X12 standard has Select Language Characters (for example, "ü"). These characters are not mentioned in "HIPAA" TR3s, for example 005010X223 for 837 Institutional claim, in particular in appendix B, section B.1.1.2.3. Is the use of such language characters in data values compliant with "HIPAA" TR3s? and if yes - what are the allowed conditions?
Draft – Section B.1.1.2.3 Extended Character Set of X12 version 5010 TR3’S states:
“An extended character set may be used by negotiation between the two parties and includes the lowercase letters and other special characters as specified in Table B.2 - Extended Character Set.
Table B.2 - Extended Character Set
a...z % ~ @ [ ] _ { }
\ | < > ^ ` # $
Note that the extended characters include several character codes that have multiple graphical representations for a specific bit pattern. The complete list appears in other standards such as CCITT S.5. Use of the USA graphics for these codes presents no problem unless data is exchanged with an international partner. Other problems, such as the translation of item descriptions from English to French, arise when exchanging data with an international partner, but minimizing the use of codes with multiple graphics eliminates one of the more obvious problems.
For implementations compliant with this guide, either the entire extended character set must be acceptable, or the entire extended character set must not be used. In the absence of a specific trading partner agreement to the contrary, trading partners will assume that the extended character set is acceptable. Use of the extended character set allows the use of the "@" character in email addresses within the PER segment. Users should note that characters in the extended character set, as well as the basic character set, may be used as delimiters only when they do not occur in the data as stated in Section B.1.1.2.4.1 - Base Control Set.”
While Section B.1.1.2.3 includes a partial list of the Extended Character Set, it also states that it is not the complete list. It also states that to be compliant with the Guide (TR3) either the entire Extended Character Set must be acceptable, or the entire Extended Character Set must not be used. Therefore, usage of the entire Extended Character Set identified in Section 3.3.2 of X12.6 which includes Select Language Characters is compliant with version 5010 X12 TR3’s.
Please also see RFI #2212.