HL7 stands for Health Level Seven, a set of international standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information. It aims to improve the interoperability of health information systems, allowing different healthcare applications to communicate effectively. The HL7 standards cover various aspects of healthcare data, including clinical documents, messaging, and application programming interfaces (APIs). By providing a common framework, HL7 helps healthcare organizations streamline processes, enhance patient care, and ensure that vital health information is accessible when needed.