python-hl7 features a simple network client, mllp_send, which reads HL7 messages from a file or sys.stdin and posts them to an MLLP server. mllp_send is a command-line wrapper around hl7.client.MLLPClient. mllp_send is a useful tool for testing HL7 interfaces or resending logged messages:
$ mllp_send --file sample.hl7 --port 6661 mirth.example.com
MSH|^~\&|LIS|Example|Hospital|Mirth|20111207105244||ACK^A01|A234244|P|2.3.1|
MSA|AA|234242|Message Received Successfully|
Usage: mllp_send [options] <server>
Options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version print current version and exit
-p PORT, --port=PORT port to connect to
-f FILE, --file=FILE read from FILE instead of stdin
-q, --quiet do not print status messages to stdout
--loose allow file to be a HL7-like object (\r\n instead of
\r). Requires that messages start with "MSH|^~\&|".
Requires --file option (no stdin)
By default, mllp_send expects the FILE or stdin input to be a properly formatted HL7 message (carriage returns separating segments) wrapped in a MLLP stream (<SB>message1<EB><CR><SB>message2<EB><CR>...).
However, it is common, especially if the file has been manually edited in certain text editors, that the ASCII control characters will be lost and the carriage returns will be replaced with the platform’s default line endings. In this case, mllp_send provides the --loose option, which attempts to take something that “looks like HL7” and convert it into a proper HL7 message..