EDIFACT message guide · Healthcare and social

MEDRPT Medical service report

The UN/EDIFACT message a service provider sends the requester to report results, modify earlier results or cancel a report.

Sent by
Laboratory or other service provider
Received by
Requesting clinician, practice or hospital
Standard
UN/EDIFACT · Batch message
X12 equivalent
No direct equivalent

What is the EDIFACT MEDRPT message?

MEDRPT is the UN/EDIFACT medical service report. The directory defines it as a message sent from a service provider to the service requester to report new results of investigations performed, to modify a previous result item or a complete report, or to cancel a previous report.

Results flow directly into the patient record of the requesting clinician, with reference ranges and flags for abnormal values. Correct patient matching and handling of corrected results are critical for safety. Partial results can be sent early.

How the EDIFACT MEDRPT message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT MEDRPT Medical service report message. Laboratory or other service provider sends it to requesting clinician, practice or hospital. It usually follows MEDREQ. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and body and segment groups: the required SG1 loop with PNA (Party identification) and the required SG2 loop with IRQ (Information required), GEI (Processing information), RFF (Reference) and DTM (Date/time/period). 4 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT MEDRPT message worksMedical service report: who sends it, where it fits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSMEDREQMedical servicerequestMEDRPTSENDERLaboratory or otherservice providerRECEIVERRequesting clinician,practice or hospitalCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYNo business reply expected2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDsUNB … UNZMessage MEDRPTUNH … UNTSTART OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG1 · repeats up to 99PNAParty identificationMandatory group SG2 · repeats up to 99IRQInformation requiredGEIProcessing informationRFFReferenceDTMDate/time/period+ 4 conditional groups, starting with:RFFFCAATTAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditional groups are listed by the trigger segment that starts them; a group is sent only when its data applies.Conditional segments outside groups are not drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in the UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for MEDRPT. Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.
How the EDIFACT MEDRPT message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT MEDRPT Medical service report message. Laboratory or other service provider sends it to requesting clinician, practice or hospital. It usually follows MEDREQ. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and body and segment groups: the required SG1 loop with PNA (Party identification) and the required SG2 loop with IRQ (Information required), GEI (Processing information), RFF (Reference) and DTM (Date/time/period). 4 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT MEDRPTmessage worksMedical service report: who sends it, where itfits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSMEDREQMedical service requestMEDRPTSENDERLaboratory orother serviceproviderRECEIVERRequestingclinician,practice orhospitalCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYNo business reply expected2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDs(UNB … UNZ)Message MEDRPT (UNH … UNT)START OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG1 · repeats upto 99PNAParty identificationMandatory group SG2 · repeats upto 99IRQInformation requiredGEIProcessing informationRFFReferenceDTMDate/time/period+ 4 conditional groups, starting with:RFFFCAATTAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditionalgroups are listed by the trigger segment thatstarts them; a group is sent only when its dataapplies. Conditional segments outside groups arenot drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in theUN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for MEDRPT.Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.

How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends MEDRPT, to whom, and which messages usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what the directory D.21A itself requires: the envelopes around MEDRPT and the segments and segment groups it marks mandatory. Conditional groups are listed by their trigger segment rather than drawn in full. This is the directory's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: a message implementation guide, such as an industry subset or a partner’s own guide, usually makes some conditional groups mandatory, restricts the codes and may use an older directory.

Expand diagram Download SVG

When it is used

  • Reporting laboratory results
  • Correcting previously reported results
  • Cancelling reports sent in error

Where it fits in the message flow

This message MEDRPT Medical service report

Structure

Mandatory segments in MEDRPT (directory D.21A)

In UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A, the MEDRPT message has 118 segment positions arranged in 19 segment groups. These are the segments and segment groups marked mandatory at message level, in order; a mandatory group is shown with the segment that starts it. Segments inside conditional groups are needed only when the group is used. This is the directory’s requirement, not your trading partner’s: each partner’s message implementation guide names the directory it uses, often an older one such as D.96A or D.01B where the structure can differ, makes some conditional segments mandatory and restricts the codes.

  • UNH
  • BGM
  • SG1 (PNA)
  • SG2 (IRQ)
  • UNT

Practical example

MEDRPT in practice

A laboratory completes a patient's blood tests and sends the practice a MEDRPT with each result, its units, reference range and an abnormal flag on one value. The practice system files the results in the patient's record and alerts the doctor to the abnormal result.

Implementation

Implementation considerations for MEDRPT

  • Comply with health data protection laws.
  • Handle corrected and cancelled results explicitly.
  • Match results to patients and orders reliably.
  • Check whether partners use HL7 or another national standard instead.

Need help with MEDRPT?

ECOM maps, tests and monitors EDIFACT messages for your trading partners and integrates them with your ERP.