X12 is meant to be independent of the transport method. The ISA only needs to hold "logical" identifiers that represent the sending and receiving entities - and 15 characters is more than enough for any conceivable identifier (e.g., DUNS, FEIN, HIN, NAIC, or even the National Plan ID and National Provider ID).
It was always understood that some sort of mapping table (whether at the VAN or CH, or in the EDIINT software) would take a logical identifier and "map" it onto an "EDI Address." An EDI Address would be a particular mailbox (in the context of a VAN or CH), or the protocol and addressing specifications in the case of EDIINT or FTP, say. Our project takes EDI Addresses to an extra level of indirection: identifiers would be "mapped" to a CPP, which in turn contains one or more EDI Addresses (selected by preference or functional purpose, e.g., "real-time" vs. batch). Each "EDI Address" would describe where (physical address, e.g., FTP address) and how (packaging, e.g, X12.58 security or EDIINT) to send the interchange. The logical identifiers used in the ISA are fairly static - how often does a DUNS, FEIN (or even an NPI, if it comes to pass) change? But EDI Addresses are ephemeral, subject to the whim of the recipient: one day I might want claims to go directly to me via FTP, and the next day I might change my mind and have them go through a Clearinghouse. A dynamic mapping system keyed on logical identifiers accommodates this nicely. They always say "a picture is worth a thousand words," but even if I had the requisite career-enhancing Visio or Powerpoint skills, I still wouldn't be able to post an attachment to show this! The DNS directory, to be used for mapping logical identifiers to CPPs, is still very much in the running. Is it flexible and robust enough, though, to accommodate some of the additional "twists" which may be required - such as searching for CPPs on non-primary identifiers? The ebXML Registry is (supposedly) available today, too, and may have search capabilities above and beyond the DNS directory, with the added benefit that security and authentication is built-in. William J. Kammerer Novannet, LLC. +1 (614) 487-0320 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kepa Zubeldia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Christopher J. Feahr, OD" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "William J. Kammerer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "WEDi/SNIP ID & Routing" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, 02 April, 2002 04:26 PM Subject: Re: Are only 15 characters in the ISA receiver ID enough? Isn't the small size of these identifiers the main reason why we have to "map" the identifiers into an address? It is still trivial and reliable and cheap to do this using the currently existing DNS, using a small XML tag in the TXT component of the DNS directory, just like William has his setup. The XML code can point to a URL or a phone number or any other sort of "address" and specify additional parameters like hours of operation, transactions supported, etc. If we could just agree on one way to do this... It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be complete. Maybe it does not even need to cover all the possibilities. But it needs to be useful/usable TODAY. Just a thought... Kepa
