To elaborate for the uninformed: HL7 is literally just a syntax, and one that isn't reliably followed at that. It makes no solid guarantees about the semantic

To elaborate for the uninformed: HL7 is literally just a syntax, and one that isn't reliably followed at that. It makes no solid guarantees about the semantic structure of the messages, and so is next to worthless. For a simple analogy, consider that two companies have agreed to write contracts in English--and little else.