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Secure Messaging

eHealth combines the basic technologies of unique identification, authorisation and message security to provide the safest and optimally secure method of exchanging healthcare information. These technologies, known collectively as secure messaging, ensure that the health information exchanged by healthcare providers is protected against malicious interference.

NEHTA is working with the medical software industry to develop specifications and standards for secure messaging for healthcare providers. This work is associated with the Australian government’s Practice Incentives Program.

Health messaging software systems need to conform to NEHTA’s technical specifications for secure messaging. Compliance requirements apply to suppliers of health messaging products and services. NEHTA has published a list of eligible suppliers that meet the compliance requirements.

Secure Message Delivery Specifications
The documents which describe the Secure Messaging Delivery, Web Services Profile and the XML Secure Payload profile specifications are now Technical Specifications published by Standards Australia. The Endpoint Location Service specification is now a Technical Report also published by Standards Australia.

These documents are no longer available from the NEHTA website but can be downloaded for free from the “SAI Global website” at http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/portal.aspx?portal=Informatics.

The Standards Australia document references are;

ATS 5820:2010 E-health Web Services Profiles
ATS 5821:2010 E-health XML Secure Payload Profiles
ATS 5822:2010 E-health Secure Message Delivery
TR 5823:2010 Endpoint Location Service

NEHTA is supporting these specifications by providing a Compliance and Conformance Assessment Scheme which allows implementers of the specification to verify their software. Details of this Scheme are available at http://www.nehta.gov.au/connecting-australia/cca

Update: NT Secure Messaging Implementation Project
Previously the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families (NTDHF) developed a Web Services Secure Messaging Application (WSMA version 1) with the assistance of NEHTA. The deployment of WSMA version 1 was limited to specific Primary Care clinical applications (Communicare & PEN) sending messages to the Northern Territory Shared Electronic Health Record (SEHR). This project went live in December 2009 and has been running in production since. The system is being monitored and the feedback is positive.

WSMA version 1 was built to NEHTA’s original Clinical Document Delivery specification (CDD). The CDD specification has since been reviewed, modified and finalised as the ATS 5822-2010 –Australian Technical Specification for E-health Secure Message Delivery (SMD).

The intention of this project is to implement a solution that conforms to the finalised SMD specification. This will include procuring a messaging product (WSMA version 2) that will be integrated into additional clinical applications in primary and acute care, including the NT Public Hospital systems.  Other parts of the solution will include other functionality such as message storage and retrieval from an intermediary server and Receiver Delivery acknowledgement messages, in line with the SMD specification. The solution will require the provision of a shared e-address book, authentication certificate service, and endpoint location service.

WSMA version 2 will deliver interoperability with other SMD compliant messaging applications.

Beyond delivering an upgrade to the messaging technology, the intention is to deliver benefits to the business by identifying specific use cases and address the technical and business impediments to delivering a solution that will instil confidence in the NT secure electronic messaging system. This will be undertaken by DHF as a separate but related project, however, the analysis and documentation of the use cases will be included in the scope of this project.

Progress
The project is now approaching the conclusion of the analysis stage and entering design stage. The requirements specifications for the WSMA 2 software have been finalised and approved. The specifications to the clinical system vendors to integrate the WSMA 2 API has been distributed and discussed and is pending approval. The WSMA 2 API specifications have been finalised and distributed. The specification of the API for the clinical systems to interact with the shared electronic address book is in its final draft. The Department of Health has selected DWS as the vendor to provide the enterprise service bus solution.

The specification of the various components is being finalised. The vendors of the various components that must be integrated are working collaboratively with NEHTA and NT Department of Health to develop the integration architecture, and subsequently propose designs for their solutions.

NT DF is engaging with VIC Health to use the HSD as the shared electronic address book. An application has been made to Medicare Australia for a seed HPI-O.

Contact
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