diff --git a/.github/workflows/main_ci.yml b/.github/workflows/main_ci.yml
index da91338..c50161c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main_ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main_ci.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
     name: PHP ${{ matrix.php-versions }} Test on ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
       - name: Install PHP
         uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
         with:
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
 #        run: composer validate --strict
       - name: Cache Composer packages
         id: composer-cache
-        uses: actions/cache@v2
+        uses: actions/cache@v3
         with:
           path: vendor
           key: ${{ runner.os }}-php-${{ matrix.php-versions }}-${{ hashFiles('**/composer.lock') }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d54a765..b1442a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -101,9 +101,11 @@ $msg = new Message("MSH|^~\\&|1|\rPV1|1|O|^AAAA1^^^BB|", ['SEGMENT_SEPARATOR' =>
 // Segment with separator character (~) creates sub-arrays containing each sub-segment
 $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1"); // Creates [[3,0], [4,1]]
         
-// To create a single array instead, pass 'true' as 5th argument. This may be used to retain behavior from previous releases
+// To create a single array instead, pass 'true' as 6th argument. This may be used to retain behavior from previous releases
 // Notice: Since this leads to a non-standard behavior, it may be removed in future
 $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1", null, false, false, true, true); // Creates ['3', '0~4', '1']
+// or
+$message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1", doNotSplitRepetition: true); // Creates ['3', '0~4', '1']
 ```
 
 ### Send messages to remote listeners
diff --git a/src/HL7.php b/src/HL7.php
index 559d4a6..f24feb3 100644
--- a/src/HL7.php
+++ b/src/HL7.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 namespace Aranyasen;
 
+use Exception;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Message;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Segments\MSH;
@@ -18,10 +19,7 @@
  */
 class HL7
 {
-    /**
-     * Holds all global HL7 settings.
-     */
-    protected $hl7Globals;
+    protected array $hl7Globals;
 
     /**
      * Create a new instance of the HL7 factory, and set global
@@ -43,8 +41,8 @@ public function __construct()
      * Create a new Message, using the global HL7 variables as defaults.
      *
      * @param string|null  $msgStr  Text representation of an HL7 message
-     * @throws \Exception
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws Exception
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function createMessage(string $msgStr = null): Message
     {
@@ -53,7 +51,7 @@ public function createMessage(string $msgStr = null): Message
 
     /**
      * Create a new MSH segment, using the global HL7 variables as defaults.
-     * @throws \Exception
+     * @throws Exception
      */
     public function createMSH(): MSH
     {
@@ -65,11 +63,11 @@ public function createMSH(): MSH
      *
      * @param string $value Component separator char.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setComponentSeparator(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
@@ -82,11 +80,11 @@ public function setComponentSeparator(string $value): bool
      *
      * @param string $value Subcomponent separator char.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setSubcomponentSeparator(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
@@ -99,11 +97,11 @@ public function setSubcomponentSeparator(string $value): bool
      *
      * @param string $value Repetition separator char.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setRepetitionSeparator(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
@@ -116,11 +114,11 @@ public function setRepetitionSeparator(string $value): bool
      *
      * @param string $value Field separator char.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setFieldSeparator(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
@@ -133,11 +131,11 @@ public function setFieldSeparator(string $value): bool
      *
      * @param string $value separator char.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setSegmentSeparator(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
@@ -149,26 +147,20 @@ public function setSegmentSeparator(string $value): bool
      *
      * @param string $value Escape character.
      * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setEscapeCharacter(string $value): bool
     {
-        if (\strlen($value) !== 1) {
+        if (strlen($value) !== 1) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Parameter should be of single character. Received: '$value'");
         }
 
         return $this->setGlobal('ESCAPE_CHARACTER', $value);
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Set the HL7 version to be used by the factory. Default 2.3
-     *
-     * @param string HL7 version character.
-     * @return bool true if value has been set.
-     */
-    public function setHL7Version(string $value): bool
+    public function setHL7Version(string $hl7Version): bool
     {
-        return $this->setGlobal('HL7_VERSION', $value);
+        return $this->setGlobal('HL7_VERSION', $hl7Version);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/HL7/Connection.php b/src/HL7/Connection.php
index ae1a0be..e2b5f4b 100644
--- a/src/HL7/Connection.php
+++ b/src/HL7/Connection.php
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 use Aranyasen\Exceptions\HL7ConnectionException;
 use Aranyasen\Exceptions\HL7Exception;
 use Exception;
-use ReflectionException;
+use Socket;
 
 /**
  * Usage:
@@ -37,10 +37,14 @@
  */
 class Connection
 {
-    protected $socket;
-    protected $timeout;
-    protected $MESSAGE_PREFIX;
-    protected $MESSAGE_SUFFIX;
+    protected Socket $socket;
+    protected int $timeout;
+
+    /** # Octal 13 (Hex: 0B): Vertical Tab */
+    protected string $MESSAGE_PREFIX = "\013";
+
+    /** # 34 (Hex: 1C): file separator character, 15 (Hex: 0D): Carriage return */
+    protected string $MESSAGE_SUFFIX = "\034\015";
 
     /**
      * Creates a connection to a HL7 server, or throws exception when a connection could not be established.
@@ -56,8 +60,6 @@ public function __construct(string $host, int $port, int $timeout = 10)
             throw new HL7ConnectionException('Please install ext-sockets to run Connection');
         }
         $this->setSocket($host, $port, $timeout);
-        $this->MESSAGE_PREFIX = "\013"; # Octal 13 (Hex: 0B): Vertical Tab
-        $this->MESSAGE_SUFFIX = "\034\015"; # 34 (Hex: 1C): file separator character, 15 (Hex: 0D): Carriage return
         $this->timeout = $timeout;
     }
 
@@ -161,9 +163,9 @@ public function send(Message $msg, string $responseCharEncoding = 'UTF-8', bool
     }
 
     /*
-     * Return the socket opened/used by this class
+     * Return the raw socket opened/used by this class
      */
-    public function getSocket()
+    public function getSocket(): Socket
     {
         return $this->socket;
     }
diff --git a/src/HL7/Message.php b/src/HL7/Message.php
index 90cc146..9232ebb 100644
--- a/src/HL7/Message.php
+++ b/src/HL7/Message.php
@@ -15,34 +15,24 @@
  * ```php $msg->getSegmentByIndex(0) ```
  *
  * The segment separator defaults to \015. To change this, set the global variable $SEGMENT_SEPARATOR.
- *
- * @author     Aranya Sen
  */
 class Message
 {
     use MessageHelpersTrait;
 
-
-    /** @var array Array holding all segments of this message */
     protected array $segments = [];
 
-    /**
-     * local value for segment separator
-     */
-    protected $segmentSeparator;
-    /**
-     * @var bool Is the bar (|) at the end of each segment required? Default: Yes.
-     */
-    protected $segmentEndingBar;
-    protected $fieldSeparator;
-    protected $componentSeparator;
-    protected $subcomponentSeparator;
-    protected $repetitionSeparator;
-    protected $escapeChar;
-    protected $hl7Version;
+    protected string $segmentSeparator;
+    protected bool $segmentEndingBar; # true, if '|' at end of each segment is needed
+    protected string $fieldSeparator;
+    protected string $componentSeparator;
+    protected string $subcomponentSeparator;
+    protected string $repetitionSeparator;
+    protected string $escapeChar;
+    protected string $hl7Version;
 
-    /** @var bool|null $doNotSplitRepetition */
-    protected $doNotSplitRepetition;
+    // Split (or not) repeated subfields joined by ~. E.g. if true, parses 3^0~4^1 to [3, '0~4', 1]
+    protected bool $doNotSplitRepetition;
 
     /**
      * Constructor for Message. Consider using the HL7 factory to obtain a message instead.
@@ -77,7 +67,7 @@ public function __construct(
     ) {
         // Control characters and other HL7 properties
         $this->segmentSeparator = $hl7Globals['SEGMENT_SEPARATOR'] ?? '\n';
-        $this->segmentEndingBar = $hl7Globals['SEGMENT_ENDING_BAR'] ?? true; // '|' at end of each segment
+        $this->segmentEndingBar = $hl7Globals['SEGMENT_ENDING_BAR'] ?? true;
         $this->fieldSeparator = $hl7Globals['FIELD_SEPARATOR'] ?? '|';
         $this->componentSeparator = $hl7Globals['COMPONENT_SEPARATOR'] ?? '^';
         $this->subcomponentSeparator = $hl7Globals['SUBCOMPONENT_SEPARATOR'] ?? '&';
@@ -85,7 +75,7 @@ public function __construct(
         $this->escapeChar = $hl7Globals['ESCAPE_CHAR'] ?? '\\';
         $this->hl7Version = $hl7Globals['HL7_VERSION'] ?? '2.3';
 
-        $this->doNotSplitRepetition = $doNotSplitRepetition;
+        $this->doNotSplitRepetition = (bool) $doNotSplitRepetition;
 
         if ($resetIndices) {
             $this->resetSegmentIndices();
@@ -245,7 +235,7 @@ public function removeSegmentsByName(string $segmentName): int
      * control characters and hl7 version, based on MSH(1), MSH(2) and MSH(12).
      *
      * @param int $index Index where segment is set
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function setSegment(Segment $segment, int $index): bool
     {
@@ -272,9 +262,9 @@ protected function resetCtrl(Segment $segment): bool
         }
 
         if (preg_match('/(.)(.)(.)(.)/', (string) $segment->getField(2), $matches)) {
-            $this->componentSeparator    = $matches[1];
-            $this->repetitionSeparator   = $matches[2];
-            $this->escapeChar            = $matches[3];
+            $this->componentSeparator = $matches[1];
+            $this->repetitionSeparator = $matches[2];
+            $this->escapeChar = $matches[3];
             $this->subcomponentSeparator = $matches[4];
         }
 
@@ -377,10 +367,7 @@ public function resetSegmentIndices(): void
         }
     }
 
-    /**
-     * @return array|string
-     */
-    private function extractComponentsFromField(string $field, bool $keepEmptySubFields)
+    private function extractComponentsFromField(string $field, bool $keepEmptySubFields): array|string
     {
         $pregFlags = $keepEmptySubFields
             ? 0
diff --git a/src/HL7/Messages/ACK.php b/src/HL7/Messages/ACK.php
index 6f8ed06..93f98cd 100644
--- a/src/HL7/Messages/ACK.php
+++ b/src/HL7/Messages/ACK.php
@@ -7,10 +7,12 @@
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Message;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Segments\MSA;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Segments\MSH;
+use Exception;
+use InvalidArgumentException;
 
 class ACK extends Message
 {
-    protected $ACK_TYPE;
+    protected string $ACK_TYPE;
 
     /**
      * Usage:
@@ -24,8 +26,8 @@ class ACK extends Message
      * @param Message|null $req
      * @param MSH|null $reqMsh
      * @param array|null $hl7Globals Set control characters or HL7 properties. e.g., ['HL7_VERSION' => '2.5']
-     * @throws \Exception
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws Exception
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function __construct(Message $req = null, MSH $reqMsh = null, array $hl7Globals = null)
     {
diff --git a/src/HL7/Segment.php b/src/HL7/Segment.php
index 4d353c3..ab02ad7 100644
--- a/src/HL7/Segment.php
+++ b/src/HL7/Segment.php
@@ -30,18 +30,18 @@ class Segment
      * @author     Aranya Sen
      * @param string $name Name of the segment
      * @param array|null $fields Fields for segment
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
      */
     public function __construct(string $name, array $fields = null)
     {
         // Is the name 3 upper case characters?
-        if ((!$name) || (\strlen($name) !== 3) || (strtoupper($name) !== $name)) {
+        if ((!$name) || (strlen($name) !== 3) || (strtoupper($name) !== $name)) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Segment name '$name' should be 3 characters and in uppercase");
         }
 
         $this->fields[0] = $name;
 
-        if (\is_array($fields)) {
+        if (is_array($fields)) {
             foreach ($fields as $i => $value) {
                 $this->setField($i + 1, $value);
             }
@@ -66,9 +66,8 @@ public function __construct(string $name, array $fields = null)
      * If values are not provided at all, the method will just return.
      *
      * @param int $index Index to set
-     * @param string|array $value Value for field
      */
-    public function setField(int $index, $value = ''): bool
+    public function setField(int $index, string|int|array $value = ''): bool
     {
         if ($index === 0) { // Do not allow changing 0th index, which is the name of the segment
             return false;
@@ -79,7 +78,7 @@ public function setField(int $index, $value = ''): bool
         }
 
         // Fill in the blanks...
-        for ($i = \count($this->fields); $i < $index; $i++) {
+        for ($i = count($this->fields); $i < $index; $i++) {
             $this->fields[$i] = '';
         }
 
@@ -119,11 +118,8 @@ public function clearField(int $index): void
      * ```php
      * $field = $seg->getField(9); // Returns a string/null/array depending on what the 9th field is.
      * ```
-     *
-     * @param int $index Index of field
-     * @return null|string|array The value of the field
      */
-    public function getField(int $index)
+    public function getField(int $index): array|string|int|null
     {
         return $this->fields[$index] ?? null;
     }
@@ -135,7 +131,7 @@ public function getField(int $index)
      */
     public function size(): int
     {
-        return \count($this->fields) - 1;
+        return count($this->fields) - 1;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -151,9 +147,9 @@ public function size(): int
     public function getFields(int $from = 0, int $to = null): array
     {
         if (!$to) {
-            $to = \count($this->fields);
+            $to = count($this->fields);
         }
-        return \array_slice($this->fields, $from, $to - $from + 1);
+        return array_slice($this->fields, $from, $to - $from + 1);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/HL7/Segments/MSH.php b/src/HL7/Segments/MSH.php
index 66a3f22..a84c69c 100644
--- a/src/HL7/Segments/MSH.php
+++ b/src/HL7/Segments/MSH.php
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 namespace Aranyasen\HL7\Segments;
 
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Segment;
+use Exception;
+use InvalidArgumentException;
 
 /**
  * MSH (message header) segment class
@@ -36,8 +38,7 @@ class MSH extends Segment
      *
      * @param null|array $fields
      * @param null|array $hl7Globals
-     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
-     * @throws \Exception
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException|Exception
      */
     public function __construct(array $fields = null, array $hl7Globals = null)
     {
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ public function __construct(array $fields = null, array $hl7Globals = null)
             $this->setField(2, '^~\\&');
             $this->setVersionId('2.3');
         }
-        $this->setDateTimeOfMessage(date('YmdHis', time()));
+        $this->setDateTimeOfMessage(date('YmdHis'));
         $this->setMessageControlId($this->getDateTimeOfMessage() . random_int(10000, 99999));
     }
 
@@ -279,7 +280,7 @@ public function getTriggerEvent(int $position = 9): string
         return false;
     }
 
-    public function getMessageControlId(int $position = 10)
+    public function getMessageControlId(int $position = 10): string
     {
         return $this->getField($position);
     }
@@ -291,9 +292,8 @@ public function getProcessingId(int $position = 11)
 
     /**
      * Get HL7 version, e.g. 2.1, 2.3, 3.0 etc.
-     * @return array|null|string
      */
-    public function getVersionId(int $position = 12)
+    public function getVersionId(int $position = 12): string
     {
         return $this->getField($position);
     }
diff --git a/tests/ConnectionTest.php b/tests/ConnectionTest.php
index 5303a03..4fc648e 100644
--- a/tests/ConnectionTest.php
+++ b/tests/ConnectionTest.php
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ class ConnectionTest extends TestCase
 {
     use Hl7ListenerTrait;
 
-    protected $port = 12011;
+    protected int $port = 12011;
 
     protected function tearDown(): void
     {
@@ -26,10 +26,12 @@ protected function tearDown(): void
      * @test
      * @throws HL7ConnectionException
      * @throws HL7Exception
-     * @throws \ReflectionException
      */
     public function a_message_can_be_sent_to_a_hl7_server(): void
     {
+        if (!extension_loaded('pcntl')) {
+            self::markTestSkipped("Extension pcntl_fork is not loaded");
+        }
         $pid = pcntl_fork();
         if ($pid === -1) {
             throw new RuntimeException('Could not fork');
@@ -57,10 +59,12 @@ public function a_message_can_be_sent_to_a_hl7_server(): void
      * @test
      * @throws HL7ConnectionException
      * @throws HL7Exception
-     * @throws \ReflectionException
      */
     public function do_not_wait_for_ack_after_sending_if_corresponding_parameter_is_set(): void
     {
+        if (!extension_loaded('pcntl')) {
+            self::markTestSkipped("Extension pcntl_fork is not loaded");
+        }
         $pid = pcntl_fork();
         if ($pid === -1) {
             throw new RuntimeException('Could not fork');
diff --git a/tests/Hl7ListenerTrait.php b/tests/Hl7ListenerTrait.php
index 04a4760..3d382ad 100644
--- a/tests/Hl7ListenerTrait.php
+++ b/tests/Hl7ListenerTrait.php
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 <?php
 
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
 namespace Aranyasen\HL7\Tests;
 
 use Aranyasen\Exceptions\HL7Exception;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Message;
 use Aranyasen\HL7\Messages\ACK;
-use ReflectionException;
+use Exception;
 use RuntimeException;
 
 /**
@@ -18,12 +20,12 @@
  */
 trait Hl7ListenerTrait
 {
-    private $pipeName = "pipe1";
+    private string $pipeName = "pipe1";
 
     // As per MLLP protocol, the sender prefixes and suffixes the HL7 message with certain codes. If these need to be
     // overwritten, simply declare these after the 'use Hl7ListenerTrait' statement in the calling class
-    protected $MESSAGE_PREFIX = "\013";
-    protected $MESSAGE_SUFFIX = "\034\015";
+    protected string $MESSAGE_PREFIX = "\013";
+    protected string $MESSAGE_SUFFIX = "\034\015";
 
     public function writeToPipe(string $value): void
     {
@@ -46,10 +48,12 @@ public function getWhatServerGot(): string
      * @param int $port
      * @param int $totalClientsToConnect How many clients are expected to connect to this server, once it's up
      * @throws HL7Exception
-     * @throws ReflectionException
      */
     public function createTcpServer(int $port, int $totalClientsToConnect): void
     {
+        if (!extension_loaded('sockets')) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("need ext-sockets to run this");
+        }
         if (($socket = socket_create(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, SOL_TCP)) === false) {
             throw new RuntimeException(
                 'socket_create() failed: reason: ' . socket_strerror(socket_last_error()) . "\n"
@@ -63,10 +67,10 @@ public function createTcpServer(int $port, int $totalClientsToConnect): void
         }
 
         if (($ret = socket_bind($socket, "localhost", $port)) === false) {
-            throw new \RuntimeException('socket_bind() failed: reason: ' . socket_strerror($ret) . "\n");
+            throw new RuntimeException('socket_bind() failed: reason: ' . socket_strerror($ret) . "\n");
         }
         if (($ret = socket_listen($socket, 5)) === false) {
-            throw new \RuntimeException('socket_listen() failed: reason: ' . socket_strerror($ret) . "\n");
+            throw new RuntimeException('socket_listen() failed: reason: ' . socket_strerror($ret) . "\n");
         }
 
         $clientCount = 0;
@@ -124,10 +128,9 @@ public function closeTcpSocket($socket): void
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param string $hl7
      * @return string ACK string
      * @throws HL7Exception
-     * @throws \ReflectionException
+     * @throws Exception
      */
     private function getAckString(string $hl7): string
     {
@@ -136,14 +139,13 @@ private function getAckString(string $hl7): string
         $hl7 = preg_replace('/' . $this->MESSAGE_SUFFIX . '$/', '', $hl7);
 
         $msg = new Message(trim($hl7), null, true, true);
-        $ack = new ACK($msg);
-        return $ack->toString();
+        return (new ACK($msg))->toString();
     }
 
     /**
      * Clean up temporary pipe file generated for testing
      */
-    private function deletePipe()
+    private function deletePipe(): void
     {
         if (file_exists($this->pipeName)) {
             unlink($this->pipeName);
diff --git a/tests/MessageTest.php b/tests/MessageTest.php
index 946c58d..0f56491 100644
--- a/tests/MessageTest.php
+++ b/tests/MessageTest.php
@@ -459,9 +459,9 @@ public function message_can_be_verified_as_empty(): void
     }
 
     /** @test */
-    public function message_with_repetition_separator(): void
+    public function field_with_repetition_separator_splits_into_array_by_default(): void
     {
-        $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1");
+        $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1"); // Repetition separator is ~
         $pid = $message->getSegmentByIndex(1);
         $patientIdentifierList = $pid->getField(3);
         self::assertIsArray($patientIdentifierList);
@@ -472,9 +472,22 @@ public function message_with_repetition_separator(): void
     }
 
     /** @test */
-    public function separation_character_can_be_ignored(): void
+    public function field_with_repetition_separator_can_be_split_into_array(): void
     {
-        $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1", null, false, false, true, true);
+        $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1", doNotSplitRepetition: false);
+        $pid = $message->getSegmentByIndex(1);
+        $patientIdentifierList = $pid->getField(3);
+        self::assertIsArray($patientIdentifierList);
+        self::assertSame('3', $patientIdentifierList[0][0]);
+        self::assertSame('0', $patientIdentifierList[0][1]);
+        self::assertSame('4', $patientIdentifierList[1][0]);
+        self::assertSame('1', $patientIdentifierList[1][1]);
+    }
+
+    /** @test */
+    public function repetition_separation_character_can_be_ignored(): void
+    {
+        $message = new Message("MSH|^~\&|||||||ADT^A01||P|2.3.1|\nPID|||3^0~4^1", doNotSplitRepetition: true);
         $pid = $message->getSegmentByIndex(1);
         $patientIdentifierList = $pid->getField(3);
         self::assertIsArray($patientIdentifierList);