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e-Referral Service - FHIR API (HSCN)

Overview

Use this API to create paperless referrals from primary to secondary care.

As a primary care referrer, you can:

  • create a new e-referral
  • search for relevant patient services to create a shortlist
  • access existing e-referrals
  • create a triage request for the Referral Assessment Service (RAS)
  • upload and manage a patient letter or attachments, linking them to a referral
  • retrieve appointment slots and book appointments
  • defer a booking to a provider if an appointment slot is unavailable

As a secondary care provider, you can:

  • access referrals as a worklist
  • retrieve non-clinical information (meta-data) about the referral
  • retrieve attachments which are linked to a referral or triage (RAS) request
  • retrieve clinical information which has been provided by a referrer
  • accept or reject a referral request
  • retrieve Advice & Guidance (A&G) conversations and send responses
  • convert Advice & Guidance (A&G) conversations into a referral

You cannot use this API to:

  • get patient details – instead, use the Personal Demographic Service (PDS)

You can access the following data:

  • referral attachments
  • referral letters
  • appointment slots
  • worklists for referral requests
  • worklists for triage (RAS) requests
  • worklists for Advice and Guidance (A&G) requests
  • conversation histories for Advice and Guidance (A&G) requests

This API is only available over HSCN, and can only be used with CIS, not CIS2.

A healthcare worker must be present and authenticated with an NHS smartcard or a modern alternative to use this API.

Documentation

e-Referral Service - FHIR API (HSCN) documentation

Endpoint

https://digital.nhs.uk/developer/api-catalogue/e-referral-service-fhir-hscn

Contact

https://digital.nhs.uk/developer/help-and-support