A key part of the vision for a tech driven NHS launched by Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Health and Care), is a standards based approach to enable and support the changes required to deliver the vision.
NHS Digital have wasted no time and have launched the ‘NHS digital, data and technology standards framework’.

The framework has been designated as ‘Beta’ and is out for open consultation which will conclude this calendar year. Is this pace a signal of the level of intent to make progress in what has been historically a very tricky area for the NHS?

This is all good but what does this mean for NHS Organisations (buyers), existing suppliers and innovators (suppliers). As the document states, many of these standards already exist, they are not new, but what is new is bringing them together into a coherent a consolidated framework that can be easily understood by both suppliers and buyers. Hopefully this means that as supplier there is much more clarity on what the market expects in these areas. As a buyer its means I know what I need to be looking for when procuring or re-procuring systems. It is not proposed that all standards in the framework apply from day one but many are all already in place but are not widely known.

Below is a summary of the key dimension of the framework:

Standard	Comments	Status
Patient record for all health and care settings must use the NHS Number wherever possible	Should adhered to in full immediately	Live
Logging into NHS systems should be through an approved authentication system	This will be the ‘NHS Login’ system and the ‘NHS Identity Platform’ which are not yet in live operation	Future
Patient information held in electronic health records should comply with NHS clinical information standards	Clinical data records -SNOMED CT Diagnosis based statistical analysis of hospitals – ICD10/11 Medicines and Medical Devices descriptions -(dm+d) Current Procedure based statistical analysis of hospitals moving from OPCS to new DCB published standard Describing clinical tests and test results – Unified Test List (UTL)	Live Live/Future Live Future 2020
NHS Digital Reference Data Registers are the reference data source of choice in NHS Systems	NHS Data Registers are open lists of core NHS information such as NHS healthcare professionals, GP practices or National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) issued codes for research studies.	Future
All health software and health IT systems must be designed, developed and operated safely to conform with clinical safety standards	DCB 0129 – Clinical Risk Management: its Application in the Manufacture of Health IT Systems DCB 0160 – Clinical Risk Management: its Application in the Deployment and Use of Health IT Systems	Live Live
All NHS digital, data and technology services should achieve the Data Security Standards required through the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)	All organisations that have access to NHS patient data and systems must use the toolkit to provide assurance that they are practicing good cyber security and publish their performance against the National Data Guardian's ten data security standards	Live
All NHS digital, data and technology services should support FHIR-based APIs to enable the delivery of seamless care across organisational boundaries	‘Care Connect’ and ‘Transfers of Care’ specifications and standards are available and included as part of the NHS Standard contract	Live
All NHS digital, data and technology services should be designed to meet user needs in line with the principles of the Digital Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice	NHS digital systems must be designed in accordance with the principles of the Government Digital Service (GDS) Digital Service Standard and the Technology Code of Practice. Work is underway to design NHS specific design standards	Future
NHS services should be operated with an enabling infrastructure that supports technical evolution, financial investment and resilience	Infrastructure decisions should consider public cloud options in adherence to the Government's Cloud First strategy. As part of managing cloud services across NHS Systems, NHS Digital will provide guidance on the governance, blue prints and automation of cloud based services ensuring that the underpinning platforms used across the health system are secure and optimised to gain the best value from cloud services	On going

The framework sets a clear direction of travel for digital/software solutions for the NHS and provides a good level of clarity for suppliers about how they should be designing solutions. This is particularly useful for innovators and new entrants looking to offer solutions to the NHS.

There will undoubtedly be greater levels of detail and guidance to come to all sections of the framework, but this feels like a significant line in the sand for the NHS and suppliers.

Find out more about the framework