01

Follow one information journey

Consider a referral moving from intake to scheduling. Ask what enters the workflow, which system becomes the record and who needs to act next. The difficult part may be duplicated entry or an unclear handoff rather than a missing application. Involve the people who handle incomplete referrals before inviting a provider to recommend a solution.

02

Specify the actual interface

A healthcare interoperability standard gives teams a shared technical vocabulary. It does not by itself confirm that two installed systems support the same exchange. Ask which versions, interfaces and implementation arrangements the provider expects to use. Confirm access with the existing system owners and record any vendor dependencies in the requirement.

03

Keep responsibility close to the workflow

An integration should have an owner when a message is delayed or rejected. Ask how staff will notice a failed exchange and how records will be reconciled. Separate administrative automation from clinical decisions that require specialist oversight. The organisation's authorised clinical, privacy and security reviewers determine the boundaries for the intended use.

04

Source the missing expertise

If the existing environment is unclear, commission discovery with a useful output: a workflow map, interface inventory, dependency list and recommended next decisions. Ask for assumptions and unanswered questions alongside the findings. BlueBlocks helps structure that assessment and compare relevant specialist proposals before a larger implementation is agreed.

Turn the guidance into your brief.

Record the outcome, scope, assumptions and outstanding decisions in a shared requirement. Ask every invited provider to respond to the same version, and keep missing information visible rather than treating silence as agreement.

BlueBlocks helps structure that conversation. Specialist discovery that requires substantial work can be quoted as its own project before implementation is commissioned.

Take these questions into the conversation.

  • What happens when an exchange fails?
  • Which installed interfaces have been confirmed?
  • Who approves the information flow?

Explore the work behind this question.

When the next step needs specialist expertise, start with a focused requirement. Explore the service, then talk to BlueBlocks about what fits your organisation.

Research & references Reviewed 2 November 2026

These primary sources inform the context and questions on this page. Procurement recommendations are BlueBlocks editorial guidance. A cited organisation does not endorse BlueBlocks; applicability depends on your systems and obligations.