HL7 encompasses the complete life cycle of a standards specification including the development, adoption, market recognition, utilization, and adherence. These standards define how information is packaged and communicated from one party to another, setting the language, structure and data types required for seamless integration between systems. HL7 develops conceptual standards (e.g., HL7 RIM), document standards (e.g., HL7 CDA), application standards (e.g., HL7 CCOW), and messaging standards (e.g., HL7 v2.x and v3.0). Messaging standards are particularly important because they define how to pack and send the information. There are many standards of HL7