TPP assured for API helping to implement 111 First
TPP recently completed assurance through NHS Digital for the NHS Booking Standard API. This development means SystmOne now supports the national FHIR API that allows any 111 service to book a patient into an appointment in an emergency department (ED) or urgent treatment centre (UTC), regardless of what clinical system either service runs on.
Earlier this year, TPP completed assurance for the consumer side of the NHS Booking Standard API (111 booking in) and a service is currently in the process of going live with the functionality. The recently completed assurance for the provider side of the API is the next step in TPP’s ongoing commitment to national interoperability standards, ensuring EDs or UTCs running SystmOne will be able to set up and receive appointment bookings from any 111 call centre or 111 online.
Previously, bespoke APIs were needed to enable appointment booking between urgent care services running different systems. The national standard removes this need, making goals of interoperability and shared care more attainable, regardless of the supplier landscape of an area.
The FHIR API makes it easier to implement the NHS’s 111 First policy, aimed at reducing pressure on the Urgent and Emergency Care system through more effective streaming of patients. The FHIR API means that if patients contact 111 and it is decided they require further treatment, they can be booked into an ED or UTC in the area instead of having to spend hours in waiting rooms. This improvement in interoperability and connected care should give the public greater faith in 111 through an improved user experience and greater efficiencies in the system.
“TPP is always happy to support the development of national standards for APIs due to the simpler and more effective interoperability they provide,” says Dan Massey, Software Developer at TPP. “Completing assurance for providers means we can begin to roll out to pilot sites looking to help deliver 111 First in their area who have already expressed interest in switching on the API.”
The 111 First booking system stands as proof of concept for what can be made possible through national booking APIs. TPP hopes to see more generic appointment booking available between all services as well as further development of national-standard FHIR APIs, delivering an increasingly interoperable and connected healthcare system in England.
The provider-side API will be available after the next SystmOne software release.