HL7 DSR_Q01 Immediate Display Response

The display-style answer to an original-mode QRY_Q01 query.
HL7 message structure DSR_Q01 groups and segments from HL7 v2.5.1 Hide structure

These are the generated groups and segments for the version selected at the top of the page. The article explains the workflow, and this panel follows the chosen HL7 version.

Message Structure

SegmentNameRequiredRepeatable
MSH
 Message Header Yes No
SFT
 Software Segment No Yes
MSA
 Message Acknowledgment Yes No
ERR
 Error No No
QAK
 Query Acknowledgment No No
QRD
 Original-Style Query Definition Yes No
QRF
 Original style query filter No No
DSP
 Display Data Yes Yes
DSC
 Continuation Pointer No No

DSR_Q01 is the response side of the older immediate query pattern. A system receives a QRY_Q01, evaluates the QRD and QRF filters, and returns a display response that the requester can show or parse lightly.

The word "display" is doing real work here. The main response payload is a set of DSP lines. Those lines are useful for human-facing screens and older workflows, but they are not as cleanly structured as modern segment-pattern or tabular responses.

A small DSR Q01 example

MSH|^~\&|RESULTS|CITYHOSP|RADPORTAL|CITYHOSP|20260717101502||DSR^Q01^DSR_Q01|DSRQ010001|P|2.5.1 MSA|AA|QRYQ010001 QAK|QRYQ010001|OK QRD|20260717101500|R|I|QRYQ010001|||10^RD|123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR|RES|CITYHOSP QRF|RESULTS|20260701000000|20260717235959 DSP|1||Patient: Smith, Jane Anne DSP|2||Latest final result: Chest X-ray 2026-07-14 - No acute cardiopulmonary abnormality

What systems do with it

The receiver sends DSR_Q01 as the application-level answer to the query. The requester checks MSA and QAK, matches the echoed QRD query ID, and then consumes the DSP lines. In some old applications, those lines are simply displayed. In integration work, they are often mapped into a local table or work queue with careful assumptions.

If the receiver has more data than it can return in one message, DSC can carry a continuation pointer. That pointer is not a business identifier. Treat it like an opaque token owned by the responder.

How to read the structure

MSH identifies the response, MSA acknowledges the original message control ID, and optional ERR carries error detail. QAK gives query-level status, while QRD and QRF echo the original request so the response can be audited and matched.

The repeating DSP segment is the payload. DSP-3 is the line of display data, with optional set IDs and display levels around it. Because DSP is preformatted text, agree whether the receiver may change punctuation, ordering, labels, or line wrapping.

Implementation traps

Do not map a DSP line as if it were a stable clinical field unless the interface specification says the line format is fixed. A label change can break a parser that looked safe in testing.

Also read QAK, not just MSA. MSA may say the message was accepted while QAK says the query found no records or was rejected by the application rules.

Reference notes

HL7's original query material describes DSR as the display response for immediate queries, with QRD and QRF echoed and DSP carrying display data. The v2 query chapter also defines DSP as preformatted display text.