Technology - About technology

The technology section gives more detail about the common tools teams building health and care products must consider, in line with section 11 of the NHS service standard.

Using common tools and technologies across health and care will help:

• improve user journeys
• make sure services comply with national standards
• reduce the cost of building new products and services

Common tools and their uses

Tool	What to use it for
NHS login	To authenticate identity
Personal Demographics Service (PDS)	To manage patient demographic data

Approval of common tools

The System Design Authority (SDA) approves inclusion of common tools in the service manual. It has approved the above tools so far.

For a technology or tool to be added to section 11 of the NHS digital service standard it must:

• have a clear onboarding process for integration into a product or service
• be well documented, including support information for developers and users
• have a transparent and robust assurance process
• support national standards

We're very interested in hearing what you think about the standards and technology section of the service manual and how it might, or might not, help you develop digital services in health.

Email us or get in touch on the service manual Slack channel.

Updated: March 2022