Join our NHS Secure Boundary webinar on Thursday 3 August from 11am to midday.
We’ll show you how the product works and discuss how signing up to the centrally funded service will help you secure your NHS organisation.
The Summary Care Record Application (SCRa) is closing on 29 September 2023. After this date you will need to use the National Care Record Service (NCRS) instead.
Switching to NCRS is straightforward. You will need to have NHS Credential Management and NHS Identity Agent installed on your machine and use a modern browser. NCRS does not work in Internet Explorer or Internet Explorer compatibility mode.
View our switchover guide to plan or start to move today.
As part of ongoing research, we would like to get feedback about the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to improve digital information available to patients and healthcare professionals in the future.
Prescribers and dispensers interested in giving their experiences of using EPS can take part in research carried out through workshops, telephone interviews or short online surveys.
Find out more and register your interest.
Having an NHS App ambassador in your pharmacy ensures you are up to date with the latest information about the NHS App. Ambassadors join a community sharing tips on how best to promote the NHS App and have the chance to ask questions directly to the NHS App team at our quarterly webinar.
If you, or a member of your pharmacy, would like to become an NHS App ambassador, please contact appambassadors@nhs.net.
With the new Import Reference Data feature, researchers can request to import non-patient level data, such as code lists and look-up data, that complement existing datasets available under their Data Sharing Agreement. Our input-checking team reviews all files before they are available in the environment.
To find out more about this feature or the Secure Data Environment, please email nhsdigital.businessdevelopment@nhs.net.
We have published new information about how we’re updating the NHS dm+d ‘<DRUG_FORM>’ coded attribute within the Virtual Medicinal Product concept class following feedback from stakeholders. The page now contains more detail about the changes, including examples and timeframes for the work. Please refer to it when searching for the latest information about the changes.
Updating the <DRUG_FORM> attribute will begin with a sample batch. The sample batch will include the new drug forms for ‘Ointment’ and is expected to take place at the end of August 2023. The exact date of the changes will be confirmed closer to the time in the Weekly release notes for dm+d.
You can contact our team if you have any questions.
We are developing a new national service, Notify a patient, which sends a message to a patient to confirm that their registration with a new GP has been accepted.
Notify a patient is currently being piloted in some integrated care boards for use with patients transferring between GP practices.
Later this summer, we will begin rolling out this centrally-funded service further and aim for it to be available to all GP practices by the end of the year.
With messaging being handled centrally, practices may be considering how they manage the confirmations they currently send.
We are developing a new national service, Notify a patient, which sends a message to a patient to confirm that their registration with a new GP has been accepted.
Notify a patient is currently being piloted in some integrated care boards (ICBs) for use with patients transferring between GP practices.
Later this summer, we will begin rolling out this centrally-funded service further and aim for it to be available to all GP practices by the end of the year.
If your ICB would like to join the current pilot, or if you have any questions, please contact our team.
We are developing a new national service, Notify a patient, which sends a message to a patient to confirm that their registration with a new GP has been accepted.
Notify a patient is currently being piloted in some integrated care boards for use with patients transferring between GP practices.
At the beginning of August, we will begin rolling out this centrally-funded service further and aim for it to be available to all GP practices by the end of the year.
If your practice would like to join the current pilot, or if you have any questions, please contact our team.
A new tool is available to help you quickly audit the usability of key patient journeys on GP websites and help determine if they meet the requirements set out in the GP contract. Audits usually take about 90 minutes.
The tool is designed to be used in conjunction with the creating a highly usable and accessible GP website for patients guidance.
Making online journeys easier for patients is a key priority of the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. Read more on FutureNHS (login required).
We have expanded the range of settings supported by the former GP IT Futures programme and developed a new model to reflect this wider remit.
The Digital Services for Integrated Care model will continue to help primary care settings to choose and deploy assured tech solutions that meet their needs – but is extending its coverage beyond primary care.
The new model will support suppliers to develop digital solutions that connect together care settings across Integrated Care Systems.
You should continue to use the Buying Catalogue to identify the products and services that best meet your needs.
As part of ongoing research, we would like to get feedback about the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to improve digital information available to patients and healthcare professionals in the future.
Prescribers and dispensers interested in giving their experiences of using EPS can take part in research carried out through workshops, telephone interviews or short online surveys.
Find out more and register your interest.
Having an NHS App ambassador in your practice ensures you are up to date with the latest information about the NHS App. Ambassadors join a community sharing tips on how best to promote the NHS App and have the chance to ask questions directly to the NHS App team at our quarterly webinar.
If you, or a member of your practice, would like to become an NHS App ambassador, please contact appambassadors@nhs.net.
We have expanded the range of settings supported by the former GP IT Futures programme and developed a new model to reflect this wider remit.
The Digital Services for Integrated Care model will continue to help primary care settings choose and deploy assured tech solutions that meet their needs – but has extended its coverage beyond primary care.
We are setting out standards and capabilities for suppliers to develop systems that meet the needs of the workforce across integrated care systems and that help primary care to integrate more closely with other settings.
A new tool is available to help you quickly audit the usability of key patient journeys on GP websites and help determine if they meet the requirements set out in the GP contract. Audits usually take about 90 minutes.
The tool is designed to be used in conjunction with the creating a highly usable and accessible GP website for patients guidance.
Making online journeys easier for patients is a key priority of the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care. Read more on FutureNHS (login required).
Locum pharmacist Faraaz Hussain describes his experience of using the new National Care Records Service, the successor to the Summary Care Record application.
Current NHS Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) first-generation (G1) certificates are due to expire on 4 June 2024. Communication via the Spine will cease for any IT systems with invalid certificates, which could impact patient care.
Suppliers of healthcare technology must install second-generation (G2) certificates before this date. We recommend you complete these 5 steps as soon as possible and before 31 December 2023.
Please note: the certificates used for local Interoperability Toolkit (ITK) web service end points that send NHS 111 messages that flow direct between systems are not yet ready to be updated. Please do not renew these certificates until you receive further instructions.
You can contact our team if you have any questions or need further support.
The updated GP contract requires all practices to provide their patients with online access to new (prospective) health information in their GP records (unless exceptions apply) by 31 October 2023.
Once you have completed the GP readiness checklist, you will be able to have your clinical IT systems updated to automatically allow your patients access to their new records.
EMIS practices should complete an opt-in form and select a date. We recommend booking early as slots are limited.
TPP practices can now update their own systems easily and conveniently by following instructions in this user guide (FutureNHS login required).
Find out more about switching on access to new GP records.
We are changing the passcode requirements of NHS smartcards as part of a national update to the Care Identity Service for health and care staff. We are making this change as part of our preparation for rolling out a more advanced smartcard, the series 9.
The minimum security passcode length on all smartcards will change to 6-8 numbers only. We will no longer accept letters as part of your passcode.
Health and care professionals with a smartcard: your current passcode will continue to work. You do not need to change your passcode now.
You will only notice this change when the time comes to choose a new passcode, for example if your smartcard is locked.
The change will take affect from Wednesday 19 July 2023.
For health and care professionals with a smartcard, you will only notice this change when the time comes to change or reset your passcode.
Please ensure that the passcode you use is not easy to guess and contains 6-8 numbers only. Avoid using birthdays.
Remember that your passcode is the safety check that proves it is you using the card. All operations performed using that card are linked to you, so do not share the passcode with anyone.
If you have any queries about this change, please contact your local Registration Authority.
For registration authorities
You need to be aware of the new requirements to passcode in case staff approach you about the change.
If a user tries to set a passcode of fewer than 6 numbers, this will return an error message indicating that the passcode is too short.
Setting a new passcode with letters will also return an error.
The Care Identity Management smartcard passcode policy is still 4-8 characters.
This is out of step with the revised Care Identity Service application passcodes, which must be 6-8 numbers.
A future release of Care Identity Management will align the two services. This is expected by the end of September 2023.
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