Sun HL7 Message Library User's Guide

Segments

A segment is a logical grouping of data fields. Segments may occur only once or repeat in a message and may be required or optional. Each segment is given a name. For example, the ADT message may include the following segments: Message Header (MSH), Event Type (EVN), Patient ID (PID), and Patient Visit (PV1). Segments are identified by unique three-character codes known as the Segment IDs.