HMIS supports patient-facing mobile applications that allow patients to browse available channelling sessions, book appointments, view their booking history, and receive notifications — all without visiting the hospital front desk.

This article is aimed at mobile app developers and IT administrators integrating a patient-facing app with HMIS channelling.

Patient App (iOS / Android)
        ↓  HTTPS REST calls
HMIS Channelling API  (/api/channel/*)
        ↓
HMIS Core (bookings, sessions, patients, bills)
        ↑  WebSocket push
Patient App (real-time updates)

The app communicates exclusively through the Channelling API. No direct database access is used.

GET /api/channel/specialities
GET /api/channel/consultants?specialityId={id}
GET /api/channel/sessions?consultantId={id}&fromDate=2026-05-18&toDate=2026-05-25

Present the list of available session instances to the patient with:

• Consultant name, photo, qualifications
• Session date, start time
• Available slots / tokens remaining
• Fee

Patients must be identified before booking:

• Existing patient: Search by NIC, phone number, or patient ID:

  GET /api/patients/search?phone=0771234567
  

• New patient: Register:

  POST /api/patients
  { "name": "...", "dob": "...", "phone": "..." }
  

POST /api/channel/bookings
{
  "sessionInstanceId": 12345,
  "patientId": 67890,
  "paymentMethod": "OnCall",
  "itemId": 111
}

Response includes:

• Booking ID
• Token / serial number
• Total fee
• Bill reference

GET /api/channel/bookings/patient/{patientId}

Returns all bookings for the patient (past and upcoming) with status.

PUT /api/channel/bookings/{bookingId}/cancel

Subscribe to the WebSocket endpoint for push notifications:

wss://<host>/<context>/ws/notify

When a session status changes (e.g., doctor has arrived, queue is started), the app receives a push message and can update the UI accordingly.

Bookings created through the mobile app are recorded in HMIS with a dedicated bill type:

CHANNEL_BOOKING_FOR_PAYMENT_ONLINE_COMPLETED_PAYMENT

These bookings appear in the Channel Booking View with a yellow "OB" tag and the online reference number. No manual re-entry is required — the booking flows into the same queue as front-desk bookings.

Mobile app payments can be handled in two ways:

For online payment gateway integration, refer to the gateway provider's documentation and the HMIS payment API endpoints (documented in Swagger/DOC990).

In addition to WebSocket updates for in-app notifications, the mobile app should implement:

• FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) for Android background notifications
• APNs for iOS background notifications

HMIS can be configured to send push notification payloads to an intermediary server that dispatches them to FCM/APNs. This requires:

1. Setting up a notification relay server
2. Configuring the HMIS push notification endpoint with the relay server URL and credentials

Contact the HMIS technical team for the push notification API specification.

• Channelling API Overview
• Channelling Patient Portal
• Creating a New Channel Booking
• SMS Notifications in Channelling