HIPAA external code sets

External code sets are tables of acceptable code values and their associated descriptive information that is used in HIPAA standard transactions. They are referred to as external because they are defined by organizations other than the ones that define the transaction formats.

Several HIPAA code sets in lookup table format are included with the system. Because these lookup tables are large and non-site-specific, they are kept in the $HCIROOT/Tables directory.

Previous versions had no product-supplied lookup tables. User-created lookup tables are kept in $HCISITEDIR/Tables.

The translation thread and the hcitbllookup Tcl extension search for lookup tables in $HCISITEDIR/Tables first and then $HCIROOT/Tables. That is, the site Tables directory is searched first, and if the table is not found, the root Tables directory is searched.

Modifying a table

Lookup tables are viewed and modified with the Lookup Table Configurator. The Lookup Table Configurator searches only in the user-created lookup tables directory ($HCISITEDIR/Tables).

To view or modify a HIPAA external code set lookup table, copy or link the table to the Tables directory in the site. Do this before running the Lookup Table Configurator. The modifications are made to the table in the site and are used in processing according to the search order that is mentioned above.

Code set Tcl procedure template

A HIPAA code set Tcl procedure template is provided that gives an example of querying a lookup table for a particular key.