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Spine Directory Service - FHIR API

Access accredited system information and messaging endpoint details in the Spine Directory Service (SDS) using our FHIR-conformant API.

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Overview

Use this API to access details of systems registered in the Spine Directory Service (SDS).

You can:

  • get accredited system details

You cannot currently use this API to:

  • search for organisations
  • search for people

Accredited system records

Every system that connects to the Spine has one or more “Accredited System” (AS) records in SDS, identified by an Accredited System Identifier (ASID). This ASID is unique to a system deployed in a specific organisation, so the same application deployed into three NHS organisations would typically be represented as three unique ASIDs.

MHS records and endpoints

Every GP Connect system also has one or more “MHS” records (or message handling server record), identified by Party Key and Interaction ID. MHS records of GP Connect provider systems contain the endpoint of the target practice, as defined by the FHIR service root URL. Please see System topologies for more details on the allocation of ASIDs and Party Keys.

  • For all intermediary messaging endpoint lookups, this API returns the NHS Digital Spine MHS endpoint address.

Who can use this API

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).

API status and roadmap

This API is in private beta, meaning:

  • the API is available in our sandbox and integration test environments
  • the API is available for production use (to use this API please contact niasupport@nhs.net)
  • we might make breaking changes, but only if we cannot avoid it, and we'll give advance notice

To see our roadmap, or to suggest, comment or vote on features for this API, see our interactive product backlog.

If you have any other queries, please contact us.

Service level

This API is a bronze service during private beta, meaning it is operational and supported only during business hours (8am to 6pm), Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. (The planned production service level will be platinum.)

For more details, see service levels.

Technology

This API is RESTful.

It also conforms to the FHIR global standard for health care data exchange.Specifically, it is aligned with FHIR UK Core, which is built on FHIR Release 4. You don’t need to know much about FHIR to use this API - FHIR APIs are just RESTful APIs that follow specific rules. In particular:

  • resource names are capitalised and singular, for example /Endpoint not /endpoints

Errors handling in this API follows NHS guidelines and produces an OperationOutcome FHIR resource response with appropriate HTTP code

Network access

This API is available on the internet and, indirectly, on the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN).

For more details see Network access for APIs.

Security and Authorisation

This API uses the Application-restricted pattern.

In this pattern, you authenticate your application by including an API key with each API request. The API key is unique to your application.

For more details, including detailed technical integration instructions, see Security and Authorisation - Application-restricted RESTful APIs - API key authentication page within the NHS Digital Portal.

Environments and testing

Environment Base URL
Sandbox https://sandbox.api.service.nhs.uk/spine-directory/FHIR/R4
Integration test https://int.api.service.nhs.uk/spine-directory/FHIR/R4
Production https://api.service.nhs.uk/spine-directory/FHIR/R4

Sandbox testing

Our sandbox environment:

  • is for early developer testing
  • only covers a limited set of scenarios
  • is open-access, so does not allow you to test authorisation

For more details on sandbox testing, or to try out the sandbox using our "Try this API" feature, see the documentation for each endpoint.

Integration testing

Our integration test environment:

  • is for formal integration testing.
  • includes application authentication

This API does not have a standard test data pack as it will be dependant on the service you are trying to access, for more details see Spine Services and Interaction IDs and integration testing with our RESTful APIs.

Related APIs

The following APIs are related to this one:

Onboarding

You need to get your software approved by us before it can go live with this API. We call this onboarding. The onboarding process can sometimes be quite long, so it’s worth planning well ahead.

There is no separate onboarding process for the SDS FHIR API. Onboarding will be dictated by the current processes of the API that consumes the SDS FHIR API, for example GP Connect. Once approval has been granted to use the API that utilises the SDS FHIR API then production access can be granted. To request production access please contact api.management@nhs.net.

Endpoints

Get accredited system details

get /Device

Overview

Use this endpoint to get accredited systems information in SDS.

This endpoint should return all matching accredited system objects which provides the following information:

  • Accredited System Identifier
  • Manufacturing Organisation Code
  • Client Code
  • Party Key
  • Service-Interactions

To get the information, you must supply:

  • organisation code
  • service identifier

and may supply:

  • manufacturing organization identifier
  • party key

Request

Query parameters
Name Description
organization

String

The organisation code for the NHS Spine instance that your Message Handling System is communicating with. Must be preceded with FHIR identifier.

Example: https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/ods-organization-code|YES

Required
identifier

array[String]

The service that is being contacted and the action that is required. Additionally optional MHS party key as a second occurrence of this parameter. Both must be preceded with FHIR identifier. See the Data section in this API Specification document for more information.

Examples

Service identifier consisting of https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId only

[ "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId|urn:nhs:names:services:psis:REPC_IN150016UK05" ]

Service identifier consisting of both https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId and https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsMhsPartyKey

[ "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId|urn:nhs:names:services:psis:REPC_IN150016UK05", "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsMhsPartyKey|YES-0000806" ]

Required
manufacturing-organization

String

Manufacturing organisation ODS code. Must be preceded with FHIR identifier.

Example: https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/ods-organization-code|YES

Headers
Name Description
X-Correlation-Id

UUID (uuid)

UUID for request tracking

Example: 6d3d3674-7ce5-11ec-90d6-0242ac120003

apikey

String

API key to authenticate with. Use any value for Sandbox environment.

Required

Response

HTTP status: 200

Valid request that returns all accredited systems found that match the search criteria (which may be 0).

Body

Content type: application/fhir+json

Example

Schema

Name Description
object
resourceType
string
Default: Bundle
id
string uuid

Unique identifier for this search request.
type
string
Default: searchset
total
integer
link
array
object
relation
string
Default: self
url
string

The full url that produced the data
entry
array
object
fullUrl
string

Full url of the resource
resource
object

A FHIR Device resource information for the accredited system
resourceType
string
Default: Device
id
string uuid

SDS’s unique identifier for this accredited system record.

Example: f0f0e921-92ca-4a88-a550-2dbb36f703af
identifier
array

Identifies this device across multiple systems
object
system
string
value
string
extension
array

Additional content defined by implementations
object
url
string
valueReference
object
identifier
object
system
string
value
string
owner
object

Manufacturer's organisation details
identifier
object
system
string
value
string
display
string
search
object

Search operation description
mode
string
Default: match
HTTP status: 400

Missing or invalid query parameter(s).

HTTP status: 404

Invalid endpoint path

HTTP status: 405

Unsupported HTTP method. For this endpoint only GET is available

HTTP status: 406

Unsupported media type

HTTP status: 500

Unhandled internal server error

HTTP status: 502

Upstream LDAP returned an unsupported responses

HTTP status: 504

Upstream LDAP server request has timed out

Get routing and reliability details

get /Endpoint

Overview

Use this endpoint to get accredited systems routing and reliability information in SDS.

This endpoint should return all matching routing and reliability objects which provides the following information:

  • Endpoint Service ID
  • Message Handling System Party Key
  • Accredited System ID
  • Endpoint URL
  • Fully Qualified Domain Name of the Message Handling System

Following combinations of query parameters are supported:

  • organisation code, service identifier, party key
  • organisation code, party key
  • organisation code, service Identifier
  • service identifier, party key

Request

Query parameters
Name Description
organization

String

The organisation code for the NHS Spine instance that your Message Handling System is communicating with. Must be preceded with FHIR identifier.

Example: https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/ods-organization-code|YES

identifier

array[String]

The service that is being contacted and the action that is required, or the MHS Party Key (or both, as separate occurrences of this parameter). See the Data section in this API Specification document for more information.

Examples

Service identifier consisting of https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId only

[ "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId|urn:nhs:names:services:psis:REPC_IN150016UK05" ]

Service identifier consisting of both https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId and https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsMhsPartyKey

[ "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsServiceInteractionId|urn:nhs:names:services:psis:REPC_IN150016UK05", "https://fhir.nhs.uk/Id/nhsMhsPartyKey|YES-0000806" ]

Required
Headers
Name Description
X-Correlation-Id

UUID (uuid)

UUID for request tracking

Example: 6d3d3674-7ce5-11ec-90d6-0242ac120003

apikey

String

API key to authenticate with. Use any value for Sandbox environment.

Required

Response

HTTP status: 200

Valid request that returns all accredited systems found that match the search criteria (which may be 0).

Body

Content type: application/fhir+json

Example

Schema

Name Description
object

A FHIR Bundle with Endpoint resources
resourceType
string
Default: Bundle
id
string uuid

Unique identifier for this search request.
type
string
Default: searchset
total
integer
link
array
object
relation
string
Default: self
url
string

The full url that produced the data
entry
array
object
fullUrl
string

Full url of the resource
resource
object

A FHIR Enpoint resource that include routing and reliability information for the accredited system
resourceType
string
Default: Endpoint
id
string uuid

SDS’s unique identifier for this accredited system record.
status
string
Allowed values: active
Default: active
connectionType
object

Protocol/Profile/Standard to be used with this endpoint connection
system
string
code
string
display
string
payloadType
array

The type of content that may be used at this endpoint (e.g. XDS Discharge summaries)
object
coding
array
object
system
string
code
string
display
string
address
string

The base URL for connecting to this endpoint
managingOrganization
object

Organization that manages this endpoint (might not be the organization that exposes the endpoint)
identifier
object
system
string
value
string
identifier
array

Identifies this endpoint across multiple systems
object
system
string
value
string
extension
array

Additional content defined by implementations
object
url
string
extension
array
object
url
string
valueString
string
search
object

Search operation description
mode
string
Default: match
HTTP status: 400

Missing or invalid query parameter(s).

HTTP status: 404

Invalid endpoint path

HTTP status: 405

Unsupported HTTP method. For this endpoint only GET is available

HTTP status: 406

Unsupported media type

HTTP status: 500

Unhandled internal server error

HTTP status: 502

Upstream LDAP returned an unsupported responses

HTTP status: 504

Upstream LDAP server request has timed out