When developing and introducing new digital innovations there is a need to balance giving people confidence in digital technology that it is safe, secure and useful and to help innovators and vendors develop technology that can be embedded in the NHS without unnecessarily inhibiting them.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in helping to launch the beta of the NHS Apps Library back in 2013, which in turn was released by NHS England and NHS Digital in 2017. Each of the iterations of the NHS Library required some form of assessment model to achieve this confidence.
Why are frameworks and standards needed when introducing new digital health technology?
NHS frameworks, standards and approaches help to establish the “rules of the game”. By setting out the essential characteristics a product or service needs to have for adoption, it helps innovators better integrate their innovation into the NHS or social care system and increases confidence that this integration will be successful.
NHSX recently launched the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) which sets out the baseline “rules of the game” for entry of digital health technology into the NHS. The assessment criteria have been developed as a response to commissioners and developers of digital health technology wanting a simplified model. The criteria brings together the core elements of clinical safety, data protection, technical security, interoperability and usability and accessibility. It has been designed to be used by healthcare organisations to assess suppliers at the point of procurement or as part of the due diligence process to ensure new digital health technologies meet the minimum baseline standards and that developers produce what is expected for entry into the NHS and social care.
What should digital healthcare innovators consider?
Whilst we should welcome this push to establish a new baseline the standard of new technology in the NHS, there are still things that I think need to be developed as the DTAC becomes more embedded in how the NHS and social care approach commissioning and adopting digital health solutions. Developing these points can help in our work with innovators so that they can bring their exciting ideas, products, and services to meet the needs of the NHS and social care systems.
Points to consider:
- Embed it: The adoption of any new or different approaches can be seen as strengthening the incumbency advantage of those that already have traction in the NHS and social care. As NHSX and NHS England and Improvement start to highlight how they have used and applied the DTAC to innovations and technology that they’ve implemented in the digital transformation of care pathways, this will signal the commitment from the top that these criteria are important and are here to stay. Coupling this with an approach to re-evaluation to technology as the criteria adapt and change over time to our sense of what good needs to look like, can also help level the playing field.
- Apply it: For the DTAC to be most effective for both people and those developing digital health solutions, it needs to be seen as a common standard. It needs to be applied consistently across all of the health and care systems in England, in particular at the point of commissioning or buying new digital health solutions. We strive to reduce unnecessary variation in the delivery of health and care services, and it should not be different when we think about the enabling technology that enables them. Both the buyers and suppliers of digital health technology can work together here to ensure that this commonality is achieved.
- Evidence it: As someone who works for an organisation charged with enabling the most effective digital health solutions to reach people more quickly, evidencing those solutions are effective in solving real problems being faced by people is critical. This is a difficult area and one not covered by the DTAC. This is understandable as NHSX seeks to gain traction around the DTAC and starts to think about evaluation and impact. Those of us who support digital innovation need to think about how we can build on these baseline criteria and bring through the need to have the right evidence in place at the right time in the innovation and procurement pathways, which we know accelerates the adoption and spread of high-quality innovation.
We know that common approaches and standards can help support and accelerate innovation, and the DTAC is a great start to help enable this.
As an AHSN we’re looking forward to collaborating with NHSX to help develop the approach to supporting innovation in digital health technology and supporting innovators to help them have an impact on people’s experiences and outcomes when using health and social care services.
If you have a digital health tool and would like to understand more about DTAC or discuss how we might able to support you get in touch with us on our website.
For more information on DTAC visit the NHSX website.