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. 2011 Dec;17(4):214-23.
doi: 10.4258/hir.2011.17.4.214. Epub 2011 Dec 31.

The Development of a Graphical User Interface Engine for the Convenient Use of the HL7 Version 2.x Interface Engine

Hwa Sun Kim  1 , Hune Cho, In Keun Lee
Affiliations

The Development of a Graphical User Interface Engine for the Convenient Use of the HL7 Version 2.x Interface Engine

Hwa Sun Kim et al. Healthc Inform Res. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: The Health Level Seven Interface Engine (HL7 IE), developed by Kyungpook National University, has been employed in health information systems, however users without a background in programming have reported difficulties in using it. Therefore, we developed a graphical user interface (GUI) engine to make the use of the HL7 IE more convenient.

Methods: The GUI engine was directly connected with the HL7 IE to handle the HL7 version 2.x messages. Furthermore, the information exchange rules (called the mapping data), represented by a conceptual graph in the GUI engine, were transformed into program objects that were made available to the HL7 IE; the mapping data were stored as binary files for reuse. The usefulness of the GUI engine was examined through information exchange tests between an HL7 version 2.x message and a health information database system.

Results: Users could easily create HL7 version 2.x messages by creating a conceptual graph through the GUI engine without requiring assistance from programmers. In addition, time could be saved when creating new information exchange rules by reusing the stored mapping data.

Conclusions: The GUI engine was not able to incorporate information types (e.g., extensible markup language, XML) other than the HL7 version 2.x messages and the database, because it was designed exclusively for the HL7 IE protocol. However, in future work, by including additional parsers to manage XML-based information such as Continuity of Care Documents (CCD) and Continuity of Care Records (CCR), we plan to ensure that the GUI engine will be more widely accessible for the health field.

Keywords: Computer Graphics; Health Level Seven; Medical Informatics; Software Design.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphical user interface (GUI)-based HL7 version 2.x interface engine architecture. HL7 IE: Health Level Seven Interface Engine, HIS: Health Information System, JDBC: Java database connectivity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Class diagram of graphical user interface (GUI) engine showing the field mapper and its graphical representation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Class diagram of information items.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Partial class diagram of the Health Level Seven (HL7) interface engine.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Example of Health Level Seven (HL7) message structure.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Connection of the graphical user interface (GUI) engine with the Health Level Seven (HL7) interface engine.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Model of health information exchange using the graphical user interface (GUI) engines. HL7: Health Level Seven, IE: interface engine.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Snapshot of the graphical user interface (GUI) engine.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(A) Conceptual model of transmitter-side activities. (B) Exchange model designed using the graphical user interface (GUI) engine to create an ADT_A60 HL7 message. HL7: Health Level Seven.
Figure 10
Figure 10
(A) Conceptual model of receiver-side activities. (B) An exchange model designed by the graphical user interface (GUI) engine to update the SeniCare database and create a response message.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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