Who is this for?

Local area commissioners and regional teams have told us that we need to rapidly improve the digital front door for all health and care services and provide better signposting to local services.

ICSs/ICBs can use the NDC Platform and Integration Strategy to:

• understand how current and future capabilities can help them meet the What Goods Looks Like Empowering Citizens measure
• confidently plan their investment case against local strategic priorities and outcomes, benefiting from having a zero cost digital front door to the NHS at scale 
• supports the objectives of the Who does What Programme, helping ICBs choose between using NDC Platform capabilities and commissioning a market supplier to support delivery of their local objectives 
• understand how improved patient personalisation capabilities across the platform can benefit the services that they choose to commission from the supplier market 
• understand how to position the NHS website or NHS App to their local providers

Suppliers told us they need a simple and clear route to integrate with our channels. To avoid wasted effort and build the confidence of ICS customers in their investment.

The supplier market includes those that integrate with our channels and those that consume our content.

Suppliers can use the NDC Platform and Integration Strategy to: 

• understand the current and future capabilities so that they can plan their own development roadmaps and investments
• understand how integrating their offering will enhance their service and reach
• understand available integration options, how to gain approval for integration and how the process works
• access NHS personalisation capabilities and user data, so they enhance their products and services
• quickly and cost effectively deliver services at scale

Content providers include third-parties, charities and arms-length bodies (ALBs) who can use content from the NHS website on their own channels.

In addition, charities and ALBs will be able to publish their content on the NHS website for onward syndication (not currently on the 2023/24 roadmap).

For example, Cancer Central uses the modularised NHS website content available in syndication APIs to deliver bite sized pieces of clinically verified content to people affected by cancer.

National policy teams want to understand how our programme of work supports commitments in the DHSC’s 'A plan for digital health and social care', Long-Term Plan update and Health Reform White Paper. Policy makers can also gain a better understanding of how the platform's capabilities can best support their own policy aims and priorities.