Optional Segment not being ignored

[Gary Atkinson]

I created a 2.3 variant and made the segment EVN optional in the ADT message types (using as outbound).  The inbound variant has the segment EVN as required for ADT.  In my translation file I am not copying the EVN.  When I test the translation file EVN:1 is being copied out.  The EVN:1 (field) is also optional on the outbound variant.  Why is translation still copying out EVN:1 when it is set to optional?

Topic

[John Mercogliano]

After looking, I think that is a bug at least in 5.2.  You might want to send a note to support. I just ran some quick tests.  Created a message with no EVN segment and ran it through and an EVN segment was created using bulkcopy.  I then tried just pathcopy of the MSH and PID and it still created an EVN segment.  Deleting the segment from the variant kept it from being copied but put an error in the log that the evn segment was not defined.

Your best work around is to copy @null to evn:1 or pathcopy @null to the evn segment.  With the outbound being optional that works in removing the segment.

John Mercogliano
Sentara Healthcare
Hampton Roads, VA

[Gary Atkinson]

John-

Copying a null to EVN:1 removed the segment.  I tried pathcopy too, but that did not work.  We are on 5.5.  

Thanks,

Gary

[Tom Rioux]

I’m on 5.6 and attempted to test this out also.  I created two variants and worked with only two message types of A01 and A08.

I used those two message types since in the variant, the layout is pretty much the same on our system.  

At first, on my outbound variant I only made the EVN optional on the A08 but left the A01 required.  In my xlate, I configured it using the record format of A08.  I had a file with an A01 and an A08 message in it.  When I ran the messages through the tester, the A08 processed correctly with no EVN segment.  The A01 processed with an error stating that all of the segments from the PID and below are out of sequence for the A01.

I then went back to my outbound variant and made the EVN optional for the A01 segment as well.  When I I ran the messages through the tester, both messages processed correctly, without the EVN segment.

I didn’t use any bulkcopy, not nulling out with a pathcopy…just didn’t do any mapping at all for the EVN segment.

Hope this helps….

Tom Rioux

[Gary Atkinson]

So, is this a bug in versions below 5.6?

[John Mercogliano]

I didn’t see this reported as in issue in any release notes but it does appear to be working in 5.6 so I guess it was a stealth repair 😉

or it was a side effect of some other problem and was fixed as a result in 5.6.

Anyone from healthvision have an idea?

John Mercogliano
Sentara Healthcare
Hampton Roads, VA

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