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What is an EDI File?

An Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) file is a data file structured with the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) standard, which is under the X12 chapter of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). All the content of a transmission consists of ASCII characters. ASCII, or text files, can be viewed and edited with a regular text editor. However, since EDI files do not create line breaks (line feeds and carriage returns) to mark the end of a line, an EDI file is too complex to understand, as shown in the following example:

 

 

As shown in the sample, it is too complex to discern the individual data elements within the ASCII text file. HIPAA Claim Master has a built-in EDI editor to view a readable version of EDI files. Here is what the previous file looks like with the editor:

 

 

When this ASCII data is viewed with a special EDI editor, the individual data segments are visible. However, it is still difficult to understand the content of the form. EDI files try to abbreviate long and complex descriptions into short and easy-to-read codes; without a translator, only true experts can understand the information. This is where the HIPAA Claim Master application is indispensable. Its built-in translator parses the significant data elements from the EDI file and prints them into well-accepted medical and dental claim forms. The application's output can be viewed on screen, paper, or image files (TIFF and PDF), as well as data rows in external tables.