^T02
MDM^T02 — Original Document Notification and Content
Used to deliver the actual content of a clinical document along with its metadata. Unlike MDM^T01 (notification only), T02 includes the document text in one or more OBX segments.
When Is This Sent?
When a transcription system or EMR needs to deliver a completed clinical document (radiology report, discharge summary, operative note) to another system. The document content is in OBX.5.
Real-World Usage
MDM^T02 is the standard for radiology report delivery from RIS/PACS to EMR. The TXA segment carries document metadata (document type, creation time, authenticator). OBX.5 carries the actual report text. For large reports with formatted text, OBX.2=FT and OBX.5 uses HL7 formatting escape sequences. Ensure your interface engine doesn't truncate OBX.5 — many default to 1000-character limits.
Message Structure
Segment names link to their field-level reference pages.
| # | Segment | Purpose in this message | Req | Repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MSH | Message header with MDM^T02 in MSH.9 | R | — |
| 2 | EVN | Event type with T02 trigger | R | — |
| 3 | PID | Patient demographics | R | — |
| 4 | PV1 | Visit context | R | — |
| 5 | TXA | Document metadata: type, creation time, authenticator, unique document number | R | — |
| 6 | OBX | Document content in OBX.5 | R | Yes |
| 7 | ORC | Order common segment linking to original order | O | — |
Example Message
Realistic example with fake patient data. Paste into the HL7 Message Viewer to explore interactively.
1MSH||^~\&|RIS|HOSPITAL_A|EPIC|HOSPITAL_A|20260310160000||MDM^T02^MDM_T02|MDM00001|P|2.5.1 2EVN||T02|20260310160000 3PID||1||123456^^^HOSP_A^MR||Smith^John^M^^Mr.||19850315|M 4PV1||1|I|4A^201^1^^^HOSP_A||||1234^Ahmed^Dr.^Khalid 5TXA||1|RAD|FT|20260310160000|5678^Wilson^Dr.^Sarah^R|||ACC20260310001^RIS|||5678^Wilson^Dr.^Sarah^R|ACC20260310001|||||AU 6OBX||1|FT|59380-7^Radiology Report^LN||Chest X-Ray - 2 Views\.br\INDICATION: Chest pain, rule out pneumonia\.br\FINDINGS: Clear lung fields bilaterally. No infiltrates, effusion, or pneumothorax. Cardiac silhouette within normal limits.\.br\IMPRESSION: No acute cardiopulmonary process.||||||F|||20260310155500
Troubleshooting Scenarios
Report content truncated in EMR
Cause
Interface engine has a maximum field length set below the actual report text length. Default is often 1000 or 5000 characters — radiology reports can exceed this.
Fix
Increase the maximum OBX.5 field length in the interface engine configuration. Set to at least 65000 characters. Also check the EMR's configured maximum OBX.5 length.
Report appearing as unformatted text instead of structured paragraphs
Cause
OBX.2=TX is being used instead of FT. TX doesn't support HL7 formatting escape sequences (.br\ for line breaks).
Fix
Change OBX.2 from TX to FT if the document uses HL7 formatting. Or, if using TX, ensure the receiving EMR is configured to interpret newlines in TX values.
Common Confusions
MDM^T02 (with content) vs MDM^T01 (notification only) vs ORU^R01 (results). MDM^T02 is for complete documents (reports). ORU^R01 is for individual observations/results (individual lab values, vital signs). Some RIS systems deliver radiology reports as ORU^R01 with OBX.2=FT — this works but is less semantically correct than MDM^T02. Use MDM^T02 for documents, ORU^R01 for structured results.
Related Message Types
Segment Reference
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