Universal service to improve health sector interoperability

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The Te Whatu Ora Hira Programme has released a tender for an Event Notification Service (ENS) to improve health sector interoperability.

Hira has also released the medicines consumer view FHIR (fast healthcare interoperability resources) API to allow people to access more of their medicines information via their patient portal.

The ENS will let healthcare providers know when information relating to a patient has changed, such as their address, or when they have had an interaction with the system, such as being seen at the emergency department.

The tender is for an event notification service solution and a partner to deliver the solution, who may be the same or different providers. The notifications are IT system to IT system.

A Hira update says, “the service is a foundation of the Hira programme and will support the wider Hira interoperability and integration outcomes”.

The RFP says one of the major challenges in the health sector is the dynamic nature of data.

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In Aotearoa-New Zealand, over 700,000 healthcare-related data changes occur daily, but the lack of a universal ENS means health system applications cannot access these critical data updates.

This results in the development of scheduled polling for changes or the cumbersome task of uploading delta files to capture relevant updates.

The ENS aims to keep IT systems informed about changes occurring in data source systems through authorised subscriptions.

“This will improve the currency of data when it matters and increase the reach of consumer health data changes shared across the sector,” the RFP, which closes on June 14, says.

The medicines consumer view FHIR API provides access to the Medicines Data Repository, and is available for patient portal suppliers to access and integrate with.

“Traditionally, patient portals are linked to a person's enrolled GP and their practice, meaning only information about medicine prescribed from that practice is available through portals,” a Hira update says.

“With this API, the information available to authenticated consumers has been extended to include all prescribing and community dispensing data available, based on information sent to the New Zealand electronic prescription service (NZePS).”

People will need to be authenticated using their My Health Account digital identity before they can access the medicines consumer view.

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