I want to give some props to the guys at Mirth who have developed an awesome interface engine that is easy to use and the best part free of charge.  To top it off the program is very easy to use and I highly recommend giving it a go.  Usually I’m turned off by Java programs but these guys have really done a great job writing this tool.  It has built-in functions to convert hl7 to xml or visa versa as well as many more functions for transforming data to and from different data types.  MirthConnect is very versatile and will allow for connecting directly to a database or your choice of many other protocols including SOAP, DHIS, File Writing, and LOTS more. All this with a $0 price tag isn’t bad and you have access to the MirthCommunity forums.  For corporate environments they also have enterprise support packages.

http://www.mirthcorp.com/community/mirth-connect