HL7 (Health Level 7) v2.x is the most widely used standard for exchanging electronic health information between clinical systems. In laboratory contexts, HL7 v2 carries result messages (ORU^R01) from lab systems to the HIS, and order messages (ORM^O01) from the HIS back to the lab. Communication happens over TCP/IP using the MLLP (Minimal Lower Layer Protocol) framing.
Without HL7 integration, lab results must be manually entered into the HIS — a process that takes 2–3 hours per day in a busy lab and introduces transcription errors. Once HL7 middleware like LISBridge is in place, results flow from the instrument to the HIS automatically within seconds, with no human intervention required.
LISBridge acts as an HL7 broker between your lab analyzers and your HIS. It receives instrument data via ASTM (RS-232) or TCP/IP, parses it into structured results, then formats and sends HL7 ORU^R01 messages to your HIS over TCP/IP. In bidirectional mode, it also receives ORM^O01 order messages from the HIS and forwards patient demographics and test requests back to instruments that support host-query mode.
LISBridge sends ORU^R01 results to your HIS and receives ORM^O01 work orders from it. Full two-way integration in one installation.
Supports all commonly deployed versions of HL7 v2 — v2.3, v2.4, v2.5, v2.5.1 — adapting message structure to match your HIS version.
HL7 messages are sent and received using the standard MLLP (Minimal Lower Layer Protocol) framing over TCP/IP — compatible with all major HIS vendors.
LISBridge waits for and validates ACK acknowledgements from the HIS before considering a message delivered. Failed deliveries are queued for retry.
Parsed results are formatted as HL7 and forwarded to the HIS within seconds of the instrument completing a test run.
Every HL7 message sent and received is logged with timestamps — full audit trail for troubleshooting and compliance.
LISBridge supports HL7 v2.3, v2.4, v2.5, and v2.5.1. The version is configurable per HIS connection. Most hospital systems in active use deploy HL7 v2.3 or v2.5.
ORU^R01 (Observation Result Unsolicited) carries lab results from LISBridge to the HIS — one message per test run. ORM^O01 (Order Message) carries work orders from the HIS to LISBridge — patient demographics and test requests for instruments that support host-query mode.
Yes — your HIS administrator needs to open a TCP/IP port and configure it to accept HL7 messages from LISBridge's IP address. LISBridge connects to this endpoint. The setup typically takes 30 minutes with your HIS vendor's support.
LISBridge currently supports HL7 v2.x. HL7 FHIR (R4/R5) support is on the roadmap. Most clinical lab instruments and installed HIS systems use HL7 v2 — FHIR is more common in newer cloud-based systems.
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