Sender organisation identifiers

Sender organisation data items 

CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY

CDS SENDER IDENTITY

ORGANISATION CODE (CODE OF PROVIDER)

Are used to:

• register flows
• authenticate submissions
• sequence interchanges
• enable monitoring

Identifying a sending instance

CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY is used to identify an organisation sending an interchange. It is presented as a 10 character EDIFACT id with a 5 character local ‘tail’, making a 15 character code. Typically it might look like this:

190000099900001 Where 1900000999 is the EDIFACT ID and 00001 is the local ‘tail’.

A new organisation can obtain a unique 10 character EDIFACT ID from the Address Registration Service.

It is recommended that the remaining 5 characters are used to uniquely identify the individual XML translation applications where more than one is in use by an organisation. Individual organisations are responsible for determining and managing the local 5 character ‘tail’. Most senders use the same 5 character suffix for all data (for example. 00001.) However, some senders choose to use a different suffix for different dataset types (APC, OP etc.) or to identify different PAS systems locally. There are risks associated with this practice and data senders are advised to make sure they fully conversant with submission methods before adopting this method.

CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY is found in the CDS INTERCHANGE HEADER. The full code is used in the registration process. Interchanges are sent to SUS by the Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) client, which is managed by SUS. It is worth noting that the same sending application can be used to send interchanges for more than one CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY but there can be only one CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY per interchange.

Sequencing Interchanges

The CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY is used to sequence interchanges at the 15 character level. SUS assumes that the order received from the EDT client is the order in which interchanges should be processed.

Potential Problems in sharing a Sender ID

Sharing a 15 character CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY across multiple organisations/senders/types can potentially cause the following:

Delays to SUS processing

SUS Processing can be delayed because all submissions from that address will be processed in order of receipt and only one interchange within a sequence can be processed at a time.

Submission progress tracking issues

It is possible to have multiple contacts for a single sender. It can therefore be difficult to ensure that all affected users are aware of submission issues or failures.

Organisations sending from a single 10 character EDIFACT code are therefore advised to consider using different 15 character variants (such as providers with multiple sites and/or PAS systems) of CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY to avoid these potential problems.

Tracking submissions

When an interchange is processed, the first 10 characters of the CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY are referenced against the registered ODS code for that sender (as submitted on the SR1 Sender Registration form). SUS Tracker uses the three character ODS code for NHS providers and Submitting CDS Data To SUS v5.0 18 Copyright © 2022, NHS Digital. All rights reserved. 5-character ODS code for non-NHS data sender organisations.

Tracker looks up the registered ODS code at the time the interchange was submitted and determines the valid organisation name. If a CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY is re-used without re-registration the interchanges will not appear on the new organisation’s Tracker report. Interchanges for newly registered codes will only show on Tracker against the new organisation after the registration has been processed. The SR1 form must also be used to register changes to CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY and/or the associated ODS code and contact details. The SUS SR1 Registration Form is available. 

CDS Sender Identity

There is potential for confusion between the CDS SENDER IDENTITY and CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY data items. Users should therefore ensure that they clearly.
 distinguish between the two.

CDS SENDER IDENTITY is a 3 or 5 character organisation code assigned to each organisation by ODS. 3 character codes identify an organisation and the 5 character codes are used to identify site. As previously stated

• Rnn
• Rnn00
• Rnn01

are all treated as different entities by SUS.

The CDS SENDER IDENTITY forms part of the unique record level update key for both BULK update and NET change. Changing the CDS SENDER IDENTITY for data that has already been sent will cause duplication because SUS will not recognise the new records as replacing the old ones.

CDS SENDER IDENTITY is found in the CDS TRANSACTION HEADER GROUP.

It is reported on the Data Quality Report (DQR) and is shown when a user drills down into an organisations DQR.

ORGANISATION CODE (CODE OF PROVIDER) is not a sender code and is not used as a key. It is included here for completeness because it is used in reporting.

It is an ODS code and is always used to report at the organisation level (at three characters for NHS providers and 5 characters for non-NHS data senders.

PbR or SEM extracts use the Organisation Code data item to match against “Reason for Access” and/or the selected provider. Data is only available for providers where the organisation code on the user’s smartcard matches this code

It is important to note that CDS SENDER IDENTITY, CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY and ORGANISATION CODE (CODE OF PROVIDER) may represent different organisations. For example:

NHS Trust A (Rnn) may send an interchange for CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY 999999999999999 which is registered for Rnn.

Included in their interchange may be data for CDS SENDER IDENTITY Rnn01 which is Trust B that has its mental health patient records on the PAS system of Trust A.

It may be that Trust B mental healthcare is provided under a sub-contract with Trust C who has the Provider Code Tnn.

This means that: 

• the data will appear on tracker for Trust A and failures will be reported to the registered contact for this trust. 
• data will be updated with Trust B code in the sender code, but Trust B will not receive a Managed Service Extract in their SUS Inbox.
• records will appear in Trust C’s extracts in PbR and SEM for Trust C as provider

CDS Authentication is a validation mechanism which ensures that organisations only send data for which they are authorised. It prevents a CDS submission inadvertently deleting another organisations data and reduces the risk of data duplication for bulk update senders. Any CDS submission that does not meet authentication requirements is rejected by SUS.

CDS Authentication works by checking that two identifying data items match data held from SR1 registration forms

The CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY is the assigned EDI address of the physical organisation or site responsible for sending CDS data. It is a 10 character EDI address and a local 5 character tail selected by the sender.

CDS SENDER IDENTITY is a mandatory 5-character organisation code of the organisation acting as the physical sender of the CDS.

There can be more than one CDS SENDER IDENTITY in an interchange (XML file of data) and it is usually the ODS code for the organisation. Data senders should include the site element if another organisation sends data on behalf of the site.

Where an organisation submits data on behalf of another organisation, care must be taken to ensure the correct use of these identity fields. This will avoid inadvertent duplication or deletion of records held on SUS.

To comply with CDS Authentication Each CDS SENDER IDENTITY must be associated with only one CDS INTERCHANGE SENDER IDENTITY.