HL7Connect Product FAQs

General

How long is a licence for HL7Connect valid?
Fully licenced copies of HL7Connect are valid indefinitely.

Will HL7Connect.com distribute my email address to advertisers or other third parties?
No, HL7Connect is disallowed from doing this due to Australian Privacy Laws.

How do I report problems I encounter with HL7Connect?
Members who are subscribers, can either report problems by:

• Posting them to the HL7Connect mailing list
  or
• Posting bug reports on the web page HL7Connect Bugs. (Premium members only)

Troubleshooting

What happens if HL7Connect refuses to start?
Please refer to the startup section of Troubleshooting in the HL7Connect Help.

HL7 support

Where can I find out more about HL7 Standards, or obtain an HL7 Dictionary?
Contact the HL7 Organization via the Health Level Seven, Inc web site.

Am I able to customize the HL7 specifications used by HL7Connect?
Yes, if required the HL7 dictionary (Access database purchased from the HL7 Organization) can be customized. In general however, HL7Connnect is fairly flexible in it's HL7 implementation, with Z segments and custom fields automatically supported.

Can I change the way that HL7Connect validates messages at an interface?
Yes. The facility to do this is a part of HL7Connect, as we realize that on occasion, HL7Connect may be receiving messages from non-HL7 compliant applications.
You can write a script to perform validation in any manner you require, and then place the script in the OnReceiveMessage section for the interface.

Database Questions

What information is stored on the HL7Connect database, how long is it stored for?
The HL7Connect database stores:

Information stored

• System configuration
• User accounts
• Interface settings

Above information is stored indefinitely for as long as the integrity of the database remains.

System Administrator determined storage periods:

• Audit trails
• HL7 messages

Interfacing

I am confused about the differences between incoming, outgoing and external interfaces and how these interfaces differ from transport type?
Within HL7Connect, there are two different interface types, incoming, and outgoing, which respond to and initiate message exchange respectively.
In addition, incoming and outgoing interfaces are often identified by their transport type (see below).
HL7Connect Help, also refers quite frequently to "remote interfaces", which are interfaces on other external applications to which HL7Connect has a connection.

What's a transport layer?
The transport layer is the protocol assigned to the interface. The transport layer implements actual message exchange with remote interfaces, and is responsible for the delivery of HL7 packets to other systems.

Can HL7Connect interface with non-HL7 Compliant systems?
Yes, HL7Connect can connect to non-HL7 Compliant systems by using either file-based interaction or direct database interaction, using scripts to convert HL7 messages, to and from, the remote system.

When a message is rejected by an incoming interface, what happens to it?
Messages rejected by an incoming interface are not stored in the HL7Connect database. A record of the message is kept in the interface log file, if logging has been selected.

What happens to messages rejected by remote interfaces?
Depending on the settings and scripts applied to the interface, HL7Connect will either attempt to resend the message, or it will mark the message as failed.

If an outgoing interface stops while there are messages queued to it, what happens to the messages in the queue?
Messages that are routed to be stored and forwarded on to an interface will remain in the database. In the case of messages routed straight through HL7Connect - where messages are queued without being stored - a NACK AE message is returned to the remote system interface. The remote system, depending on it's configuration may, or may not, try to resend the message.

I understand what an interface is doing when it is say "stopped" or "started" but what is an interface that is "resting" doing?
Resting refers to a functional file interface which is not currently working.

Can I customize my own interfaces that will work with HL7Connect?
Yes, you can write your own .DLL to implement a custom transport layer should the flexibility provided by the HL7Connect scripting system not match your requirements.

Security

I think I have found a possible security problem with HL7Connect. How are these problems dealt with?
If you find a possible security issue that may lead to successful hacker attacks on HL7Connect, notify HL7Connect.com security by emailing security@hl7connect.com. It will receive immediate attention.

If the security issue requires an action by the users, in terms of a patch or reconfiguration, the user mailing list will be notified.

NOTE: Due to Australian Privacy Laws, we cannot contact users who choose not to join this mailing list, and so these users cannot be informed of any security issues. It is our advice to join for this benefit alone.

Can HL7Connect encrypt messages?
Yes. This important security feature is explained in more detail in the Encryption section of HL7Connect Help.

Development

What language can I use for scripting?
Currently we recommend either JavaScript or VBScript.

How do I change the database that the HL7Connect development database is using?
While starting the HL7Connect Development Environment, hold the left shift key down. This will launch the database configuration wizard.

Where can I get a Script Debugger?
The Script Debugger is available from the Microsoft web site in the following location:

Download Microsoft Script Debugger.

NOTE: This link was current as of the 21st of June 2005. Microsoft regularly updates their web site. If you find that the above link is broken, try searching for "Microsoft script debugger download" in Google.

Why do error messages have only the line number and character position, with no reason given?
You are using an older version of the script Debugger, and you will need to update it (see the above link).

I keep getting an access violation on the first line of ANY script - why?

Important note on DEP (Data Execution Prevention):

Newer sytems have the option of using hardware DEP to prevent applications launching "malicious" code.
This can cause HL7Connect to have access violations when attempting to run the first line of any script.

Answers.com has the following information on DEP:

"Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a Microsoft feature intended to prevent a Windows PC from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps prevent certain exploits that store code via a buffer overflow, for example. DEP runs in two modes: software-enforced DEP with a limited prevention for CPUs that do not have hardware support; and hardware-enforced DEP for CPUs that can mark memory pages as nonexecutable. Hardware-enforced DEP enables the NX bit. DEP is a feature in Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. This article describes hardware-enforced DEP. It works by marking certain parts of memory as being intended to hold only data, which the NX bit enabled processor then understands to not be executable. This helps prevents buffer overflow attacks from succeeding. In some instances, Data Execution Prevention can have the unintended consequence of preventing legitimate software from executing. In these cases, the affected software needs to be flagged as being allowed to execute code in those parts of memory, but this itself leads to a possible attack.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352/EN-US/"

This will impact HL7Connect launching scripts.

To check your DEP settings:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. Click the Advanced tab. Then, under Performance, click Settings.
3. Click the Data Execution Prevention tab (if available)
4. Click Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select to select the "OptOut" policy.
5. If you selected the OptOut policy, click Add and add the applications that you do not want to use DEP with (add HL7Connect.exe)

The above is based on the following information:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2mempr.mspx

Restart the computer to get the change.

Un-Installing HL7Connect

How can I remove HL7Connect from the system?
You can un-install HL7Connect through the Windows remove software system. Un-installation will not delete the database, which must be manually removed.

How can I manually remove HL7Connect from the system?
If un-installation fails, HL7Connect can be removed by performing the following actions:

• Stop the HL7Connect service.
• Open a command prompt window.
• Change to the directory HL7Connect has been installed in.
• Remove the service using the command "HL7Connect -remove".
• Remove the HL7Connect root directory.
• Remove the registry key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Kestral\HL7Connect
• Remove the registry key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Kestral\HL7Connect
• Delete any file mappings by deleting the key HKEY_CLASSES\<.ext>