HL7 EQU Equipment Detail
HL7 field reference EQU fields from HL7 v2.5.1 Show fields
These are the generated fields for the version selected at the top of the page. The document stays the same, but the reference panel follows that version.
Fields
EQU identifies equipment and describes its status or characteristics in automation messages.
The standard describes EQU this way: The equipment detail segment contains the data necessary to identify and maintain the equipment that is being used throughout the Laboratory Automation System.
Equipment and specimen-control segments are used around instruments, analyzers, containers, device commands, device status, and test configuration. They are practical plumbing for lab and automation workflows.
The main trap is treating an equipment status as if it were a clinical result, or treating a specimen/container identifier as if it were interchangeable with a patient or order identifier. Keep the layers separate.
The v2.5.1 structures show EQU in EAC_U07 - Automated equipment command, EAN_U09 - Automated equipment notification, EAR_U08 - Automated equipment response, and ESR_U02 - Automated equipment status request, and 7 other message structures. That tells you where it can appear, but the implementation guide still decides which optional fields are meaningful.
For practical interface work, read the generated field panel for datatype, required, repeatable, and table details, then use the notes below to decide what the field should mean in the receiving workflow.
EQU-1 identifies the Equipment Instance Identifier for this equipment or specimen workflow. Send the identifier that the receiving system actually keys on, and keep the assigning authority or coding system visible when the datatype supports it.
EQU-2 is a timing field. Send the real source-system precision, do not pad unknown dates or times, and agree how timezone offsets are handled when time of day matters.
EQU-3 tells the receiver the state of this equipment or specimen workflow. Status fields often drive workflow branches, so use the agreed code and do not infer a status just because another field looks complete.
The coded value should follow HL7 table 0365 or the narrower table in the local profile.
EQU-4 tells the receiver the state of this equipment or specimen workflow. Status fields often drive workflow branches, so use the agreed code and do not infer a status just because another field looks complete.
The coded value should follow HL7 table 0366 or the narrower table in the local profile.
EQU-5 qualifies the equipment or specimen workflow rather than identifying it. This is the sort of field receivers often use for branching, filtering, or display grouping.
Use the agreed value set, starting from HL7 table 0367. A local code without an agreed coding system is a small ambiguity that becomes a mapping problem later.