NHSX is planning to build a tool to support social care providers in choosing digital systems.
It has outlined plans for an online decision tree to help them identify, purchase and implement digital social care records.
The move is based on longstanding concerns around smaller social care providers being slow to adopt digital records and the necessary data standards.
It also comes a few months after NHSX began work on a Digital Social Programme aimed at accelerating the adoption of digital records by providers by social care providers.
The organisation has now published a market notice saying it requires a team to run an eight-week project to design and build a cloud hosted tool to provide guidance to buyers. The team will also be responsible for designing the questions.
Hands-on support
The notice says that user research in the programme has identified a need for hands-on support in buying and implementing solutions.
“Through the decision tree tool social care providers will be guided through key questions to identify solutions that, meet their operational and functional requirements, are within their budget envelope, and are the best fit solution(s) for their overall requirements,” it says.
The tool is expected to sit on the Digital Social Care website.
NHSX adds that the list of accredited suppliers of systems is expected to grow.
On launching the programme in September of last year, it pointed to the slow progress in making use of digital technology and records in the sector, saying that 30% of providers are still using entirely paper based systems and another 30% are only partially digitised.
In the past, the Care Software Providers Association has been among the bodies highlighting the need for data standards and digital maturity in social care.
Image from iStock, T Popova
