// the find
johnpaulett/python-hl7
A simple library for parsing messages of Health Level 7 (HL7) version 2.x into Python objects.
A focused parser for HL7 v2.x messages — the ancient pipe-delimited protocol still running most hospital integrations. It turns raw HL7 strings into traversable Python objects and includes an async MLLP client for actual transport-layer work. Useful for anyone building healthcare integrations who doesn't want to hand-roll segment parsing.
The accessor syntax (e.g. `h['PID.F3.R1.C2']`) is a clean way to reach deeply nested HL7 components without writing your own tree-walker. Includes an asyncio MLLP implementation — most Python HL7 libraries punt on transport entirely. Actively tested against Python 3.9–3.13 with CI covering lint, tests, and CodeQL. Small, focused codebase with good docs on ReadTheDocs.
Still on v0.4.x after 15+ years — HL7 v2 itself hasn't changed, but the library's slow release cadence means bug fixes sit in main for months. No support for HL7 FHIR (v4), which is where new healthcare mandates are pointing; this is purely a v2 tool, so don't confuse the two. The MLLP client is async but the core parsing is synchronous with no streaming support — large batch ADT feeds will block. 320 stars is a signal that healthcare devs haven't fully consolidated on this; several forks and competitors exist with similar API surface.