubarb^L||||||||||||||||||201504101115+1000||HM|F

// IsEmpty = False
bool IsEmpty = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(1).IsEmpty;

// IsEmpty = True
bool IsEmpty = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(2).IsEmpty;

// IsEmpty = False
bool IsEmpty = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(3).IsEmpty;

// IsHL7Null = False
bool IsHL7Null = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(1).IsHL7Null;

// IsHL7Null = False
bool IsHL7Null = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(2).IsHL7Null;

// IsHL7Null = True
bool IsHL7Null = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(3).IsHL7Null;

Escaping

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

// Given a message oHL7 with the example OBR Segment:
// OBR|1|112233|15P000005|RhubarbAndSerum^Serum\T\Rhubarb^L||||||||||||||||||201504101115+1000||HM|F

// In most circumstances you will just assign to, and get from, the '.AsString' property and you will need not worry 
// about escaping as Peter Piper will do the work for you. The technics shown here only come into play for more 
// advanced needs when manipulating escaped data. So don't let theses examples scare you, just use '.AsString' until 
// the day you need to play in detail with escaping.

// Here the string as seen in the raw message 'Serum\T\Rhubarb' is unescaped for us to 'Serum&Rhubarb' by PeterPiper
// when we us the property '.AsString'
// TestDescription1 = "Serum&Rhubarb"
string TestDescription1 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsString; 

// Yet, here as we are using the property '.AsRawString. The string is not unescaped for us, it is provided raw as 
// it would be seen in the raw message
// TestDescription2 = "Serum\T\Rhubarb"
string TestDescription2 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsRawString; 

// You can also set a string value with a reserved HL7 V2 character using 'AsString' and PeterPiper will correctly 
// escape it for you.
// Here we are setting the string 'Serum&Rhubarb' which has a reserved character '&'. Because we have used '.AsString'
// Peter Piper will do the correct escaping for us and the string in the raw message will appear as 'Serum\T\Rhubarb'
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsString = "Serum&Rhubarb"

// When you get the string using 'AsString' PeterPiper will unescape it back to 'Serum&Rhubarb' for you
// TestDescription3 = "Serum&Rhubarb"
string TestDescription3 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsString; 

//When you get the string using 'AsRawString' PeterPiper will not unescape it for you
// TestDescription4 = "Serum\T\Rhubarb"
string TestDescription4 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsRawString; 

// If you attempt the below example a PeterPiperException will be thrown with the message: 
// "Component data cannot contain HL7 V2 Delimiters of : | or ^ or ~"
// This is because it treats the `~` as meaning you want to add a repeat to a Component which is not allowed.
// Components can not have repeats only Elements can.  
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsStringRaw = "Serum~Rhubarb"

// However if you wanted to add the actual charter '~' to your string then you would use 'AsString' and the raw message
// would contain the correctly escaped string 'Serum\R\Rhubarb'.  
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsString = "Serum~Rhubarb";

// And again here the string has been unescaped for us by PeterPiper
// TestDescription3 = "Serum~Rhubarb"
string TestDescription5 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsString; 

// The string is not unescaped for us by PeterPiper, if you use .AsRawString' it is provided 'raw' as seen in the message.
// TestDescription4 = "Serum\R\Rhubarb"
string TestDescription6 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Component(4).AsRawString;

// However, if we were adding the '^' to a Field using the 'AsStringRaw' it will not throw an exception. 
// It would split the Field into two Components e.g: |Serum^Rhubarb|, because Fields are allowed to have Components
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).AsStringRaw = "Serum^Rhubarb"

//x1 = Serum
string x1 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(3).Component(1).AsString;
//x2 = Rhubarb
string x2 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(3).Component(2).AsString;

// A more advanced way to work with Escapes is to use the Content object
// For instance we could use the HL7 highlight escapes 
// Highlight ON = '/H/' 
// and 
// Highlight OFF = '/N/' 
// as follows

//First lets clear the entire OBR-4 Field to start fresh .
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).ClearAll();

//Now use the Content type to add the escapes
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Add(Creator.Content("Highlight my"));
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Add(Creator.Content(PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Standard.EscapeType.HighlightOn));
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Add(Creator.Content("WORLD"));
oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).Add(Creator.Content(PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Standard.EscapeType.HighlightOff));

//x3 = Highlight my\H\WORLD\N\
string x3 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).AsString;
//x2 = Highlight myWORLD
string x4 = oHL7.Segment("OBR").Field(4).AsString;

// As we said at the beginning, if your new to Peter Piper and just want to ensure your strings are escaped and unescaped
// then just make sure to use '.AsString' and the magic will happen.

// You wil also find that the standard .NET '.ToString()' is also overridden to behave like '.AsString', but I think it is 
// easier to remember '.AsString' and 'AsRawString' than remember '.ToString()' and 'AsRawString'.

The Convert extension methods: Integer, DateTimeOffset, Base64

using System.Linq;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Tools;

//Given a message oHL7 with the example OBX Segment:
// OBX|7|NM|^^^PLAT^Platelet^Local||198|x10\S\9/L^^ISO+|150-400||||F|||201905110930+1000|""|

//Get the Platelet result value as an integer and its Observation DateTime as a DateTimeOffSet 
ISegment PlateletSegment = oHL71.SegmentList("OBX").SingleOrDefault(x => x.Field(3).Component(4).AsString == "PLAT");
if (PlateletSegment != null)
{
  //Get the result value as an Integer type
  if (PlateletSegment.Field(5).Convert.Integer.IsNumeric)
  {
    int PlateletValueInteger = PlateletSegment.Field(5).Convert.Integer.Int32;
  }

  //Get the Observation DateTime as a DateTimeOffset type 
  if (PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.CanParseToDateTimeOffset)
  {
    DateTimeOffset PlateletObservationDateTime = PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.GetDateTimeOffset();
  }

  //Now update the Observation DateTime to DateTime Now, while preserving the original precision & TimeZone
  if (PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.CanParseToDateTimeOffset)
  {
    //Get the original precision, can be one of (None, Year, YearMonth, Date, DateHourMin, DateHourMinSec, DateHourMinSecMilli)
    //Note: 'None' is only returned if CanParseToDateTimeOffset == false      
    DateTimeSupportTools.DateTimePrecision OriginalPrecision = PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.GetPrecision();

    //Get a Boolean whether or not the original HL7 DateTime had a TimeZone part e.g '+1000', in this example it does  
    bool OriginalHasTimeZone = PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.HasTimezone;

    //Get a new DateTime now
    var NewDateTime = DateTimeOffset.Now;
    if (OriginalHasTimeZone)
    {
      //If the Original had a TimeZone then convert the new DateTime to that timezone
      TimeSpan OriginalTimeZone = PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.GetTimezone();
      NewDateTime = NewDateTime.ToOffset(OriginalTimeZone);
    }
    
    //Update the HL7 DateTime in the message with the new daeTime and the same precision and timezone if the Original had one
    PlateletSegment.Field(14).Convert.DateTime.SetDateTimeOffset(NewDateTime, OriginalHasTimeZone, OriginalPrecision);
  }
}

//Base64 encoding and decoding
//Encode to Base64
byte[] SomeDataAsAByteArray  = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(@"C:\temp\SomeData.dat");
oHL71.Segment("OBX").Field(5).Convert.Base64.Encode(SomeDataAsAByteArray);

//Decode from Base64
SomeDataAsAByteArray = oHL71.Segment("OBX").Field(5).Convert.Base64.Decode();

Working with Content

Peter Piper has a concept of Content. Content is the data between HL7 escapes within an item. For instance if we had a Field with the following data which was correctly escaped as:

|Cats\T\Dogs\~\Monkeys\S\Cows\E\Mice\.br\Shark|

Which when unescaped would be the string:

"Cats&Dogs~Monkeys^Cows\Mice

Shark"

Then with the Peter Piper model we can inspect this data as an array of Content using the following contrived example.

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Content;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Standard;

//Create a PID segment 
ISegment oPID = Creator.Segment(@"PID|Cats\T\Dogs\T\Monkeys\T\Cows|");

//Output to the console the raw string as seen in the HL7 message
Console.WriteLine($"The raw string is {oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).AsRawString}");

//Loop through each Content using ContentCount
for (int i = 0; i < oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).ContentCount; i++)
{
  //Check wether this Content if of type 'Text' or 'Escape'
  if (oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).Content(i).ContentType == ContentType.Text)
  {
    //If type 'Text' output to the console that text
    Console.WriteLine($"The Content at index {i.ToString()} is the text: {oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).Content(i).AsString}");
  }
  //If type 'Escape' then switch on the enum of all EscapeTypes and output the name of that EscapeType
  else if (oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).Content(i).ContentType == ContentType.Escape)
  {
    Console.Write($"The Content at index {i.ToString()} is an escape of type: ");
      EscapeType ThisContentType = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(1).Content(i).EscapeMetaData.EscapeType;
      switch (ThisContentType)
      {
        case EscapeType.Field:              
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString()); 
          break;
        case EscapeType.Repeat:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.Component:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.SubComponent:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.Escape:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.HighlightOn:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.HighlightOff:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.LocallyDefined:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.HexadecimalData:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.NewLine:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.SkipVerticalSpaces:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.WordWrapOn:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.WordWrapOff:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.Indent:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.TempIndent:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.SkipSpacesToRight:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.CenterNextLine:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.Unknown:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        case EscapeType.NotAnEscape:
          Console.Write(ThisContentType.ToString());
          break;
        default:
          break;
      }
    }
  }

//Which would output to the console as follows:

// The raw string is Cats\T\Dogs\~\Monkeys\S\Cows\E\Mice\.br\Shark
// The Content at index 0 is the text: Cats
// The Content at index 1 is an escape of type: SubComponent
// The Content at index 2 is the text: Dogs
// The Content at index 3 is an escape of type: Repeat
// The Content at index 4 is the text: Monkeys
// The Content at index 5 is an escape of type: Component
// The Content at index 6 is the text: Cows
// The Content at index 7 is an escape of type: Escape
// The Content at index 8 is the text: Mice
// The Content at index 9 is an escape of type: NewLine
// The Content at index 10 is the text: Shark


// As I hope you can see this is a powerful way to manipulate and manage escapes within HL7 V2 message. 
// We could detect strings that are highlighted or find the NewLine breaks.

Custom HL7 V2 Escape Characters

using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Support.Tools;

// It is legal in HL7 V2.x to use completely different escape sequences in the HL7 V2 message. 
// This is instead of the typical escape sequences of '|^~\&'. 
// To do so you would set the sequences you wish to use in the MSH-1 and MSH-2 Fields.
// PeterPiper can also handle these custom escape sequences characters as per the examples below.
// However, I highly advise you avoid this behavior as very few systems can coupe with it.

//My new custom escape sequences characters
char FieldChar = '!';
char RepeatChar = '%';
char ComponentChar = '*';
char SubComponentChar = '@';
char EscapeChar = '#';
IMessageDelimiters MessageDelimiters = Creator.MessageDelimiters(FieldChar, RepeatChar, ComponentChar, SubComponentChar, EscapeChar);

// A message instance using my custom escape sequences
IMessage oHL7 = Creator.Message("MSH!*%#@!SendApp!SendFacility!RecApp!RecFacility!20140527095657!!ORU*R01!0000000000000000010D!P!2.3.1");
// A new Segment also using the same custom escape sequences
// Notice that when using custom escape sequences you must always provide the IMessageDelimiters object 
// when creating new segments. 
ISegment oSeg = Creator.Segment("PID!!!!!Dow*John!!19850930!M", MessageDelimiters);
oHL7.Add(oSeg);

//Given an already parsed message you can the IMessageDelimiters that is it currently using as follows:
IMessageDelimiters ThisMessagesDelimiters = target.MessageDelimiters;

//As I said earlier, I doubt you will every use this functionality in the real world.

HL7 Batches & Files

HL7 messages can be sent or received as a Batch of messages, where a Batch as many Messages. Furthermore, many Batches can be sent or received as a File, where a File contains many Batches.

HL7 Batch

A HL7 Batch consists of a Batch Header Segment (BHS) and optionally a Batch Trailer Segment (BTS). Between these two segments many HL7 Messages may be placed where each new message begins with its own MSH segment. Note that BHS and MSH encoding characters '|^~&' must all align within the Batch, however you can use custom encoding characters if required.

//Given the following Batch message example containing three HL7 Messages:
//BHS|^~\\&|SendingApp|SendingFacility|ReceivingApp|ReceivingFacility|20141208064531|Security|Name/ID|Comment|Control ID|Reference File Control ID
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064525||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0001|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000001|||Smith^John
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000001|11111|GroupNumber1
//OBR|1|000001|11111|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064526||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0002|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000002|||Smith^Jane
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000002|22222|GroupNumber2
//OBR|1|000002|22222|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064527||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0003|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000003|||Smith^Mary
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000003|33333|GroupNumber3
//OBR|1|000003|33333|Test^Testing^L
//BTS|BatchMessageCount|BatchComment|BatchTotals
 
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

string MyHL7BatchMessage  = "[The example Batch message seen above]";

IBatch oBatch =  Creator.Batch(MyHL7BatchMessage);

int TotalMessageCount = oBatch.MessageCount(); //Will equal 3

string SendingFac = oBatch.BatchHeader.Field(4).AsString; //Will equal SendingFacility

string BatchMsgCount = oBatch.BatchTrailer.Field(1).AsString; //Will equal BatchMessageCount

//Itierate through the messges in the Batch
foreach (IMessage oHL7 in oBatch.MessageList())
{
  string PateintFamilyName = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(1).AsString;
}
  
IMessage NewHL7Message =  Creator.Message("[A HL7 Message String]");

oBatch.AddMessage(NewHL7Message); //Will add the HL7 mesage to the end of the Batch's Message list

oBatch.RemoveMessageAt(oBatch.MessageCount()); //Will remove a message at a give zero based index

oBatch.InsertMessage(NewHL7Message, 2); //Will insert a message at a give zero based index
  
IBatch ClonedBatch = oBatch.Clone(); //Will deep clone the entire Batch, and all its messages, all to a new instances
   
ClonedBatch.ClearAll(); //Will remove all messages from ther batch, all elements from the BHS segment and null the BTS segment

HL7 File

A HL7 File consists of a File Header Segment (FHS) and optionally a File Trailer Segment (FTS). Between these two segments many HL7 Batches BHS, BTS segments may be placed where each new Batch begins with its own BHS segment. Note that FHS, BHS and MSH encoding characters '|^~&' must all align within the File, however you can use custom encoding characters if required.

//Given the following File message example containing two Batches each with three HL7 Messages:
//FHS|^~\\&|FileSendingApp|FileSendingFacility|ReceivingApp|ReceivingFacility|20141208064531|Security|SmithFamily|Comment|F001|Reference File Control ID
//BHS|^~\\&|SendingApp|SendingFacility|ReceivingApp|ReceivingFacility|20141208064531|Security|Name/ID|Comment|B001|Reference File Control ID
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064525||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0001|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000001|||Smith^John
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000001|11111|GroupNumber1
//OBR|1|000001|11111|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064526||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0002|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000002|||Smith^Jane
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000002|22222|GroupNumber2
//OBR|1|000002|22222|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064527||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0003|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000003|||Smith^Mary
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000003|33333|GroupNumber3
//OBR|1|000003|33333|Test^Testing^L
//BTS|BatchMessageCount|BatchComment|3
//BHS|^~\\&|SendingApp|SendingFacility|ReceivingApp|ReceivingFacility|20141208064531|Security|JonesFamily|Comment|B002|Reference File Control ID
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064528||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0004|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000004|||Jones^Bob
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000004|44444|GroupNumber4
//OBR|1|000004|44444|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064529||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0005|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000005|||Jones^Anne
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000005|55555|GroupNumber5
//OBR|1|000005|55555|Test^Testing^L
//MSH|^~\\&|||||20141208064530||ORM^O01^ORM_O01|0006|P|2.4
//PID|1||A000006|||Smith^Jill
//PV1|1|I
//ORC|1|000006|66666|GroupNumber6
//OBR|1|000006|66666|Test^Testing^L
//BTS|BatchMessageCount|BatchComment|3
//FTS|2|BatchComment
 
using PeterPiper.Hl7.V2.Model;

string MyHL7FileMessage  = "[The example File message seen above]";

IFile oFile = Creator.File(MyHL7FileMessage);

int TotalBatchCount = oFile.BatchCount(); //Will equal 2

string SendingFac = oFile.FileHeader.Field(4).AsString; //Will equal 'FileSendingFacility'

string FileBatchCount = oFile.FileTrailer.Field(1).AsString; //Will equal 2

//Itierate through the Batches in the File
foreach (IBatch oBatch in oFile.BatchList())
{
  //Itierate through the HL7 mesages in the File's Batch
  foreach (IBatch oHL7 in oBatch.MessageList())
  {
    string PateintFamilyName = oHL7.Segment("PID").Field(5).Component(1).AsString;
  }  
}
  
IBatch NewBatch =  Creator.Batch("[A HL7 Batch String]");

oFile.AddBatch(NewBatch); //Will add the new HL7 Batch to the end of the File's Batch list

oFile.RemoveBatchAt(oFile.BatchCount()); //Will remove a batch at a give zero based index

oFile.InsertBatch(NewBatch, 2); //Will insert a Batch at a give zero based index
  
IFile ClonedFile = oFile.Clone(); //Will deep clone the entire File, and all its Batches, and their HL7 Messages, all to a new instances
   
ClonedFile.ClearAll(); //Will remove all Batches from the File, all elements from the FHS segment and null the FTS segment

Some general notes

Segment(), Element(), Repeat(), Field(), Component(), and SubComponent() are all one based indexes
Content() is the only zero based index
When a message is ready to send, perhaps to an interface or system, use oHL7.AsRawString to export the message.

Owner:

Angus Millar: [email protected] Version 1.000

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 98 Commits
PeterPiper		PeterPiper
TestPeterPiper		TestPeterPiper
.gitignore		.gitignore
LICENSE		LICENSE
PeterPiper.sln		PeterPiper.sln
README.md		README.md

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|Peter Piper Parser| is a HL7 V2.x parser for .NET Core available on Nuget.org

Parse any HL7 V2.x message

Create a new message:

Add or Insert a Segment:

Accessing Fields:

Accessing Repeats:

Accessing Components:

Accessing SubComponents:

Setting Fields:

Setting Repeats:

Setting Components:

Setting SubComponents:

Convenience Methods on IMessage

HasElements, HasFields, HasRepeats, HasComponents, HasSubComponents and HasContents :

Field, Element, Repeat, Component, SubComponent and Content counts:

Cloning or Copying items

Adding, Inserting and Removing (Segments, Fields, Repeats, Components, SubComponents and Content)

HL7 Null & Empty items:

Escaping

The Convert extension methods: Integer, DateTimeOffset, Base64

Working with Content

Custom HL7 V2 Escape Characters

HL7 Batches & Files

HL7 Batch

HL7 File

Some general notes

About

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|Peter Piper Parser| is a HL7 V2.x parser for .NET Core available on Nuget.org

Parse any HL7 V2.x message

Create a new message:

Add or Insert a Segment:

Accessing Fields:

Accessing Repeats:

Accessing Components:

Accessing SubComponents:

Setting Fields:

Setting Repeats:

Setting Components:

Setting SubComponents:

Convenience Methods on IMessage

HasElements, HasFields, HasRepeats, HasComponents, HasSubComponents and HasContents :

Field, Element, Repeat, Component, SubComponent and Content counts:

Cloning or Copying items

Adding, Inserting and Removing (Segments, Fields, Repeats, Components, SubComponents and Content)

HL7 Null & Empty items:

Escaping

The Convert extension methods: Integer, DateTimeOffset, Base64

Working with Content

Custom HL7 V2 Escape Characters

HL7 Batches & Files

HL7 Batch

HL7 File

Some general notes

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