NHSX has revealed plans to develop and publish a new ‘standards roadmap’ for care record and interoperability standards in England.
According to the organisation, the roadmap is set to provide support and include access to a ‘system-wide overview’ of the standards proposed, as well as opportunities to engage with the standards developer to ‘identify any synergies to reduce duplication and burden’.
It’s also expected that the roadmap will help inform the prioritisation of commitments and delivery, and enable suppliers and health and social care organisations to plan the implementation phase.
In its latest online update, NHSX states that the ‘standards roadmap can be seen as the entry point into the overall end to end development and approval process’ and that ‘items will progress from the standards roadmap’ once they enter The Data Alliance Partnership Board (DAPB) process, with publication upon approval.
NHSX adds that the roadmap will be ‘implemented in a phased and iterative approach, and will develop over time’ based on stakeholder feedback, with the aim that it will eventually provide a ‘holistic view across all proposed standards and standards under active development’.
Developments are expected across the next few months, when the roadmap will ‘start to capture proposed standards and standards in development across the health and care system’.
Existing proposed standard examples include NHS Booking & Referrals, set to be published in June 2022, focusing on supporting the ‘requirement to direct patients (refer) to the appropriate clinical care setting to best meet their clinical need’. This would be followed by the Nursing Documentation Standard in December 2022 – a clinical headings standard with a focus on ‘the core functional need assessment of a patient’s/citizen at the initial assessment’ to ‘support transfer of care between Secondary/Community/Care Homes – in both directions’.
It’s estimated that work around Digital Social Care Records will be published in March 2023, providing a ‘core set of information relevant for people using adult social care services about the direct care they receive’ and ‘data collection focused on helping to provide a picture of the quality and safety of care provided to people using services’.
The organisation also published a ‘Standards Roadmap Tracker v1.1′ that includes information and the status of other standards in the programme, such as a Diabetes Information Record Standard, Mental Health Services Data Set, Community Services Data Set, National Workforce Data Set, Personalised Care and Support Plan, and others.
Find out more about NHSX’s plans and roadmap via their website, and provide your feedback by emailing interop.standards@nhsx.nhs.uk.
