30/03/2020
Number of GPs registered: 4,775
Number of Practices registered: 1,743
Number of Electronic reports sent/received to date in 2020:
Further stats on referrals can be found on the eHealth Ireland website
Healthlink's core remit is to provide a messaging service that allows patient information to be securely transferred between Hospitals and Medical Practitioners.
Patient information is generated on the source hospital system and transferred to and from our servers using secure network connections. Users log in to the HealthlinkOnline website with a unique username, password, PIN and digital client certificate to verify identity. The application is also accessible via web service calls, meaning the accredited Practice Management Systems can integrate patient information automatically without opening the website. Our service calls are also used to generate referral messages from within the Practice Management Systems which are sent on to the hospital via Healthlink. Message files are formatted in HL7 which is an internationally recognised standard for exchanging information between healthcare applications. Healthlink is fully compliant with the HIQA National GP messaging Standards. Any vendor wishing to exchange messages with Healthlink should adhere to these standards.
The technical specifications below are available for Hospitals and Software Suppliers who wish to work with Healthlink.
Healthlink Hospital Information & Interface Specification - TCP
HealthlinkOnline Message Specification
General Referral Message Construction Guide
Referral Response Message Guide
MN-CMS Discharge Summary Specification
Project Proposals:
A set of criteria have been compiled to assist Healthlink in evaluating project proposals. This enables developments to be aligned with agreed priorities and to ensure appropriate funding is available and maximum value is obtained from the national messaging infrastructure.
If you wish to work with us on a specific project, please complete the Project Proposal Form and email to newrequests@healthlink.ie
09/03/2020
We are pleased to inform you that you can now send electronic referrals to Letsbuyhealthcare - Self Payers. It can be used primarily for referring uninsured self-paying patients. Currently listed are those participating GP clinics specialising in community based surgery.
02/03/2020
We are pleased to inform you that you can now send electronic referrals to Primary Care General X-Ray and Primary Care Ultrasound departments at Tallaght University Hospital.
28/02/2020
Referrals to Alliance Livinghealth Clinic, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork are now available to GPs.
17/02/2020
Electronic Pigmented Lesion referrals are now available to University Hospital Kerry.
10/02/2020
GPs can now send attachments to ENT at Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital with the option to be available for Ophthalmology soon.
05/02/2020
Electronic referrals can now be sent to Alliance Medical Briarhill Galway.
Healthlink is the National Health Messaging broker and provides a web-based messaging service which allows the secure transmission of clinical patient information between Hospitals, Health Care Agencies and Medical Practitioners. Healthlink is funded by the HSE and all our services are free of charge to GPs. Healthlink is part of the Access to Information & Health Identifiers Programme under the Office of the CIO. The two teams have come together to realise the vision of enabling timely access to health information when and where it is needed.
Patient Confidentiality:
One aspect of our user support includes following up on patient reports, e.g. test results that have not been sent electronically. If you need to send patient identifiable information to the Healthlink support team you must use your Healthmail account. Healthmail is an email service that allows GPs and their practice staff to send and receive clinical patient information in a secure manner. Healthlink is securely connected to Healthmail so all mail between the two domains is encrypted by default.
Please click on the following link to view our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.