HL7 ORL_O22 (General Laboratory Order Response) | Integration Soup HL7 Reference Guide

HL7 ORL_O22 General Laboratory Order Response

The lab's general answer to an OML order.

HL7 message structure ORL_O22 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

Segment	Name	Required	Repeatable
MSH	Message Header	Yes	No
MSA	Message Acknowledgment	Yes	No
ERR	Error	No	Yes
SFT	Software Segment	No	Yes
NTE	Notes and Comments	No	Yes
ORL_O22.RESPONSE	Response group	No	No
ORL_O22.PATIENT	Patient group	No	No
PID	Patient Identification	Yes	No
ORL_O22.ORDER	Order group	No	Yes
ORC	Common Order	Yes	No
ORL_O22.TIMING	Timing group	No	Yes
TQ1	Timing/Quantity	Yes	No
TQ2	Timing/Quantity Relationship	No	Yes
ORL_O22.OBSERVATION_REQUEST	Observation Request group	No	No
OBR	Observation Request	Yes	No
ORL_O22.SPECIMEN	Specimen group	No	Yes
SPM	Specimen	Yes	No
SAC	Specimen Container detail	No	Yes

ORL_O22 is the general laboratory order response to an OML order, especially the common OML_O21 style. It gives the lab a way to acknowledge the message, return order identifiers, and describe errors or accepted order state without waiting for final results.

Think of it as the lab's application-level answer. It is not a result report. It is the lab saying whether the order request was usable and, when needed, which lab-side identifiers now belong to the order.

A small ORL O22 example

MSH|^~\&|LAB|CITYLAB|EHR|CITYHOSP|20260718105503||ORL^O22^ORL_O22|ORL220001|P|2.5.1 MSA|AA|OML210001 PID|1||123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR||Smith^Jane^Anne^^Ms^^L ORC|OK|LABORD7001^EHR|LAB9007001^LAB OBR|1|LABORD7001^EHR|LAB9007001^LAB|CBC^Complete blood count^L SPM|1|SPEC7001^EHR|SPEC9007001^LAB|BLD^Blood^HL70487 SAC|||TUBE7001^EHR|TUBE9007001^LAB

What systems do with it

The LIS or integration engine sends ORL_O22 to the order placer after receiving an OML. The placer uses MSA and ERR for message-level outcome, then reads ORC, OBR, SPM, and SAC for order, specimen, and container identifiers.

It is common for labs to return the accession number or filler order number here. Store it. That same identifier often appears later in ORU_R01 or OUL_R22 result flows.

How to read the structure

The response group can include patient identity and repeating orders. Each order can include timing, an observation request, and specimen/container details. That makes ORL_O22 general enough for ordinary lab ordering while leaving O34 and O36 for more specimen/container-specific structures.

If the response includes only MSH/MSA, do not assume order identifiers came back somewhere else. Your interface agreement should say whether ORL carries filler IDs or whether they first appear with results.

Implementation traps

The big trap is filing ORL as a result. It is an order response. OBR in ORL identifies the ordered service, not a final report panel.

Also do not ignore partial order outcomes. A lab can accept one test and reject another in the same response. Read each ORC group.

Reference notes

The HL7 ORL_O22 structure shows MSH, MSA, ERR, patient, order, timing, OBR, specimen, and container detail for laboratory order responses. See HL7 Europe ORL_O22.