Government plans new ‘regulatory levers’ to force pace of NHS’s digital uptake
Digital improvement will be added to the conditions which trusts and integrated care systems have to legally meet as part of their operating licence, the government has indicated.
The move is part of a raft of actions unveiled by the Department of Health and Social Care which are intended to “modernise” the NHS.
The Plan for Digital Health and Social Care states: “At present, there are limited formal mechanisms for overseeing delivery of NHS digital priorities. Digital does not yet feature in the provider licence, system oversight framework, or Care Quality Commission assessments.”
It adds: “We are exploring options for filling this gap in discussions between NHS England and the CQC, and through a review and consultation with system leaders and frontline staff.”
New “regulatory levers” will be used to: “signal that digitisation is a priority, identify the non-negotiable standards of digital capability, [and] explain how we will monitor and support compliance”.
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Source: HSJ, 30 June 2022