This slide-deck was delivered to suppliers to provide an overview of the NHS e-Referral Service; to help them prepare for, and participate appropriately in the NHS e-Referral Service Supplier Testing programme. The NHS e-Referral Service is to succeed "Choose and Book (CAB)" and supports paperless referrals and paperless NHS objectives.

1. NHS e-Referral Service
Supplier Testing Open Day
2nd April 2014

2. Objective
“To give suppliers an overview of NHS
e-Referral Service to help them prepare for
and participate appropriately in NHS
e-Referral Service Supplier Testing”

3. NHS e-Referral Service
Introduction, Update & Vision

4. Introduction
• Reduces the risk of any unexpected integration issues.
• Provides you with the opportunity to confirm no adverse
effects on your system and provide assurances to your
user base.
• Allows NHS e-RS to accommodate and resolve any
issues you may experience before Go Live.
• Provides you with the opportunity to stay integrated and
competitive in the English Healthcare IT market.
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“Why do you need to be involved and
what will you gain?”

5. NHS e-RS Update & Vision
• The replacement service has been rewritten and re-developed and should be
the same from a functional perspective of Choose and Book compliant systems.
• Launched vision at Commissioning Show June 2013
• NHS e-RS to succeed Choose and Book and support paperless referrals and
paperless NHS objectives
• See www.hscic.gov.uk/ers for detail on the vision
• Initial phase software development procurement completed, contract awarded to
BJSS in July, completion in 2014
• Approvals obtained and in progress to support rapid procurement of
replacement services:
 Infrastructure and Managed Hosting
 The Appointment Line
 Software support
 Future Development
• NHS e-RS remains a priority for the Secretary of State, NHS England, Beverley
Bryant (NHS e-RS Programme SRO), HSCIC and DH.
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6. NHS e-RS Vision
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• Patients able to choose and book their own follow-up
appointments electronically along with alert/reminder
advising them when to book.
Follow-up
Appointments
• Commissioning organisations able to determine services
that are appropriate to accept self referrals from patients.
Patients able to refer themselves into services.
Self Referrals
• A rich reporting function that provides easy access to
referral and booking data in meaningful formats. Reporting
• Use of modern technology - mobile phone Apps, e-mails,
text reminders etc, to support different ways of
communicating appointment-related information to patients
and system alerts to professional users.
Electronic
Communication

7. NHS e-RS Vision
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• A more intuitive system with a modern look and feel that
will support the seamless transfer of referral information
from GP clinical systems into provider systems.
Integration and
Usability
• Enhanced Advice and Guidance functionality and Clinical
Request Templates supporting clinical decisions.
Commissioners driven Referral Assessment Services.
Referral
Management
Support
• Consultants able to make tertiary and onward referrals and
commissioners being able to assign referrer rights to
groups of clinicians and practitioners.
Any to Any
• Ability to link appointments in a care pathway to ensure all
take place in a pre-determined order.
Linked
Appointments

8. Initial Phase Project Objectives,
Development & BJSS Project
Approach

9. Initial Phase – Project Objectives
• Develop a replacement solution for the Choose and Book service:
– Functionally equivalent replacement, with the addition of Any to Any
and APIs
– Removing the dependencies on Cerner’s Millennium product and
Intellectual Property Rights
– Minimal business change to avoid the need to re-train current users
– Enables new and emerging requirements from the NHS e-RS
Roadmap to be met in the future
– The replacement approach aspires to be low risk, and minimises
total cost of ownership
– Develop a collaborative working relationship
– Agile Delivery Approach
– Go live November 2014
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10. Initial Phase - Development Approach
• Series of Sprints consolidated into 3 Major Releases
• Major Release 1 will develop basic referral functionality
• Major Release 2 will continue the referral workflow
including integration
• Major Release 3 will deliver the finishing touches ready
for go-live
• Testing windows are at the end of each major release
including integration, volume and performance, user and
supplier testing for Major Release 2 and 3.
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11. Initial Phase – BJSS Agile Approach
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12. Initial Phase – BJSS Agile Approach
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13. Initial Phase – Emphasising Collaboration
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14. Architecture Principles,
Differences between CAB & NHS
e-RS and API update

15. Architecture Principles
• Develop solution based on Open Source technology products which
are well-known, proven, widely used and adequately supported
• Implement loose-coupling and separation
• Adopt open standards where possible
• Re-use components where practical
• Design and develop the solution for:
– Multi-channel consumption
– Security
– Operational simplicity
– Flexible scaling
– Resilience
• Adoption of NHS Data Standards as appropriate (e.g. NHS Number)
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16. Differences Between CAB & NHS e-RS
The replacement service will be the same from a functional
perspective of Choose and Book compliant systems. However
some of the enhancements are:
• Poll Now feature allows the Service Definer to instigate a manual
slot poll for a single service rather than waiting for the overnight slot
polling. Safeguards protocols will be in place to limit frequency of
requests.
• Improved user interface with familiar look and feel
• Change to the “date of decision to refer” in the Request Appointment
Confirmation message to the “RTT clock start date” is being
considered.
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17. Similarities Between CAB & NHS e-RS
NHS e-RS has the same:
• HL7v3 messages support (MIM V2.3 and V3.1.09) with same
contract properties
• All messages to and from NHS e-RS sent via Spine 2 TMS,
with same Party Key and ASID as Choose and Book
• Same functional responses to messages
• Same messaging vocabulary – e.g. cancellation reason
codes.
• Seamless transition URLs remain the same
• Same IP addresses and DNS names for the live system
• Live cut over from CAB to NHS e-RS will be seamless from
an integrated system perspective.
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18. NHS e-RS API Development Update
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are being developed as part of the
new solution to provide access to NHS e-RS services and content through a
well-defined and secure interface.
• NHS e-RS will continue to support existing HL7 V3 messages
• In Q4 2014 / Q1 2015 APIs will be exposing the user-driven functionality for both
Provider and Referrer systems within the Professional Application of NHS e-RS
using the N3 network.
• The API will be using RESTful service interfaces influenced by the emerging HL7
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standard.
• An Eco System to support supplier’s API development is targeted to be made
available Q3 2014. This will be containing a host of support materials,
information on the API architecture, development guides, code samples and an
appropriately simplified assurance process.
If you are interested in API development and the Eco System’s availability
please email the NHS e-RS programme. (Signup details are on the contact
details slide)
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19. Supplier Testing Schedule &
Assurance Preparation

20. Testing Schedule & Assurance Preparation
• Testing schedule for suppliers Major Releases 2 & 3
• Test Coverage
• Preparation
• Communications and reporting progress
• Data
• Environments
• Data Migration
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21. Supplier Testing - Schedule
• Two Supplier Testing windows are scheduled for
suppliers to test in during Major Releases 2 and 3.
• The first window is in Major Release 2
13/06/14 to 03/07/14
This release package will have the majority of the
existing Choose and Book functionality available.
• The second window is in Major Release 3
11/08/14 to 29/08/14 followed by a fault fix window
01/09/14 to 26/09/14 for Severity 3 and lower defects
This will have the full existing Choose and Book
functionality available.
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22. Supplier Testing – Test Coverage
• We are asking suppliers to perform their usual testing
• Major Release 2 has flexibility to review and assess
defects identified during testing to minimise the need for
code changes in end systems.
• The same level of flexibility will not be available in Major
Release 3, suppliers can’t assume defects will be
assessed and accommodated in NHS e-RS.
• Suppliers are therefore requested and it is
recommended to participate in both test windows.
• Defects identified in the test windows will be reviewed for
inclusion in development activity ready for the next test
window and go live.
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23. Supplier Testing – Preparation
• Suppliers are advised to prepare test script coverage for
full functionality in Major Release 2 and scale back
testing for functionality not provided.
• The exact functionality in scope for Major Release 2 will
be advised on the 12/05/14.
• It is intended that suppliers use the full regression pack
for testing.
• There will be a set of duplicated scripts that need
preparing for data that is to be migrated. This needs to
be determined and the data created prior to the test
windows when the migration will take place.
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24. Supplier Testing – Comms & Reporting
• Communications will be sent via the normal
newsletters – ESP, EMT and via LSP channels
• During the test phases one to one communications
will take place with the designated points of contact
• Defects will be reported via the SA Service desk
• At the end of the supplier testing the supplier will
report that they have completed the testing to a
satisfactory level to HSCIC SA
• Please schedule your testing with your usual point
of contact.
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25. Assurance Preparation – Data
• Existing SDS and PDS data can and
should be used where it fits the bill
(including smartcards).
Re-use
existing data
• Requests for new data to be submitted
to the Test Data Team 4 weeks before
testing is due to start.
4 weeks notice
for new data
• Tests which involve changes to patient
demographics can be self-managed
using DSA or your local system.
Use DSA to
update
patients
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26. Assurance Preparation – Environments
• The SA Service Desk will continue to be First point of
support. Second Line will be SA Tech Ops.
• Connectivity will require a change of the URL and Party
Key from CAB to NHS e-RS environment.
• SDS data (PAS end points, Organisation and Person
details) will be synchronised with SDS.
• Our intention is to migrate existing Service and Booking
data from the legacy CAB environment to the new NHS
e-RS equivalent where an equivalency exists.
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27. NHS e-Referral Contacts
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• For supplier testing enquiries please contact the Solution
Assurance Service Desk:
sa.servicedesk@hscic.gov.uk
01392 206 066
• Follow us on Twitter @nhsereferral
• For more information on NHS e-Referral Service see:
www.hscic.gov.uk/ers
• To sign up to the e-Referral Bulletin please visit:
http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/ers/signup
• For additional queries, please contact the NHS e-RS
programme at: nhs.ers@hscic.gov.uk

28. To find out more about the HSCIC
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