Secure Messaging (SM)

National Secure Messaging Network

The National Secure Messaging Network (NSMN) is being developed in collaboration by the Agency and its industry partners. Based on a set of Australian and international standards, the NSMN defines several roles that can be implemented by clinical information system and secure messaging developers to enable secure, reliable, interoperable exchange of clinical documents between Australian healthcare providers. 

Blueprint

The NSMN Blueprint describes the proposed operation of a national standards-based network of interoperable systems to allow any healthcare provider in Australia to discover any other healthcare provider and securely deliver clinical messages to them. The blueprint describes the key roles within the secure messaging national network and the capabilities required of each role, as well as providing examples of how specific implementations might fulfil those roles. 

Conformance Assessment Scheme

The NSMN Conformance Assessment Scheme is a set of requirements and conformance assessment documents and processes. It is underpinned by the Interoperability Specification and provides the means for parties considering participating in the NSMN to clearly understand how they can do so, the capabilities required of their systems, and how they can demonstrate solution readiness. 

Governance Committee

The NSMN Governance Committee is a governing body made up of representatives from industry, government and clinical bodies. The principal responsibility of the NSMN Governance Committee is to execute governance over the NSMN, including baselining and approving all changes, and providing authoritative advice.

The NSMN Governance Committee is guided by a Terms of Reference.

Key resources

Australian Digital Health Agency

Secure Messaging v2.0

• Specifications | EP-3806:2023
• The Agency’s Secure Messaging product provides software developers with information and tools to assist in the implementation of the roles in the NSMN Blueprint.
• Download Secure Messaging v2.0

HL7 Australia

Provider Directory FHIR Implementation Guide

• Specifications | FHIR PD
• The HL7 Australia Provider Directory FHIR Implementation Guide is a RESTful API for searching directories of healthcare services and healthcare providers.
• View the FHIR PD Specification.

Diagnostics and Referral Messaging Localisation of HL7 Version 2.4

• Specifications | HL7AUSD-STD-OO-ADRM-2021.1
• Australian localisation of the international HL7 V2 Standard covering the Laboratory/Diagnostics/Clinical result reporting, laboratory/radiology ordering specification and patient referral.
• Download / view the HL7AUSD-STD-OO-ADRM-2021.1 Specification.

Standards Australia

E-health secure message delivery 

• Specifications | ATS-5822
• ATS-5822 defines a set of interfaces and associated application behaviours suitable for sending clinical messages over the Internet using standard Web services protocols.
• Download ATS-5822 from the SAI Global web site.

E-health XML secured payload profiles 

• Specifications | ATS-5821
• ATS-5821 defines a set of interoperable mechanisms for representing secured XML data, including digital signing and encryption of secure messages.
• Download ATS-5821 from the SAI Global web site.

E-health web services profiles

• Specifications | ATS-5820
• ATS-5820 defines a set of interoperable mechanisms using SOAP Web services for interconnecting computer systems in digital health applications.
• Download ATS-5820 from the SAI Global web site.

Technical Tools

Clinical Package Validator

• Tool to check conformance of:
  • HL7 v2.4 messages (ACK^I12, ACK^O01, ACK^R01, ORM^O01, ORR^O02, ORU^R01, REF^I12)
  • HL7 v2.3.1 messages (ACK^T02, MDM^T02)
  • Packaged CDA documents
  • SMD messages
• Download the latest version of the Clinical Package Validator.

CDA creation and packaging tool

• Tool for generating and signing CDA documents, creating CDA zip packages, and creating MDM-T02 messages.
• See the "Clinical Document Packaging Client Library" tool on the ADHA's Open Source Sample Code Directory.

CDA rendering tool

• Tool for generating HTML for display of CDA documents (e.g. by a web browser).
• See the "Style Sheets (for HL7™CDA documents)" tool on the ADHA's Open Source Sample Code Directory.

MDM message tool

• Tool for creating MDM^T02 and ACK^T02 messages.
• See the "HL7™MDM Client Library" tool on the ADHA's Open Source Sample Code Directory.

SMD messaging tools

• Tools to support Secure Message Delivery (SMD) message construction and delivery.
• See tools prefixed with "Secure Message Delivery (SMD)" on the ADHA's Open Source Sample Code Directory.