Data Transfer Service
What is happening
Data Transfer Service (DTS) is due to replace X400 as the NHS message transport method for Clinical EDI messages.
- On 7th November 2003 in England and Wales, X400 service is terminated. Anyone not migrated to DTS by this time loses the ability to transmit clinical messages. Wales retains RACAL (because of pathology labs) as well as DTS.
- Northern Ireland currently on RACAL follows shortly with DTS migration.
- Scotland are due to change from X.400 to eSMTP and still use an Exchange.
eSMTP is the new standard messaging for the NHSNet. It brings the NHSNet in line with the Government's eGIF program which states that SMTP must be used for electronic messaging in any government body. Before 7th November 2003, all remaining X.400 messaging must be migrated to DTS: inter-personal messaging (IPM) to either eSMTP or NHSmail, and EDI (clinical messaging) to the DTS service.
Why is DTS being adopted
The X.400 service provided by Syntegra is an old standard for electronic messaging. It currently carries application to application messages throughout the NHS. Some of the key applications include GP Payments, Patient Registration and Pathology Messaging.
The X.400 service closes on 7th November 2003. It is therefore necessary to provide an alternative means of carrying these messages. In addition to this, the government has adopted the Internet standards (electronic Government Interoperability Framework - eGIF) and it is vital that the NHS adopts a messaging standard that complies with this. The Internet messaging standard is eSMTP and all electronic messaging for Interpersonal Mail (IPM) within the NHS need to be migrated to this standard.
The majority of large organisations (Trusts, and Hub and Spoke systems etc) have already moved over to use eSMTP for Inter Personal Messaging. The NHS Information Authority recommends that GPs move to the NHSMail central mail server for Inter Personal Messaging, and the Data Transfer Service for Electronic Data Interchange (GPC) Messaging, thus removing the need for an Exchange server on site.
DTS has the following objectives:
- To remove the need for on site MTA (Message Transfer Agent)
- To provide encryption over NHSNet
- To provide authentication as for eSMTP
- To provide Web based Message tracking