Tracking down what is instantiating (creating) an HL7 message

To track down what is creating orphaned HL7 messages in your system:

1. Identify Active Orphan Generation:
   Use a SQL query to locate orphaned HL7 messages. An orphaned message is one that exists but is missing from Ens.MessageHeader or Ens_Util.IOLogObj. The suggested query is:

   SELECT HL7.ID, HL7.DocType, HL7.Envelope, HL7.Identifier, HL7.MessageTypeCategory, HL7.Name, HL7.OriginalDocId, HL7.ParentId, HL7.TimeCreated
   FROM EnsLib_HL7.Message HL7
   LEFT JOIN Ens.MessageHeader hdr ON HL7.Id=hdr.MessageBodyId
   LEFT JOIN Ens_Util.IOLogObj ack ON HL7.Id = ack.InObjectId
   WHERE hdr.MessageBodyId IS NULL AND ack.InObjectId IS NULL
   

   This will identify message bodies with no headers or IO log entries 12.

2. Common Causes:

   • Negative ACKs: If Operations’ Reply Action Codes process Negative ACKs as “Completed,” they can create orphaned messages. Review these configurations 1.
   • Schema Mismatches: Incoming ACKs that do not adhere to your defined schema will be stored as orphaned messages. Correct the schema to match the ACKs received 12.
   • Other Programming Errors: Look for code that creates and saves EnsLib.HL7.Message objects but doesn’t send them anywhere, e.g., via %New, ImportfromString, or ImportfromStream methods. Analyze your code flow for situations where a message may not be forwarded or processed entirely 345.

3. Debugging Process:

   • Use the creation timestamp (TimeCreated) of the orphaned messages to narrow down potential sources. Investigate operations, processes, or services active during this timeframe 35.
   • Check configurations such as ArchiveIO or message routing rules, especially for conditions using “WHEN” statements without “OTHERWISE” fallbacks 5.

By addressing issues like schema mismatches, reviewing operation settings, and ensuring complete processing of messages, you can prevent the generation of orphan HL7 messages 14235.

Sources:

It's not easy but you may find ways to narrow the origin.

One possibility is to check the journal file entry where the corresponding global node of the HL7 Message
To identify what journal file to check/search look for a non empty HL/ message this ID cose to the empty orphaned message and find the date/time it was created.

HL7 messages (not segments) are stored in ^EnsLib.H.MessageD(MessageID).
Find in the journal file the entry of the creation of the empty orphaned message, it contains the process id ($job) that created the message and exact date-time of creation.

The process id may be used to point what Business Host (BS, BP or BO) created the message.

Then I'd look for the trace of messages sent/received by that Business Host "around the time" the empty message was created.

All this is possible and relatively easy if the empty orphaned message is relatively new (the newer the better), if old, then you may not have the journal file and/or the job that created it may not be still running (restart production or host, etc.).