SCH — Scheduling Activity Information
Appears in SIU (S12-S26) and SRM messages. Always the first non-MSH segment in scheduling messages.
The SCH segment carries scheduling activity information including appointment identifiers, reasons, timing, and status. It is the primary segment in SIU (Schedule Information Unsolicited) and SRM (Schedule Request Message) messages.
Real-World Context
SCH drives all appointment scheduling integrations — EHR to scheduling system, scheduling system to registration, registration to ADT. The appointment identifier pair in SCH.1 and SCH.2 is how appointments are tracked across systems. If appointments appear in the EHR but not in the scheduling system (or vice versa), the placer/filler ID mismatch is almost always the cause.
Field Reference
Click any row to see the full description, common values, and troubleshooting tip.
| # | Field Name | Type | Req | Max Len | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Placer Appointment ID | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 2 | Filler Appointment ID | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 3 | Occurrence Number | NM | O | 5 | ▶ |
| 4 | Placer Group Number | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 5 | Schedule ID | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 6 | Event Reason | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 7 | Appointment Reason | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 8 | Appointment Type | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 9 | Appointment Duration | NM | O | 20 | ▶ |
| 10 | Appointment Duration Units | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 11 | Appointment Timing Quantity | TQ | O | 200 | ▶ |
| 12 | Placer Contact Person | XCN | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 13 | Placer Contact Phone Number | XTN | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 14 | Placer Contact Address | XAD | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 15 | Placer Contact Location | PL | O | 80 | ▶ |
| 16 | Filler Contact Person | XCN | R | 250 | ▶ |
| 17 | Filler Contact Phone Number | XTN | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 18 | Filler Contact Address | XAD | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 19 | Filler Contact Location | PL | O | 80 | ▶ |
| 20 | Entered By Person | XCN | R | 250 | ▶ |
| 21 | Entered By Phone Number | XTN | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 22 | Entered By Location | PL | O | 80 | ▶ |
| 23 | Parent Placer Appointment ID | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 24 | Parent Filler Appointment ID | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 25 | Filler Status Code | CE | O | 250 | ▶ |
| 26 | Placer Order Number | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
| 27 | Filler Order Number | EI | O | 427 | ▶ |
Example Segment
1SCH||APT20260310-001^EHR||1|GRP20260310-001^EHR||BOOK^New appointment^LOCAL|FOLLOWUP^Follow-up visit|EST^Established patient visit|30|MIN^Minutes^UCUM|^20260315^20260315100000^20260315103000||||||SCHED001^JOHNSON^CAROL^^^||||||SCHED001^JOHNSON^CAROL^^^|||APT20260310-001^EHR||ARM^Armed (Confirmed)
Related Segments
Used In Message Types
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