At Kestral, interoperability has always been central to how we build products that genuinely improve clinical care. As one of Australia’s leading radiology and pathology software providers, we believe that connected systems lead to safer, faster, and more informed patient outcomes.
Our involvement in Sparked, the Australian Government-funded initiative accelerating the development of national FHIR standards, has shaped how we think about the future of digital health infrastructure. That work has now translated into action: in partnership with Magentus, Kestral is delivering one of Australia’s first FHIR-based eRequesting platforms for radiology, currently in active pilot.
What Is FHIR eRequesting in Radiology?
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) eRequesting is a modern digital ordering standard that enables structured, real-time communication between GP and specialist systems. In radiology, it replaces fragmented fax-, phone-based and traditional one-way HL7 referral workflows with a connected, transparent pathway between the ordering clinician and the imaging provider.
Kestral’s implementation connects Gentu (the GP practice management system, acting as the order placer) with Karisma, our radiology information system (the order filler), via a purpose-built messaging broker.
How Kestral’s FHIR eRequesting Platform Works
At the core of our solution is a lightweight, stateless messaging broker that sits between Gentu and Karisma. Built on the NextGen Connect commercial messaging platform, the broker transforms FHIR messages into HL7 V2 and back again, enabling modern digital ordering to integrate seamlessly with existing clinical systems.
A deliberate architectural decision sets this solution apart. All data of record remains within Gentu, the placer system, rather than being stored inside the messaging layer. This eliminates data duplication, simplifies maintenance, and ensures that clinicians are always working from a single, current source of truth.
What FHIR eRequesting Enables for Clinicians Today
Kestral’s FHIR eRequesting platform delivers tangible workflow improvements from day one:
Real-time status visibility
As each request moves through Karisma, status updates flow back into Gentu automatically. Referring practitioners gain full visibility of a request’s progress with this two-way communication without phone calls and without delays.
Structured optional enhancements on every order
Each request can include:
- Billing guidance
- My Health Record upload opt-out
- Urgency status with urgent contact options
- SMS reminders with opt-out
These features give clinicians meaningful control while keeping communication consistent and structured across every order.
What’s Coming Next: The FHIR Roadmap for Radiology
The Sparked national roadmap includes several enhancements that will further elevate the ordering experience. Planned developments include:
- Standardised ordering codes for national consistency across all radiology requests
- Barcode-based patient choice workflows that support patient flexibility and simplify Medicare claiming
- Stronger alignment between ordering, reporting, and consumer health apps that closes the loop across the full radiology episode of care
Kestral’s platform has been architected to evolve in step with national specifications as they mature.
Why This Matters for Australian Healthcare
Radiology is a critical touchpoint in the patient journey. When digital systems communicate clearly, the benefits compound: administrative burden on clinicians drops, patient delays shorten, and data flowing into national health systems becomes more complete and consistent.
By combining Kestral’s deep domain expertise in radiology software with Magentus’s established presence in primary care, and grounding everything in the Sparked standards framework, this pilot represents a meaningful step toward a more connected Australian healthcare system.
This article was produced by the Kestral Computing content team in collaboration with the Kestral Solutions team. Kestral has over 30 years of experience designing and supporting radiology information systems for Australian and New Zealand healthcare providers. Kestral’s Karisma RIS is trusted by more than 180 ANZ imaging sites across public and private settings.