Digital health and care strategy: enabling, connecting and empowering

National Direction and Leadership

Domain A

This is a joint strategy for Scotland across national government, local government and the NHS. Similarly, delivery of the strategy needs to be a partnership endeavour, where we harness not only the collective skills, talents and capacity that exists within our public services, but also those of industry, academia, the third and independent care sectors and the wider public.

'We believe there are a number of services which could be delivered from the centre more efficiently, balancing cost and quality, on a 'once for Scotland' basis.'
– Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee report on technology and innovation in health and social care

By July 2018, we will establish a national decision making Board made up of Executive representatives of the Scottish Government, Local Government and the NHS, with additional support and advice from industry, academia and the third sector.

This Board will drive forward this agenda by:

• Making key national decisions, including on areas such as the standards required to deliver interoperability and information sharing across health and care.
• Agreeing the financial framework for implementation.
• Identifying priorities for development and improvement.
• Overseeing and coordinating developments to ensure coherence, address risk of duplication, and maximise synergies and efficiencies.
• Reviewing and streamlining existing groups, networks and committees.
• Monitoring and reporting on delivery of this strategy at periodic intervals.
• Overseeing the development of a measurement framework and support for benefits realisation and evaluation.
• Establishing appropriate structures to manage individual programmes of work.
• Overseeing adherence to standards, compliance, transition etc.
• Sharing best practice and identifying opportunities for collaborative working and embedding new ways of working through appropriate fora.

National and other organisations with responsibility for implementing elements of this strategy will report regularly to the Board on progress.