^A16
ADT^A16 — Pending Discharge
Sent to notify downstream systems that a patient discharge is anticipated. This is an advance notification allowing downstream systems and care coordinators to initiate discharge workflows — medication reconciliation, follow-up scheduling, transport arrangements — before the official discharge (A03) is entered.
When Is This Sent?
When a physician enters a discharge order or a discharge is anticipated imminently, but the patient has not yet been formally discharged in the system.
Real-World Usage
A16 supports discharge planning and patient flow optimization. It enables case management systems, pharmacy, and transport teams to begin discharge preparations early. Like A14 and A15, A16 is advisory — the official discharge is still A03.
Message Structure
Segment names link to their field-level reference pages.
| # | Segment | Purpose in this message | Req | Repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MSH | Message header with ADT^A16 in MSH.9 | R | — |
| 2 | EVN | Event type with A16 trigger | R | — |
| 3 | PID | Patient demographics | R | — |
| 4 | PV1 | Visit information including expected discharge details | R | — |
| 5 | PV2 | Expected discharge date/time in PV2.9 and discharge disposition in PV2.10 | O | — |
| 6 | DG1 | Final diagnoses for discharge planning | O | Yes |
Example Message
Realistic example with fake patient data. Paste into the HL7 Message Viewer to explore interactively.
1MSH||^~\&|EPIC|HOSPITAL_A|MIRTH_PROD|CASE_MGMT|20260311085000||ADT^A16^ADT_A16|MSG00075|P|2.5.1 2EVN||A16|20260311085000 3PID||1||123456^^^HOSP_A^MR||Smith^John^M^^Mr.||19850315|M 4PV1||1|I|4A^201^1^^^HOSP_A||||1234^Ahmed^Dr.^Khalid|||MED|||||01||||||||||||||||||||20260310143000 5PV2||||||||||||20260311130000|01
Troubleshooting Scenarios
Pharmacy continues dispensing medications after pending discharge notification
Cause
Pharmacy system is not subscribed to A16 events and does not receive the pending discharge notification.
Fix
Add A16 to the pharmacy interface event subscription. Configure pharmacy to flag the patient's active medications for discharge reconciliation on receipt of A16.
Common Confusions
ADT^A16 (Pending Discharge) vs ADT^A03 (Discharge). A16 is a preparation notification — the patient is still admitted. A03 finalizes the discharge and closes the encounter. Do not configure downstream systems to close encounters on A16.
Related Message Types
Segment Reference
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