The PIT file format is one of two industry standard formats used for the electronic transfer of investigation information such as pathology.
Clinical also supports the HL7 format for transferring investigation results. For more information on HL7 contact Standards Australia.
FILE FORMAT SPECIFICATION for QML/S&N Pathology Results Transfer - Version 07 - 1 July 1996
This document contains a description of the file layout used by Queensland Medical Laboratory (QML) and Drs Sullivan, Nicolaides and Partners (S&N) for pathology results transmissions.
The file has variable length records, in this document called lines.
Each line starts with a 3 digit code followed by a space.
Line codes ending in '9' are used as separators, either spaces or dashes.
Line codes
|
001 - 099 |
FILE HEADER |
001 - 009 |
Source lab and run details |
|
010 - 019 |
Surgery doctors index |
|
020 - 029 |
Patients with results in this run |
|
Line codes
|
100 - 399 |
RESULT REPORT INFORMATION |
100 - 109 |
Patient details |
|
110 - 119 |
Specimen/Medicare reference |
|
120 - 129 |
Referring and Copy doctors |
|
130 - 139 |
Hospital details |
|
200 - 299 |
Result header |
|
300 - 399 |
Result details |
|
Line code |
999 |
FILE TRAILER |
PIT - Line Description
File Header |
||||||
Line |
Description |
Content |
Position |
Size (bytes) |
Format |
Comments |
001 |
Source lab heading |
'QUEENSLAND MEDICAL LABORATORY PATHOLOGY REPORTS' or 'DRS SULLIVAN NICOLAIDES AND PARTNERS PATHOLOGY REPORTS' |
05- |
|||
<control type> |
62-63 |
2 |
Not used |
|||
<format version number> |
64-65 |
2 |
'07' |
|||
<date of version> |
67-76 |
10 |
'01/07/1996' |
|||
002 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
003 |
Report run detail 1 |
'Report Run Number :' |
05- |
|||
<run number> |
24-27 |
4 |
||||
'Created:' |
29- |
|||||
<run date> |
40-49 |
10 |
||||
'at' |
55-56 |
|||||
<run time> |
61-68 |
8 |
HH:MM:SS |
|||
004 |
Report run detail 2 |
'Surgery' |
05- |
|||
<surgery ID> |
14-18 |
5 |
||||
'Reports:' |
21- |
|||||
<report from date> |
30-39 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
<report from time> |
41-48 |
8 |
HH:MM:SS |
|||
'to' |
51- |
|||||
<report to date> |
55-64 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
<report to time> |
66-73 |
8 |
HH:MM:SS |
|||
<rerun indicator> |
76 |
5 |
'Rerun' or <spaces> |
|||
006 |
Hospital run detail |
'Hospital:' |
05- |
|||
<hospital code> |
17- |
<=5 |
||||
<hospital name> |
32-64 |
32 |
||||
009 |
End of heading lines |
<dashes> |
05- |
|||
010 |
Surgery doctor |
<doctor name> |
05-36 |
32 |
<title> <Initial>> <Surname>> (QML) |
|
<code> |
40- |
<=5 |
QML or S&N doctor code |
|||
<provider number> |
50- |
8 |
||||
019 |
End of Surgery doctors |
<dashes> |
05- |
|||
020 |
Patient heading line |
'Your ref.' |
05- |
|||
'Patient Name' |
17- |
|||||
'Lab Ref.' |
48- |
|||||
'Test' |
64- |
|||||
021 |
Patient detail |
<your reference> |
05- |
<=12 |
||
<patient name> |
17- |
<=32 |
<Surname>,<christian name> |
|||
<lab reference> |
48- |
<=12 |
||||
<test performed> |
64- |
|||||
029 |
End of patient heading |
<dashes> |
05- |
|||
RESULT REPORT INFORMATION |
||||||
Line |
Description |
Content |
Position |
Size (bytes) |
Format |
Comments |
100 |
Patient name |
'Start Patient :' |
05- |
|||
<patient name> |
27- |
<=32 |
<Surname>,<christian name> <initial> |
|||
101 |
Patient Address |
<street>,<town> <state> <pcode> or |
QML |
|||
<street>,<town> <pcode> |
27- |
S&N |
||||
104 |
Birth details |
'Birthdate:' |
27- |
|||
<birthdate> |
38-47 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
'Age:' |
52-55 |
|||||
<age prefix> |
57 |
1 |
'Y', 'M' or 'D' |
Y=years, M=months, D=days |
||
<age> |
58-60 |
3 |
Age in years, months or days |
|||
'Sex:' |
64-67 |
|||||
<sex> |
69 |
1 |
'F' or 'M' |
|||
105 |
Patients phone number |
'Telephone:' |
27- |
|||
<telephone number> |
38- |
16 |
||||
109 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
110 |
Surgery/Hospital reference |
'Your Reference :' |
05- |
|||
<reference number> |
27- |
<=16 |
||||
111 |
Laboratory reference |
<lab>' Reference :' |
05- |
<lab> = "QML" or "S&N" |
||
<reference number> |
27- |
<=16 |
||||
112 |
Medicare number |
'Medicare Number:' |
05- |
|||
<medicare number> |
27- |
10 |
||||
115 |
Phone Enquiries |
'Phone Enquiries:' |
05- |
|||
<consulting pathologist> |
27- |
<=32 |
<Initial> <Surname>(/<Initial> <Surname>..) |
|||
<phone number> |
60- |
<=12 |
||||
119 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
121 |
Referring doctor |
'Referred by :' |
05- |
|||
<doctor name> |
27- |
<=32 |
<title> <initial> <Surname> (QML) |
|||
<title> <1st name> <init.> <Surname> (S&N) |
||||||
122 |
Copy doctor |
'Copy to :' |
05- |
|||
<doctor name> |
27- |
<=32 |
<title> <initial> <Surname> (QML) |
|||
<title> <1st name> <init.> <Surname> (S&N) |
||||||
123 |
Receiving doctor |
'Addressee :' |
05- |
Initially only used by S&N |
||
<doctor name> |
27- |
<=32 |
<title> <initial> <Surname> (QML) |
|||
<title> <1st name> <init.> <Surname> (S&N) |
||||||
<provider number> |
61- |
8 |
||||
129 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
130 |
Hospital ward |
'Ward :' |
05- |
|||
<ward> |
27- |
<=32 |
||||
131 |
Automatic ward print |
'Auto ward print:' |
05- |
|||
<print indicator> |
27- |
1 |
"Y" or "N" |
|||
139 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
RESULT HEADER |
||||||
Line |
Description |
Content |
Position |
Size (bytes) |
Format |
Comments |
200 |
Result header |
'Start of Result:' |
05- |
|||
201 |
Specimen type |
'Specimen :' |
05- |
Not used by S&N |
||
<specimen type> |
27- |
|||||
203 |
Request date |
'Requested :' |
05- |
|||
<Request date> |
27- |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
204 |
Collection date |
'Collected :' |
05- |
|||
<Collection date> |
27-36 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
<Collection time> |
39-43 |
5 |
HH:MM |
|||
205 |
Test name |
'Name of Test :' |
05- |
|||
<test name> |
27- |
|||||
206 |
Report date & time |
'Reported :' |
05- |
|||
<Report date> |
27-36 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
<Report time> |
39-43 |
5 |
HH:MM |
|||
207 |
Confidentiality indicator |
'Confidential :' |
05- |
|||
<confidential indicator> |
27- |
1 |
"Y" or "N" |
|||
208 |
Test category |
'Test Category :' |
05- |
|||
<category indicator> |
27- |
1 |
"R" = Routine, "U" = Urgent |
|||
209 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
210 |
Normal result indicator |
'Normal Result :' |
05- |
|||
<normal result indicator> |
27- |
1 |
"Y" or "N" |
|||
211 |
Requested Tests |
'Requested Tests:' |
05- |
|||
<tests> |
27-100 |
Free form |
||||
212 |
Request complete indicator |
'RequestComplete:' |
05- |
|||
<request complete indicator> |
27- |
1 |
"Y" or "N" |
'Y' if this report completes tests requested. |
||
299 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
RESULT DETAILS |
||||||
Line |
Description |
Content |
Position |
Size (bytes) |
Format |
Comments |
301 |
Result line |
<results> |
05- |
|
Free form |
|
309 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
311 |
Cumulative result line |
<results> |
05- |
Free form |
||
319 |
Blank line |
<spaces> |
05- |
|||
390 |
End of report this patient |
'End of Report :' |
05- |
|||
399 |
End of Report separator |
<dashes> |
05- |
Line codes 100 - 399 are repeated for each patient results. |
||
FILE TRAILER |
||||||
Line |
Description |
Content |
Position |
Size (bytes) |
Format |
Comments |
999 |
End of file |
'END OF LISTING - Run Number:' |
05- |
Details repeated from file header. |
||
<run number> |
33-36 |
4 |
||||
<run date> |
39-48 |
10 |
DD/MM/YYYY |
|||
<run time> |
51-58 |
8 |
HH:MM:SS |
Control Commands
In the report, control commands can be embedded and will have the following format:
<tilde><control command>(<control command>...)<tilde>
where
<tilde> = '~'
<control command> = 4 character command
One or more control commands can occur between the tildes. The control commands required initially are :
FGnn = Set foreground (text) colour to nn
where
nn = numeric value 00 - 99
04 = Red * (see note below)
99 = Default
SBLD = Start bold
EBLD = End bold
SUND = Start underline
EUND = End underline
Full list of colour codes are given below, but initially only red and "default" is required. |
Example 1: ~FG04~WARNING~FG99~ Example 2: ~FG04SBLD~RED AND BOLD~FG99EBLD~ |
The red colour (FG04) is in the S&N reports used for highlighting purposes, and can be replaced by other highlighting such as bold, underline and so forth if so chosen.
Following control commands may be required in the future and are included here only as information. If any of the commands below are in fact going to be used you are updated well in advance of implementation date.
BGnn = Set background colour to nn
where nn = numeric value 00 - 99 as defined below
FOff = Set font to ff
where ff = numeric value 00 - 99 yet to be defined
PIpp = Set pitch to pp
where pp = numeric value 00 - 99 yet to be defined
SBLK = Start blinking
EBLK = End blinking
Colour codes (nn) used for the FGnn and BGnn commands are :
00 = Black |
06 = Brown |
12 = Light Red |
01 = Blue |
07 = Light Grey |
13 = Light Magenta |
02 = Green |
08 = Dark Grey |
14 = Yellow |
03 = Cyan |
09 = Light Blue |
15 = White |
04 = Red |
10 = Light Green |
|
05 = Magenta |
11 = Light Cyan |
99 = Default |
Example of PIT File
Example of file transfer layout
In the following example the spacing between content items differs from a printed or imported result. This is due to the limitations of the HTML language used to prepare this example for publication in the Help System. |
001 DRS SULLIVAN NICOLAIDES AND PARTNERS PATHOLOGY REPORTS 07 01/07/1996
002
003 Report Run Number: 24 Created: 01/08/1996 at 12:40:23
004 Surgery: 09111 Reports: 31/07/1996 12:11:23 to 01/08/1996 12:40:23
009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
010 Dr Tomas C Testing TCT03 1034572J
019 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
020 Your Ref. Patient Name Lab Ref. Test
021 230462123 PATIENT,PETER 123-456789 BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE
029 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Start Patient : PATIENT,PETER
101 12 EASY ST, HOME TOWN QLD 4567
104 Birthdate: 20/05/1945 Age: Y51 Sex: M
105 Telephone: 07 3333 4444
109
110 Your Reference : 230462123
111 S&N Reference : 123-456789
112 Medicare Number: 1456733421
115 Phone Enquiries: B CAMPBELL/T GAFFNEY 07-3778666
119
121 Referred by : Dr Tomas C Testing
122 Copy to : Dr Conrad P Copydoctor
123 Addressee : Dr Tomas C Testing 1034572J
129
200 Start of Result:
201 Specimen :
203 Requested : 31/07/1996
204 Collected : 31/07/1996 12:00
205 Name of Test : BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE
206 Reported : 01/08/1996 08:34
207 Confidential : N
208 Test Category : R
209
210 Normal Result : Y
211 Requested Tests: BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE, SECTION
212 RequestComplete: N
299
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
301 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
309
311 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
311 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
311 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
311 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
319
390 End of Report :
399 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
999 END OF LISTING - Run Number: 24 01/08/1996 12:40:23