NHS Personal Demographics Service (PDS) API Integration

Whether you’re developing a patient-facing application, an internal clinical tool, or a back-office platform, we’ll guide you through the full lifecycle of NHS PDS integration – from feasibility and access setup through to assurance, development, and go-live support.

Understanding NHS PDS

The NHS Personal Demographics Service (PDS) is the national electronic database of basic patient demographic details. It includes core identifiers such as NHS number, name, date of birth, address, registered GP, and related health information.

PDS enables consistent patient identification and is essential for linking and matching patient records across NHS systems. While primarily used in primary care, PDS integration can also support secondary care workflows with NHS approval and a valid use case.

Accessing PDS via integration improves accuracy, reduces administrative burden, and ensures healthcare professionals have the correct data at the point of care.

Our NHS PDS Integration Process

6B supports NHS PDS integration via two primary access routes: the legacy HL7 V3 API and the modern FHIR API. We help you select the most appropriate option for your product based on its function, user base, and compliance requirements.

For HL7 V3 integrations, we manage the setup of secure network access through the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN), smartcard authentication, and use of the MHS adaptor for communication with NHS Spine. We support functions including patient search, record creation, birth notifications, GP details lookup, and next-of-kin retrieval. Our developers build robust integrations that handle both synchronous and asynchronous interactions, ensuring system resilience and performance.

For FHIR API integrations, 6B helps determine the appropriate access mode – healthcare worker, patient, or application-restricted – based on your use case. We develop RESTful integrations that allow for rapid identity checks, demographic updates, and NHS number verification. Our process includes setting up sandbox testing, integration testing, and production readiness assessments.

Across both methods, we lead you through the required assurance activities. This includes authoring or reviewing the Supplier Conformance Assessment List (SCAL), ensuring compliance with governance requirements, data protection standards, and NHS integration policies.

Benefits of NHS PDS Integration

PDS integration allows healthcare organisations and digital health innovators to confidently identify patients and match them to the correct records, reducing clinical risk and administrative complexity.

Having a single, authoritative source of demographic information ensures consistency across systems, improves record-keeping, and reduces duplication. This is especially important in urgent or unscheduled care where correct identification is critical.

PDS integration also improves the patient experience – reducing delays caused by manual checks, data mismatches, or incomplete records. By validating NHS numbers and pre-populating patient fields, services become faster, safer, and more efficient.

In regulated health tech environments, aligning with NHS Spine services like PDS adds credibility, compliance, and long-term interoperability value to your solution.