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Help and resources

Standards Directory mailbox

You can contact the team who manage the Standards Directory by emailing england.interop.standards@nhs.net.

Standard development bodies

The Data Alliance Partnership Board approves information standards, data collections and extractions for health and adult social care in England.

Government Digital Service owns the UK government’s API Catalogue which lists public sector APIs. They also oversee the Data Standards Authority which sets standards for data-sharing in government.

HL7 UK develops standards for exchanging electronic health information in the UK.

NHS Digital owns the NHS' API Catalogue which lists APIs for use in the NHS. New APIs can be voted on in their product backlog.

The Professional Record Standards Body develops standards for patient and care records.

Discussion forums

FutureNHS is a platform for health and social care professionals to connect.

INTEROPen is a place to discuss standards development and usage in health and social care. Their discussion forum is hosted on Ryvver - email membership@interopen.org to join.

Digital health networks are where health and social care professionals can support the digital agenda through discussions and events.

Technology regulations

The NHS Service Standard and GDS Service Standard are standards for designing and building online services. Point 17 of the NHS Service Standard states that technology must implement standards that support interoperability.

The Technology Code of Practice is a set of criteria to help government build or buy technology.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a requirement for all public sector websites and apps.

Platforms for buying and selling IT

GP IT Futures Capabilities & Standards is a commercial framework for primary care technology.

Health Systems Support Framework is a commercial framework for non-clinical solutions related to population health management such as advanced analytics and digital infrastructure.

The Digital Social Care Records Dynamic Purchasing System is a commercial framework for solutions that digitise social care records.

Design kits and case studies

The NHS Design System has design patterns and style guides for use in NHS digital services.

The GOV.UK Design System has design patterns and style guides for use in all public sector digital services.

NHS digital playbooks show examples of how care pathways have been improved with technology.