HL7 RCI_I05 (Return Patient Clinical Information) | Integration Soup HL7 Reference Guide

HL7 RCI_I05 Return Patient Clinical Information

The older-style clinical answer to an RQC_I05 request.

HL7 message structure RCI_I05 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
SFT	Software Segment	No	Yes
MSA	Message Acknowledgment	Yes	No
QRD	Original-Style Query Definition	Yes	No
QRF	Original style query filter	No	No
RCI_I05.PROVIDER	Provider group	Yes	Yes
PRD	Provider Data	Yes	No
CTD	Contact Data	No	Yes
PID	Patient Identification	Yes	No
DG1	Diagnosis	No	Yes
DRG	Diagnosis Related Group	No	Yes
AL1	Patient Allergy Information	No	Yes
RCI_I05.OBSERVATION	Observation group	No	Yes
OBR	Observation Request	Yes	No
NTE	Notes and Comments	No	Yes
RCI_I05.RESULTS	Results group	No	Yes
OBX	Observation/Result	Yes	No
NTE	Notes and Comments	No	Yes
NTE	Notes and Comments	No	Yes

RCI_I05 returns clinical information after an RQC_I05 request. It is an older patient referral response structure, kept around for backward compatibility, and it can carry diagnoses, allergies, observation requests, and observation results.

Compared with modern query responses, RCI_I05 feels closer to a small solicited clinical packet. It acknowledges the request, echoes the query, identifies the patient, and returns the clinical content that matched the request.

A small RCI I05 example

MSH|^~\&|LAB|CITYHOSP|REFERRAL|CITYCLINIC|20260718103004||RCI^I05^RCI_I05|RCI050001|P|2.5.1 MSA|AA|RQC050001 QRD|20260718103000|R|I|RQC050001|||10^RD|123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR|RES|LAB QRF|LAB|20260701000000|20260718235959|CBC^Complete blood count^L PRD|RT|City Hospital^Laboratory|1 Hospital Way^^Auckland^^1010^NZ|^^^LAB|CITYLAB PID|1||123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR||Smith^Jane^Anne^^Ms^^L||19800314|F DG1|1|I10|D64.9^Anemia unspecified^I10|Anemia unspecified|20260716100000|A AL1|1||PEN^Penicillin^L|MO|Rash OBR|1|LAB4488^EHR|LAB9988^LAB|CBC^Complete blood count^L|||20260717110000 OBX|1|NM|WBC^White blood cells^LN||7.1|10*9/L|4.0-11.0|N|||F OBX|2|NM|HGB^Hemoglobin^LN||133|g/L|115-155|N|||F NTE|1||Results returned for requested date range.

What systems do with it

The receiver sends RCI_I05 after evaluating the older RQC query. The requester may display the returned content, attach it to a referral, or use it to fill a review worklist.

Because the message can contain several clinical concepts, the consumer should not treat it as one flat blob. Diagnosis data in DG1, allergy data in AL1, and observations in OBR/OBX need their own mapping and filing rules.

How to read the structure

MSH and MSA identify the response and tie it back to the request. QRD and QRF echo the old-style query criteria so the requester can tell what was answered.

The provider group identifies the responding party. PID identifies the patient. Clinical content can include DG1 diagnoses, DRG, AL1 allergies, and repeating observation groups with OBR, NTE, and OBX results.

Implementation traps

The big trap is double-filing. If the same results already arrived by ORU_R01, importing an RCI_I05 response as new results can create duplicates. Match on patient identifiers, order/filler numbers, OBR identity, OBX identity, timestamps, and result status.

Also treat the message as a response to a query, not a complete clinical truth. A missing allergy or diagnosis may only mean it was outside the requested scope or not held by that responding system.

Reference notes

HL7 v2+ patient referral material marks RQC/RCI I05 as retained for backward compatibility, with QRD/QRF replaced by later query response patterns. The RCI_I05 structure adds MSA and can return patient, diagnosis, allergy, observation request, and observation result content.