sending \X0D0A\ in OBX TX field in hl7 message

Question

In the final report the findings are printed as paragraph.

For ex: 'FINDINGS: Right: Peak systolic velocities are given below. Right proximal common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right mid common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right distal common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right proximal internal carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right distal internal carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right internal carotid artery plaque: None. Internal carotid artery wave forms are normal'.

I want it to be printed like below line by line.

Findings: Right: Peak systolic velocities are given below. Right proximal common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right mid common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right distal common carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right proximal internal carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right distal internal carotid artery: 100 cm/sec Right internal carotid artery plaque: None. Internal carotid artery waveforms are normal.

Is it possible to achieve this by sending \x0D0A\ at the end in hl7 message like below

OBX|1|TX|93880^US DUPLEX CAROTID||Peak systolic velocities are given below.\X0D0A\||||||F|||||| (it is in single line)

OBX|1|TX|93880^US DUPLEX CAROTID||Right proximal common carotid artery: 99 cm/sec\X0D0A\||||||F||||||

OBX|1|TX|93880^US DUPLEX CAROTID||Right mid common carotid artery: 70 cm/sec\X0D0A\||||||F||||||

OBX|1|TX|93880^US DUPLEX CAROTID||Right distal common carotid artery: 74 cm/sec\X0D0A\||||||F||||||

I am new to Mirth. I apologize if i asked wrong question.

Answer 1

You don't need to generate multiple OBX segments or put CR/LF at the end of OBX-5. The correct approach as per the HL7 Version 2.8.2 Messaging Standard section 2.A.80 is to use a single OBX segment with a separate OBX-5 repetition for each line. The receiving application should render those OBX-5 repetitions on separate lines as long as it complies with the standard.

Answer 2

Dale M posted a comment that's part of the complete answer:

The system that you send this to is going to determine how the report looks.

I've seen systems that use:

1. Hexadecimal escape sequences like you have, with one OBX segment
2. .br like Dale suggests with one OBX segment (should use the FT data type instead of TX)
3. Just having multiple OBX segments, line breaks get inserted by the receiver
4. Repetition of OBX-5

If #1 or #2 are supported, you have a little bit more control over the formatting. With #3 and #4 you're at the mercy of the receiver - they may add a line break, or they may add a paragraph break.

Other options if you need more control over formatting are RTF or any kind of Binary format like PDF. Support on the receiving system side is going to be lower for those than plain text, but it can help to present the information more clearly.

Finally, you have discrete values. I would try to integrate those as numerical values in addition to textual values.