NHS API integration support

API Platform
,
1

As we work on developing an innovative application that integrates with NHS services, we are encountering challenges in navigating the NHS API and associated resources. Unfortunately, the NHS Developer Portal is not as user-friendly as we had hoped, and we’ve faced delays in getting responses from both email support and the developer community.

Given the critical nature of this project, we are reaching out to NHS NHS England and the broader NHS tech community for any guidance, assistance, or resources that could help streamline the integration process.

We would greatly appreciate:

  1. Clear documentation or tips on effectively using the NHS API
  2. Direct support or troubleshooting for any technical issues we’ve encountered
  3. Recommendations for engaging with NHS developer resources more effectively

Our goal is to ensure seamless integration and contribute positively to the healthcare tech ecosystem. Any advice or support from NHS or the wider community would be incredibly valuable.

Thank you for your attention! :folded_hands:

2

Hi @Gaurav_Patil

Which specific NHS API are you trying to integrate/ need support with?
Or is the support required to identify which API best meets your needs?

Our UCD team are looking into the developer journey, and so any further feedback you could provide would be appreciated so we can improve the user experience and access to the right documentation.

Jenna

3

Dear Jenna,

Thank you for your response.

I would appreciate further support in identifying which specific NHS API best meets my integration needs. As I am currently evaluating the available options, I am unsure which API would be the most suitable for my requirements. It would be extremely helpful if we could arrange a call or session to discuss my use case in more detail, so I can gain better clarity on the best approach and the APIs that would be most relevant.

Additionally, if there is any guidance or documentation that would assist me in making this determination, I would be grateful if you could share those resources.

Thank you for your assistance and for looking into improving the developer journey. I look forward to your guidance.

4

Hi @Gaurav_Patil

You may find the guidance here helpful:
Getting started with our APIs - NHS England Digital and the NHS digital service manual is also a really useful resource.

Specifically, the building healthcare software guides may help if you know which care setting or use case your product is for? I have copied below some common examples.

If your product requires you to access or manage patient demographic data then you’ll need to integrate Personal Demographics Service (PDS) – NHS digital service manual (API catalogue page - Personal Demographics Service - FHIR API - NHS England Digital)
If you need patient or health and care professional authentication you’ll need to integrate NHS login - NHS England Digital or Care Identity Service - NHS England Digital (CIS2)

If appropriate this diagram in the intro to healthcare technology illustrates the different parts of The healthcare ecosystem - NHS England Digital.

You can browse and filter all the NHS England digital services on the Service catalogue - NHS England Digital and the APIs on the API and integration catalogue - NHS England Digital.

Hope that helps.

Jenna

5

Hi Jenna,

Thank you for your detailed response and the helpful resources. We’ve reviewed all the documentation you shared, and we appreciate the guidance.

We’ve also explored the Postman collections provided for the Personal Demographics Service (PDS) API, particularly the one found here: PDS FHIR API Postman Collection.

We are encountering a persistent issue. The collection works fine with the specific ID it was originally configured with, returning data as expected. However, when we attempt to create a new patient via the “Create Patient” API, the response indicates success and provides the newly created patient details, including the ID. But when we attempt to fetch the details of that existing patient or old patient, the API returns no data.

Using our application, we’re creating patients and maintaining their medication and details.

It would be extremely helpful if we could arrange a call or session to discuss my use case in more detail, so I can gain better clarity on the best approach and the APIs that would be most relevant.

Thanks again for your help, and I look forward to your response.

6

Hello Jenna,

can you please help here ?

at least, can we have call or email option for faster resolution ?

7

Guarav, is this on the PDS sandbox, or properly integrated INT environment?

If the sandbox (Personal Demographics Service - FHIR API - NHS England Digital) then this is stateless. Create will not be persisted.

1 Like
8

Hello Adrian,

Thank you so much for replying.

Yes, currently we’re trying the same on Sandbox environment but in that we are not getting expected data.

let me give you brief about the application we are developing.

A patient who has an NHS profile can use our app. The app securely stores the patient’s NHS ID and uses it to fetch their NHS medical records for display. Whenever the patient visits an NHS hospital or GP, those visit details and medication records are saved in the NHS system. Our app simply retrieves that information and shows it to the user.

If the patient travels abroad and visits a hospital there, they may receive reports or medication details. The patient can upload those documents into our app, and the app will then sync this new information back to the NHS system — and continue syncing both ways.

For this we need to utilise NHS APIs, can you please guide us which APIs are best for us

9

Sandbox does not persist any data. So if you update a record, and then retrieve it, it won’t have changed.

Sandbox testing

Our sandbox environment:

  • is for early developer testing

  • only covers a limited set of scenarios

  • is stateless, so does not actually persist any updates

  • is open access, so does not allow you to test authorisation

11

Yes, Adrian…We totally understand that.

But Can you please help us with neccesory or suitable NHS APi required for our Application ?

It will be huge help.

As our app is getting delayed because of this

12

You will need to integrate with the INT version of PDS FHIR API, not just the sandbox, if you want proper integration.
As per: Personal Demographics Service - FHIR API - NHS England Digital

You will need to coordinate test data with NHS login to be able to use Patient Access mode for your test patients.

Compare NHS login environments

13

Afternoon Gaurav,

To help us understand your use case in more detail and advise you on the right NHS APIs and onboarding routes, it would be helpful to have a call with the API Platform team and we should be able to guide you through the steps involved.

Based on the conversations above, your application may need multiple NHS services (for example NHS login, PDS FHIR, and potentially GP Connect Patient-Facing APIs). Each of these has specific eligibility, onboarding, and assurance requirements, so before arranging a call we need a bit more information to determine what is feasible and which teams should join the discussion.

Could you please reply with the following details:

1. Organisation details

The organisation you are building the application for? Clarify whether this is an NHS-commissioned service, a commercial product, or an independent project. It would be useful to know if there are any existing NHS partners or sponsors supporting the work

2. Intended user group/Use case

• Who will be using the app (patients only, clinicians, both?)
• Whether you intend to onboard users through NHS login

3. Data requirements – what you need to read

Please list the types of NHS information your app needs to access, for example:

• Demographics (name, NHS number, address)
• GP record information (medications, consultations, allergies, problems, documents)
• Hospital or specialist records
• Anything else

4. Data requirements – what you need to write back

You mentioned syncing foreign hospital reports and medications back into the NHS system.
Please clarify:
• What type of data you want to send
• Which NHS system(s) you believe this information should be written into (GP record, hospital EPR, national service, etc.)
• The intended clinical or operational purpose of this write-back

5. Technical environments

• Have you previously completed onboarding for any NHS API (e.g., PDS, GP Connect, NHS login)?
• Are you aiming to access the integration test (INT) environment for early development?

Once we have this information, we can:
• Identify which APIs are appropriate for your use case
• Clarify which parts of your proposed workflow are supported by current national services
• Outline any onboarding or assurance requirements
• Arrange a call with the appropriate NHS API teams (API Platform, NHS login, GP Connect, PDS)

We want to ensure you get accurate guidance so your development can progress smoothly and with realistic expectations.

We can continue this conversation in the DM or via email.

Thanks,

NHS England API Platform team

Please note: The API Platform team can only address queries relevant to the NHS England API platform, including security, rate limiting, logging, monitoring and alerting. For any API specific queries, please reach out the relevant API teams.