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111 Referral Standard: Final Report

2.1 Background and Context

The need for effective referral information for a person referred on from 111 services was identified as 111 services become more frequently used. In 2018, PRSB, commissioned by NHS England produced a report on urgent care information flows which set out the high-level requirements for a referral from a 111 clinical assessment service (CAS).

For several years, there has been focus on improving urgent and emergency services, primarily getting individuals to the most appropriate service for their needs., The COVID-19 pandemic raised the profile of this requirement. Revised schemes have been introduced over the past 2 years including bookings from 111 direct into Emergency Department (ED) systems listing arrival time slots so ED can manage arrival flows.

Currently in England, a 111 report can flow to the receiving organisation using an Interoperability Tool Kit (ITK) message. This report is based on the summary of decision points from the Pathways triage algorithm and reads poorly by clinicians on the receiving end – it lacks clinical value by not using a language that clinicians are trained to use. The same ITK message is used to inform the person’s general practice of the 111 encounters, this is known as a PEM – for information.

A newer interoperability standard known as FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource) is now being adopted by many clinical IT systems which offers potential for an improved message sharing capability including urgent and emergency care systems and across the UK.

A need was identified for a new 111 referral standard, which can be implemented in FHIR and can provide clear and concise referral information to all receiving organisations (including ED, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, mental health, community, and general practices). PRSB have been tasked with standardising the information captured and shared in the 111 report following a person encounter with the 111 service. The new 111 referral standard was commissioned by NHSX as part of the NHS Booking and Referral standard (BaRS ) programme. The long-term aim is for this standard to be part of a future standard or set of standards for referrals from any source to any destination.

NHS Digital’s Booking and Referrals Service (BaRS) are carrying out a First of Type (FoT) pilot for the 111 to ED referral and developing the FiHR messaging to support the draft PRSB 111 referral standard.

PRSB have produced the 111 referral standard following a UK wide full consultation.

Page last updated: 06 January 2026