Keep work accounted for when an HL7 connection changes

What this means for your practice

Plan the changeover with both suppliers, including how expected and received work will be compared. Agree which connection handles each stage and how missing or repeated events will be found.

Questions to take to your supplier

Rehearse a bounded fictional set spanning the changeover. Include a reason to return to the old arrangement. Compare expected and received records using agreed references, then assign unresolved differences. A successful switch includes clearing the transition work, not merely activating the new connection.

Agree the working process

Agree a transition plan with both suppliers and the business owner before replacing the connection. Define which arrangement handles events before, during and after the change, using references or boundaries everyone can explain. The plan should cover work already waiting, late arrivals and a possible return to the previous setup. Ask who decides to proceed or reverse and who communicates the active arrangement to staff. Use a bounded fictional set that spans the transition in testing, then compare expected records with the results on the receiving side.

Include an item that could be processed by both connections and one that could be missed between them. Assign ownership of differences rather than assuming the technical switch resolves them. Keep the old and new event histories available under the agreed arrangements for investigation. Closing the transition should mean the affected work has been accounted for, with any remaining exceptions visible and owned, as well as the new connection being operational.

How to check the result

Count duplicated or missing events still unresolved after the connection changeover.