How to read a digital requirement
A digital requirement tells a particular organisation what information it must send or make available, to whom, how and when. Read those elements together with the legal authority and the service conditions. That gives senior leaders a clear obligation to oversee and specialists a precise source to apply.
For example, a discharge requirement may name the responsible hospital service, its recipients, an electronic delivery method and a deadline. The hospital-discharge example shows how those parts fit together. The requirements table records the exact obligations.
Follow the obligation to its source
| Reading question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What information or capability is required? | Sending a summary, enabling a record view and supplying an electronic copy are different actions. |
| Which organisation must act? | The duty belongs to the named provider, contractor or controller within its defined scope. |
| Who receives the information or access? | A recipient's role and purpose help determine the permitted information and route. |
| What must be electronic? | The source may specify an active message, automated retrieval, a viewing facility, a copy or a particular format. |
| What triggers the duty, and when is it due? | A change to a record, discharge, registration transfer, request or reporting period can have its own timing. |
| What gives the requirement legal force? | A law, prescribed contract term, adopted contract, standard or service instruction has a different route and effect. |
A law can impose a duty directly or prescribe terms that must appear in a healthcare contract. A public-service contract can contain an enforceable delivery clause. A standard or system-access agreement can add conditions within its own scope.
The actor and service must match the source. English General Medical Services (GMS) terms apply to the specified NHS GP contractor; Scottish hospital and private self-pay services require their own applicable authority. The sender's obligation and the recipient's responsibilities must each be established. 183, 195, 212, 221
Legal-force labels
These labels explain what supports an entry in the catalogue. The confirmed obligations are separated from instructions or operational routes whose binding legal effect remains unverified.
| Label | Meaning in this guide |
|---|---|
| Statutory digital duty | Legislation, a statutory direction or a statutory notice requires the identified electronic action within its scope. |
| Statutorily prescribed contract term | Regulations require a defined healthcare contract to contain the term. The named contractor, service and conditions determine its application. |
| Contractual digital obligation | An applicable adopted contract requires the electronic action. The published clause identifies the version, provider and service scope to check. |
| Have-regard duty / conditional conformance | The body must consider the applicable standard under its legal regime. A separate contract may require conformance. The extent of implementation therefore needs its own authority. |
| Administrative mandate / participation condition | A national instruction or access scheme sets requirements. The entry identifies its force and any unverified statutory or executed-contract link. |
| Recommendation, operational service or unresolved | The source describes advice, a working route or an evidence gap. A binding digital obligation has not been established by that evidence. |
A policy's use of “must” records the publisher's instruction. To establish its legal effect, identify the authority, recipients and applicable regime. The legal framework explains those routes, including the saved regime for older English information standards. 008, 192
Digital delivery and format are separate
England's contract requires a discharge summary using a defined Delivery Method. Its GP route differs from the route to other health or social care providers. A specification then describes message content and transport. The contract definition says the summary may conform to DAPB4042; applicable independent standards-conformance clauses must also be considered. 181, 182, 185
An NHS-number requirement governs identification and can apply to paper as well as electronic correspondence. Establish the digital action separately. The blood-results example also distinguishes the duty to notify a finding from the method used to transmit it.
Contracts and the evidence boundary
For a contractual requirement, establish the adopted agreement, service category, schedules and relevant variations. The national catalogue identifies the published terms and flags the local documents needed to settle a particular provider's position.
A private provider can be bound when delivering covered publicly commissioned care, while its self-pay work has a different contractual position. The public/private comparison explains how funding, function and contract affect applicability. 181, 141
Conditions still apply to the digital exchange
Apply data protection, confidentiality, patient choices, identity and representative authority alongside the digital duty. They affect the information that can be disclosed and who can use it. The information-law account explains those conditions; the capacity and representation map applies them at discharge. 001, 002, 006
What does “return” mean?
A return is a report that an organisation submits. It can describe appointments, hospital activity, bed use or a claim for payment. The four national reporting examples explain who provides the information, what must be electronic, when and why.
Continue to the national comparison for the differences between the four nations, or use the requirements table to inspect a named obligation.