Integration with Spine
All messages sent to update GP systems through GP Connect Messaging capabilities have the following NHS Spine integration requirements:
- use of MESH to send messages
- use of ITK3 to provide a standard FHIR Message format
Additionally, as the intention of most of these messages will be to update the care record at the patient’s registered practice, most messaging use cases will make use of an additional MESH capability:
MESH Client - Endpoint lookup service
The following diagram illustrates the systems involved, and their responsibilities, in sending the payload with the MESH Client:
The steps are detailed in the table below.
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | The sender practice GP system constructs a FHIR Message according to the ITK3 standard which contains the details of the consultation which has taken place. The message is placed in the /OUT directory. |
| 2 | The MESH Client installed at the sender practice picks up the message from the /OUT directory and sends the message securely to the central Spine MESH server. |
| 3 | The Spine MESH server extracts patient’s Surname, Date of Birth and NHS Number from the To_DTS field in the MESH message .CTL file, and then performs a PDS lookup using these details to discover the ODS code of the patient’s registered practice. |
| 4 | The Spine MESH server then uses the ODS code of the patient’s registered practice to lookup the MESH mailbox of the registered practice, where the message is then placed to await collection. |
| 5 | The MESH APIClient at the registered practice collects the message from registered practice mailbox and writes the collected message to the /IN directory. |
| 6 | The registered practice GP system picks up the message from the /IN directory and updates the GP system. This is likely to be done through raising a workflow task containing the message contents. |