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  1. Fonteum
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  3. Glossary
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  5. HL7
Fonteum Data GlossaryTech

What is HL7?

HL7 (Health Level Seven International) is the accredited standards body that develops data-exchange standards for health care, including HL7 v2 messaging, C-CDA clinical documents, and the modern FHIR interoperability standard. The name refers to the seventh layer of the ISO OSI model — the application layer. HL7 v2 remains the most widely deployed hospital data-exchange format.

Full name: Health Level Seven International

Short explanation

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: 2026-07-11Reviewed 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.
  • CMS Interoperability and Patient Access Rule (CMS-9115-F): the rule mandates HL7 FHIR R4-based Patient Access and Provider Directory APIs, the standard Fonteum's FHIR endpoints conform to.
  • HL7 v2.x and C-CDA messaging: legacy HL7 messaging standards remain the backbone of clinical data exchange between hospitals and labs, predating the FHIR resources Fonteum publishes.

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

What’s on file, by the numbers

Platform snapshot · 2026-07-15

13.4Mproviders & companiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities on file
26.2Msource-linked factsSource-linked field facts in the dated platform snapshot
—sources liveCrosswalk-resolved sources with a proved content transition in the preceding 45 days
111sources integratedActive registry rows; integration does not establish a load
13state Medicaid jurisdictionsDistinct states represented in the state-exclusions serving table

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.

  • CMS
  • HHS-OIG
  • HRSA
  • FDA
  • NLM
  • NUCC
  • Census
  • BLS
  • BEA

See the full source registry, with license and refresh cadence for each →

Reproducible by design

Published figures name their source and date.

Source and date

Published research identifies its government file and observation date. Source-file SHA-256 coverage is disclosed separately; facts do not currently link deterministically to signatures.

Reproducible SQL

Each study ships the exact query behind its figures, run against the same dated copy of the federal file we used. Re-run it yourself.

Daily observations

The platform records table row counts daily. Those observations detect local drift; they do not imply that an upstream publisher released or Fonteum ingested new data that day.

Named medical review

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

Read the full provenance and attestation methodology →

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

© 2026 Fonteum LLC. All rights reserved.

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A public-records graph that exposes source and observation metadata where supplied.

Fonteum's provenance ledger contained 26.2M source-linked facts on July 12, 2026. All but 14 carried a source-file SHA-256; 0 linked deterministically to a signature. Inspect a supplied snapshot id at fonteum.com/verify · source-mark coverage and limitations.
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