Send Document assurance
Assurance for Send Document follows a slightly different process than the other GP Connect products.
Please refer to the GP Connect prerequisites for general requirements. However, for Send Document, there is no requirement to have:
- a HSCN connection as this is accessible via the internet
- PDS compliance is not required, but consumers must be able to use a method that provides enough information for a patient to be successfully matched |
The GP Connect Consumer Supplier Test Assurance for achieving Technical Conformance document sets out the assurance requirements you will need to follow based on the GP Connect prerequisites (for example, PDS) that you may or may not have in place.
The intended audience for this document is the technical development team who would need details of the test tools, test environments, and the test routes for achieving technical conformance.
It's really important at this stage that you familiarise yourself with the document and identify which test route to follow.
Message Exchange for Social Care and Health (MESH) gives the ability to securely transfer files between social and health care organisations. For further information, visit MESH.
Important: The preferred method for sending online consultation reports is the MESH API. This is because the MESH API is more easily integrated into sending systems, and the MESH API Address Lookup function needs to be used to identify MESH mailbox IDs for community pharmacies.
If using the MESH client then you will be unable to send a message back to a community pharmacy.
ITK3 Messaging Distribution is the term used for a set of generic FHIR messaging components.
For an introduction to ITK3 and the specifications, see Introduction to ITK3 Messaging Distribution. For further information on the requirements for compliance, contact itkconformance@nhs.net.
Once ITK3 and either MESH API or MESH Client are in place, consumers can develop Send Document specifications.
Note: Currently only the specification for Consultation Summary is available to develop against. Specifications for Online Consultation and Generic Send will be released in due course.
Gate 2 entry criteria:
- MESH API or MESH Client
- ITK3 compliance
- Must be able to meet the GP Connect prerequisites
You will then be required to get access to the INT environment and a MESH mailbox set up and configured for the Send Document workflow and the ITK3 Test Harness. This is all completed by Platforms Support and all setup information is included in the GP Connect Consumer Supplier Test Assurance for achieving Technical Conformance guide.
Once these are in place you will then be able to complete the SCAL and run the required tests to provide evidence to support your SCAL submission.
Sign-off by NHS England subject matter experts (SMEs) will be required before progressing to Gate 3.
Refer to the link in assurance overview or the SCAL for the test scripts.
Gate 3 entry criteria:
- Successful completion of Gate 2
The purpose of this gate is to be able to interact directly with the receivers of the document in an environment that will reflect the live environment. There is no test evidence required for this gate, but an email confirming that end-to-end testing has been successful will be required.
When your SCAL has been approved, NHS England's Solutions Assurance team will create and issue a Technical Conformance Certificate which finalises the assurance process.
The Technical Conformance Certificate gives you the approval to deploy your consumer product into Live in conjunction with your end-user, once a Connection Agreement and National Data Sharing Arrangement has been signed.