The -HL7LISTENER command line switch runs the HL7 Listener on the OnBase Client. The HL7 Listener receives HL7 messages and processes them using HL7 import processes. By default, the HL7 Listener listens for messages on port 2575.
Using Multiple HL7 Listeners to Process Patient-centric Messages
When using multiple HL7 Listeners to process patient-centric messages, note the following:
- Out-of-order processing of patient/chart-related messages can still impact the integrity of patient data. To address out-of-order processing, a single feed can be split across multiple listeners based on some characteristic of the patient identifier. The simplest example of this is an "even/odd" split, based on the last digit of the patient identifier.
- In order to prevent out-of-order move requests from undoing a valid move operation that was processed in a separate feed, Implicit chart moves should be disabled in HL7 settings. These settings are found in Config | Medical | HL7 | HL7 Settings. Explicit chart moves require that the Medical Records Chart processor to be configured in Merge mode, and that the HL7 message contains the same Chart ID value in the PID and MRG segments. The MRG segment should contain only the Chart ID, and the Chart ID must be set as the Merge Source Identifier.
- HL7 Listeners can safely coordinate concurrent processing of multiple patient-centric HL7 feeds. For example, ADT and SIU feeds can safely be processed concurrently either on the same HL7 Listener or across multiple listeners. Utilizing multiple HL7 Listeners can improve processing performance, or help to ensure high availability of OnBase HL7 processing.
- Data integrity is achieved by utilizing leases (a short-lived type of lock) that prevent multiple HL7 messages from acting on the same patient at any given time. This strategy allows OnBase to safely process many unrelated messages at the same time, but also avoids data integrity concerns related to race conditions by preventing multiple messages from operating on the same patient data at the same time. This is automatically utilized in environments running Medical Records HL7 Import processors. For example, any message that triggers the Medical Records Chart or Patient Record Processor is automatically protected by this mechanism.
Consider working with Hyland Services to perform the necessary discovery and configuration in order to align with your best practices. For more information, see Allowing Implicit Chart Moves for more information.
General Use of Multiple HL7 Listeners
When using multiple HL7 Listeners, note the following:
- If multiple HL7 feeds (for example, both ADT and ORU) need to communicate with the HL7 Listener, use a separate port for each feed. Either set up a single HL7 Listener to listen on multiple ports, or set up a separate HL7 Listener for each feed, where each Listener uses its own port.