Ontario eReferral Implementation Guide FHIR Overview
The Ontario eReferral FHIR Implementation Guide provides direction for the electronic transfer of referral information between heathcare providers for use in Ontario. The specification provides the business context, use cases and information flows that are specific to the emerging Ontario eReferral ecosystem. The eReferral Specification is expected to be generic enough to support various referral pathways (such as Primary Care Provider to Home and Community Care).
Scope
The Ontario eReferral FHIR Implementation Guide covers the referral patterns for various pathways such as an EMR integration with a Home to Community Care Solution, Primary Care to Home and Community Care, Acute Care, etc.
This implementation guide describes the business considerations and implementation details for enabling interoperability between two referral systems to initiate and manage an electronic referral.
The following patterns have been provided in this release of the implementation guide to facilitate referral workflow:
- SMART on FHIR messaging pattern where a Referral Management System (RMS) is directly launched in clinician’s Point of Service (POS) system and enables users to complete the initial eReferral request, including the initial appointment date and time; or
- Direct API Integration/Submission where two RMSs exchange referral messages (e.g., initial eReferral request, appointment updates, communications and notifications) via FHIR-based API interfaces.
Status
This implementation guide is for trial use and will go through a formal governance committee review and approval process.
FHIR is an evolving trial-for-use standard, so additional changes by HL7 are expected. We will continue to monitor developments and assess any potential impacts, and publish updates as they emerge.
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