HL7 ORN_O08 Non-Stock Requisition Acknowledgment

The response for non-stock requests that may need purchasing or manual fulfillment.
HL7 message structure ORN_O08 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
MSA
 Message Acknowledgment Yes No
ERR
 Error No Yes
SFT
 Software Segment No Yes
NTE
 Notes and Comments No Yes
ORN_O08.RESPONSE
 Response group No No
ORN_O08.PATIENT
 Patient group No No
PID
 Patient Identification Yes No
NTE
 Notes and Comments No Yes
ORN_O08.ORDER
 Order group Yes Yes
ORC
 Common Order Yes No
ORN_O08.TIMING
 Timing group No Yes
TQ1
 Timing/Quantity Yes No
TQ2
 Timing/Quantity Relationship No Yes
RQD
 Requisition Detail Yes No
RQ1
 Requisition Detail-1 No No
NTE
 Notes and Comments No Yes

ORN_O08 is the acknowledgment response for OMN_O07. It tells the requester whether the non-stock requisition was accepted, rejected, or accepted with returned fulfillment identifiers and item detail.

For non-stock work, the acknowledgment is often the first place the requester learns the receiver's purchasing, fulfillment, or tracking identifier. Capture it. Later updates are much easier when both sides can name the same requisition.

A small ORN O08 example

MSH|^~\&|PURCHASING|CITYHOSP|SURGERY|CITYHOSP|20260717122004||ORN^O08^ORN_O08|ORN080001|P|2.5.1 MSA|AA|OMN070001 PID|1||123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR||Smith^Jane^Anne^^Ms^^L ORC|OK|NSREQ9001^SURGERY|POREQ3301^PURCHASING||||||20260717122003 TQ1|1||||||20260718100000 RQD|1|CUSTOM-SPLINT^Custom wrist splint^L|||1|EA|SURG|742500|OR2^Operating room 2^L|20260718 RQ1|175.00|ORTHOCO^Orthopedic Supply Co^L|WS-9931|ORTHOVENDOR^Ortho Vendor^L|OC-WS-9931|N|N NTE|1||Purchasing request opened for vendor confirmation

What systems do with it

The requesting system updates the requisition state from pending submission to accepted, rejected, or accepted for purchasing review. If the receiver returns a filler number in ORC, that number becomes the practical support handle.

Some receivers cannot fully approve a non-stock item immediately. In that case, the response should distinguish "message accepted for review" from "item approved and available."

How to read the structure

The response header is MSH, MSA, optional ERR, software details, and notes. The optional RESPONSE group can include patient context and order detail. The ORDER group carries ORC, optional timing, required RQD, optional RQ1, and notes.

RQD and RQ1 echo the item detail that the receiver accepted or interpreted. That echo is useful when vendor catalog descriptions or substitution rules are easy to misread.

Implementation traps

Do not use MSA-1 AA as proof that the item is available. MSA can mean the message was accepted while the order detail still says review, reject, substitute, or backorder.

Also avoid lossy echoes. If the requester sends a vendor catalog number and the response drops it, reconciliation gets harder exactly when the item is unusual.

Reference notes

The HL7 v2+ ORN_O08 page shows the non-stock requisition acknowledgment with MSA, ERR, an optional response group, and order detail built around ORC, RQD, RQ1, and notes.