Concepts

Referral Notes

Referral Notes enable secure, structured communication between sender and receiver systems within a referral. They are designed to support light-weight messaging and clarification exchanges, ensuring that both sides can coordinate seamlessly without relying on external channels like email or phone. Please note that these are not to replace clinical documentation.

How it works

Each note is tied to a specific referral and contains:

  • the authoring institution (via authorHciCode),
  • the content of the message, and
  • metadata like timestamps and author identity.

When a note is added, it immediately appears in the receiving system’s referral timeline, maintaining continuity of conversation between care providers.

Implementation notes

  • Use cases:

    • Requesting missing information (e.g. “Please attach the latest ECG report”)
    • Clarifying eligibility or appointment details
    • Providing status updates before an appointment

  • UI display:

    Display notes in a message-thread style view under each referral, with:

    • author name and institution
    • timestamp (createdAt)
    • note text (content)

  • Immutability:

    Once a note is submitted, it cannot be edited or deleted. This preserves the integrity of the audit trail.

  • Supported systems:

    Only some systems currently support two-way notes.

    RoleSupported Systems
    SenderHAS
    ReceiverHAS, Epic

  • Recommended UX pattern:

    • Sort newest notes first.
    • Highlight unread notes with a badge or indicator.
    • Include an input box for new messages only when the user’s system supports note creation.

  • Audit & compliance:

    Notes are stored as part of the referral record and appear in the timelineEvents array as note.created events.