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  5. HL7
Healthcare Data GlossaryTech

HL7: Definition and Healthcare Context

Full name: Health Level Seven International

Health Level Seven International (HL7) is an accredited standards development organization that creates frameworks and standards for health information technology. HL7 develops messaging standards (HL7 v2.x), clinical document standards (C-CDA / CDA), and the modern FHIR interoperability standard. The name 'Level Seven' refers to the seventh layer of the ISO OSI model — the application layer. HL7 v2 messages remain the most widely deployed health care data exchange format in hospital information systems globally.

Last updated: 2026-06-17Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MD — Gullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

How it’s used

  • CMS NPPES NPI Registry: Fonteum's FHIR implementation is built on HL7 FHIR R4 US Core 6.1.0 profiles, exposing NPPES data as conformant HL7 resources.

Frequently asked questions

What is HL7?
HL7 (Health Level Seven International) is the standards body that develops data exchange standards for health care, including HL7 v2, C-CDA, and FHIR.
What does 'Level Seven' mean in HL7?
Level Seven refers to the top (application) layer of the ISO OSI model — HL7 standards define how applications communicate health information at that level.
Is HL7 v2 still used?
Yes. HL7 v2 messages are still the most common format for hospital-to-hospital data exchange, even as FHIR-based APIs expand.

Related terms

  • FHIR
  • EHR
  • HIPAA
  • EDI 837
  • ERA

Authoritative sources

  • HL7 International — official website↗
  • HL7 FHIR R4 standard↗
← All glossary terms

The substrate, by the numbers

9.2Mgraph entitiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities
15.7Mlinked identifiersNPIs, CCNs, LEIs and more, resolved to entities
5Mgraph edgesSource-attested relationships between entities
44federal source familiesDistinct CMS, OIG, HRSA, FDA and peer datasets
35dataset pagesCitable, downloadable /data catalog pages
65reproducible studiesEach shipping the SQL behind its figures

Built on the authoritative federal record

The primary sources, named on every page.

These are the federal agencies whose public datasets Fonteum ingests and attributes — the issuing authorities, not customers or partners. Every figure on the site links back to one of them.

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Every figure traces to its federal source.

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Reproducible SQL

Each study ships the exact query behind its figures, run against the cited federal snapshot. Re-run it yourself.

Daily reconciliation

Published counts are reconciled against the upstream federal datasets on a daily cadence, with drift logged.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

Read the full provenance and attestation methodology →

Two doors

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Query providers, facilities, sanctions, and quality scores — each field carrying its federal source. Self-serve, no call to start.

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Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

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