Information for service providers

Why publish your services in the NHSD

Listing your healthcare services in the National Health Services Directory (NHSD) helps improve visibility and accessibility for consumers, supports clinical decision-making, and strengthens digital health integration across Australia's health system.

The healthdirect Service Finder, which receives over a million searches each month, enables consumers to locate services that meet their health and social needs.

NHSD data is also used by integrated digital health systems to support clinical workflows. This includes helping healthcare professionals identify suitable providers for referrals and facilitating continuity of care through the transmission of discharge summaries to a patient's regular provider.

In addition, NHSD service data informs research and policy development by government and health organisations, supporting evidence-based decisions and more effective health system planning.

Accuracy and maintenance of service information

Ensuring the accuracy and currency of directory information is essential to meet stakeholder needs and support effective digital health integration.

Healthcare services are responsible for maintaining their NHSD listings to ensure consumers and providers access up-to-date service details. Accurate information also enables jurisdictions to make informed decisions for health system planning and resource allocation.

To maintain accuracy, healthcare services should review and update their listings at least every 12 months. Publicly listed services can request updates at any time via the 'Suggest an edit' button on their Service Finder listing. Non-public listings can be updated through the NHSD service update form.

Healthdirect Australia actively maintains the NHSD data by regularly engaging with healthcare services, leveraging Provider Connect Australia™, and investing in data partnerships to enhance information reliability.

Supported service types within the NHSD

The NHSD contains detailed information for more than 200 types of health services which includes:

• service location and contact details
• opening hours and availability after hours, on weekends and public holidays
• online booking appointment availability
• how the service is delivered: physical (at an address), virtual (phone or video) or home visit
• practitioner information
• referral details
• service restrictions and accessibility options
• appointment and payment options
• details to support secure messaging

Request for new service types

To support interoperability across the health ecosystem, the NHSD utilises the standardised SNOMED CT-AU nomenclature for healthcare service types.

Managing the reference data for service types is complex and requires consideration:

• Is the service type appropriate for NHSD's multiple use cases? 
• Is there a clear need for it?
• Is it clinically appropriate?
• Are there enough health organisations of its type to justify its inclusion?
• Is there a trusted source of data for the service type?

To determine whether a service type should be listed in the NHSD it must:

• be supported in the SNOMED CT-AU terminology and be listed under the SNOMED parent concepts of Healthcare services or Social services
• not already be supported by an existing dedicated and recognised directory or infrastructure, for example, My Aged Care provider directory
• be applicable to the broader community
• have a trusted source of aggregate data for the service