DICOM & HL7 Date Time Converter

Q: What is the DICOM DA format?

**`YYYYMMDD`**, e.g. `20260813`. Padded to 8 digits; missing components allowed per DICOM PS3.5 but discouraged.

Q: What is the DICOM TM format?

**`HHMMSS.ffffff`**, e.g. `143000.123456`. Fractional seconds are optional; the string is never padded to a fixed length beyond components present.

Q: What is the HL7 timestamp format?

**`YYYYMMDDHHMMSS±ZZZZ`** (DTM), e.g. `20260813143000+0000`. Precision from year to second+fraction is allowed by the HL7 spec.

Q: Do DICOM and HL7 use the same timestamps?

Similar compact style, but DICOM splits **date (DA) and time (TM) into separate tags** while HL7 uses a single DTM field with optional offset.

Healthcare systems use compact timestamp encodings: DICOM `DA` (date, `20260813`), DICOM `TM` (time, `143000.123`), and HL7 timestamps (`20260813143000+0000`). Misformatting them breaks imaging studies and EHR interfaces.

This converter renders your date-time as DICOM DA, DICOM TM and the HL7 version (with offset) for HL7v2 message building and DICOM tag inspection.

Timezone:

Enter a date-time above to see the conversion results.

DICOM & HL7 Date Time Converter Quick Reference

Format	Pattern / Description	Example 1	Example 2
DICOM Date (DA)	Medical Imaging Date	20260813	20260101
DICOM Time (TM)	Medical Imaging Time	143000.000	000000.000
HL7 Timestamp	Health Level 7	20260813143000	20260101000000

* Examples are rendered in UTC for the fixed sample instants above.

When to Use DICOM & HL7 Date Time

DICOM tag inspection

Verify `(0008,0020)` StudyDate and `(0008,0030)` StudyTime values when debugging imaging pipelines.

HL7 message generation

Build `MSH`/`OBX` segments with valid `YYYYMMDDHHMMSS±ZZZZ` timestamps for interface testing.

EHR integration testing

Generate health-system timestamps for conformance tests against PACS and EMR systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DICOM DA format?

`YYYYMMDD`, e.g. `20260813`. Padded to 8 digits; missing components allowed per DICOM PS3.5 but discouraged.

What is the DICOM TM format?

`HHMMSS.ffffff`, e.g. `143000.123456`. Fractional seconds are optional; the string is never padded to a fixed length beyond components present.

What is the HL7 timestamp format?

`YYYYMMDDHHMMSS±ZZZZ` (DTM), e.g. `20260813143000+0000`. Precision from year to second+fraction is allowed by the HL7 spec.

Do DICOM and HL7 use the same timestamps?

Similar compact style, but DICOM splits date (DA) and time (TM) into separate tags while HL7 uses a single DTM field with optional offset.

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