Founded in 1987, Health Level Seven International (HL7) is a not-for-profit, ANSI-accredited standards developing organization dedicated to empowering interoperability of healthcare data globally. Widely implemented by vendor and healthcare systems, and required by governing bodies around the world, HL7 standards deliver solutions for health information technology, including HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®), Version 2 (V2) and Clinical Document Architecture (CDA®). HL7 is supported by community members from more than 50 countries, including 500+ corporate members representing healthcare providers, government stakeholders, payers, pharmaceutical companies, vendors/suppliers, and consulting firms.
HL7 Vision
A world where every individual has secure, timely, and appropriate access to accurate health information, empowering them, their care teams, and communities to make informed decisions anytime, anywhere.
2025+ HL7 Strategic Vision (pdf) | Strategic Framework Infographic
HL7 Mission
To create and promote the adoption of innovative interoperability standards that improve health and well-being while fostering a diverse and inclusive global community.
HL7: What Does it Mean?
"Level Seven" refers to the seventh level of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) seven-layer communications model for Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) - the application level. The application level interfaces directly to and performs common application services for the application processes. Although other protocols have largely superseded it, the OSI model remains valuable as a place to begin the study of network architecture.
HL7's People and Organizations
See a list of the people and organizations involved with HL7 or download the HL7 Organizational Chart.
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