QURIS (QUicksilva eReferrals Integration System)

The NHS Choose and Book system (recently renamed and re-launched as the “e-Referral Service”) provides a core electronic system for handling patient referrals to secondary healthcare providers. Whilst the service has been available since 2005 its take up has been patchy and in some ways troubled. A significant component of this has been due to the very high cost of connection to the secure NHS N3 network and NHS Spine services, around which the service is based. This has led to a situation where a dual paper/phone and electronic operation is currently required, making it extremely difficult for the e-Referral Service to achieve the significant cost savings and improvements in efficiency that were the original objective of the “Choose and Book” project. The QURIS project creates an innovative new approach to providing low cost connectivity; particularly for small to medium sized healthcare providers, to the e-Referral Service without compromising the inherent and integral security of
the NHS N3 network and NHS Spine services. In doing so it will achieve two very significant advances for healthcare in the UK:
- it will remove any economic barriers that prevent all healthcare providers offering their appointments through the e-Referral Service; - it will establish the potential for providing both flexibility and low cost access for other NHS Spine services, greatly extending the reach and benefits available with what is a crucial
strategic area for UK healthcare. If successful QURIS will deliver a novel system that is fully accredited via the Common Assurance Process governing all NHS N3 and NHS Spine systems and which also has been approved by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), the body responsible for regulating NHS Spine services.