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Alerts - HL7 V3 API
Send an alert for the attention of a Privacy Officer so they can audit whether access to a patient’s data was appropriate, using our HL7 V3 API.
Overview
Use this API to send an alert for the attention of a Privacy Officer - also known as Summary Care Record Governance Person (SGP) in community pharmacies - so they can audit proactively whether access to a patient’s data was appropriate.
This provides a general alerting mechanism covering, for example, when a user looks up a patient on the Summary Care Record application (SCRa).
Legal use
This API can only be used where there is a legal basis to do so. Make sure you have a valid use case before you go too far with your development.
You must do this before you can go live (see ‘Onboarding’ below).
Related APIs
The following APIs are related to this one:
- Summary Care Record - HL7 V3 API - use this API to access a patient's Summary Care Record (SCR) - an electronic record of important patient information, created from GP medical records.
- Legitimate Relationship Service - HL7 V3 API - use this API to access a patient's Legitimate Relationships.
API status
This API is stable.
Technology
Network access
You can access this API via:
- the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN)
- the internet - but note that devices using NHS smartcards do require HSCN access
For more details, see Network access for APIs.
Security and authorisation
Authentication
This API is user-restricted, meaning an end user must be present and authenticated to use it.
The end user must be:
- a healthcare professional
- strongly authenticated, using either an NHS smartcard or a modern alternative
We support the following security patterns:
- user-restricted HL7 V3 API, using NHS Identity
- user-restricted HL7 V3 API, using CIS
For more details see user-restricted APIs.
Authorisation
For some activities, the end user must be authorised to perform that activity.
The API itself does not perform any authorisation checks. Rather, the calling system is expected to perform them. The authorisation rules are specified in our national Role Based Access Control (RBAC) database.
For more details see our national Role Based Access Control (RBAC) database on the registration authorities and smartcards page.
Testing
You can test this API using our Path to Live environments.
Onboarding
You must get your software onboarded before it can go live.
As part of onboarding, this API uses the Common Assurance Process (CAP), which is tailored for each NHS service. For more details, contact us.
Interactions
For a full list of interactions for this API, see the 'Alerts' domain in the Spine Message Implementation Manual (MIM).
For details on the general structure of the interactions, see HL7 V3.