The first step to transforming health and care
The #StartwithStandards campaign has been launched to highlight the importance of standards in health and social care and the significant impact they have on improving services.
Through this campaign, we aim to raise awareness of PRSB and the vital role our record standards play in health and care improvement.
We want to engage new audiences, spark meaningful conversations, and strengthen connections with our existing members and partners.
What are health and care records?
Health and care records contain essential information about a person’s medical and social care history and are critical for safe, efficient and person-centred care. They include personal details such as:
- a person’s medical history
- allergies
- test results
- medications
- treatments
- care plans
- appointments
- admissions and discharges
- social care assessments and support plans.
These records ensure that health and care professionals have access to accurate, up to date, and relevant information so they can provide safe and effective care.
People access care in many more settings today than they ever did before, and for professionals and people themselves to have a complete picture of a person’s health and care we need to join all these many records together, so information follows the person whenever and wherever care is provided.
Why do we need record standards?
For information to flow smoothly between systems, it needs to be recorded and organised in a consistent way every time. That’s why we use nationally agreed standards and definitions—so that any system can send, receive and display the information accurately without any loss of meaning.
As healthcare systems and technologies rapidly advance, standards ensure that patient records remain consistent, structured, and compatible across different platforms. They allow innovation without disrupting or compromising the integrity of the data.
Standards for health and care records have many benefits
- They can improve patient care and safety by reducing errors caused by missing, ambiguous, inaccurate or inconsistent data.
- Support clinical decision making and increase efficiency by reducing administrative burden
- Improve engagement with people receiving care
- Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
- Facilitate AI and machine learning – predictive analytics and AI driven diagnostics
- Enhance interoperability – aligned with HL7 FHIR IT vendors can adopt new technologies without altering the core structure of the records
- Support faster adoption of AI, cloud based EPRs, mobile health apps and digital transformation without risk to the records.
What we do
We are the Professional Record Standards Body.
We are recognised as the UK authority on health and care record standards. We bring together a collation of ninety members, including Royal Colleges, social care bodies, patient advocate groups and IT supplier partners representing the full spectrum of the health and care system.
Together, we firmly believe that accurate and meaningful information, supported by robust standards, is essential for creating an integrated view of a person’s health and care status, history, needs, and preferences, enabling seamless care throughout their life.
We are experts in high-quality data – the bedrock of a modern health and care system and the foundation for the delivery of the NHS 10 Year Plan and AI Opportunities Action Plan.
What we do:
- Develop record standards
- Engage stakeholders across health and care professionals, patients and industry
- Technical integration
- Support implementation and adoption
"Starting with standards is not just one piece of the transformation puzzle; it’s the first and most essential step toward building a health and care system that is fit for the future."
Professor Reecha Sofat, Chair of PRSB
Supporting seamless, joined-up care
People access care in multiple ways throughout their lives. To ensure the correct professionals, and the person themselves, have a complete picture of what is required, these records need joining together.
This way, we can ensure this record follows the person whenever and wherever care is provided. Standards help with this process.
Standards help record
information consistently.
Standards ensure information can be tailored for everyone’s needs.
Standards can ensure that meaningful information reaches the right professionals at the right time.
Standards are essential!
Just as seatbelts reduce fatalities and injuries on the road, standards ensure that the right information is available at the right time, allowing health and care professionals to make informed decisions.
When health and care professionals have the right information in front of them, they can make effective, safe clinical decisions and engage in meaningful consultations.
Shared information between health and social care organisations supports people to stay at home for longer. It has the potential to prevent millions of unnecessary A&E visits and delayed discharges from hospitals each year.
When every clinician knows exactly what information needs to be collected the guesswork is removed, allowing professionals to focus on care.
A Health Foundation study of 9,000 people with long-term conditions found that people who feel confident to manage their own care had 18% fewer GP visits and 38% attendances in Accident and Emergency.
With overwhelming demand for services and an increasing focus on prevention to tackle NHS waiting lists and bolster the workforce, the best assets we have are people themselves.
Putting our standards into practice
PRSB standards are built around a defined set of core components, such as medications, allergies and vaccinations, as well as general information about a person, such as their GP surgery, date of birth and NHS number. These elements create the building blocks for each standard.
PRSB’s Core Information Standard covers the broadest range of uses of health and care information. However, there are times throughout someone’s life when different, or more detailed, information needs to be available, and PRSB has defined record standards for these situations too.
Choose a drop down box below to see how these standards can make a difference in practice:
Diabetes: Ojaih's story
Ojaih
Diabetes UK estimates that over 5.6 million people in the UK are living with diabetes — an all-time high. As diabetes remains a prevalent condition, it is increasingly important for people to feel supported in managing their health and to trust that their care team has access to the information needed to deliver high-quality care. However, this information is not always shared consistently.
Ojaih Willow, Diabetes Person Lead at the PRSB, lives with type 2 diabetes. She frequently encounters issues with information sharing, such as duplicated procedures. For instance, she once had a blood test at the hospital, only to repeat the same test the following week at her GP due to a lack of communication between the two services.
At times, she has had to carry paper records because her diabetes consultant could not access her eye screening test results digitally. On one occasion, her treatment was delayed because her healthcare professional did not have the necessary information.
The PRSB’s Diabetes Record Information Standard supports accurate and up-to-date information sharing between health and care professionals and people receiving diabetes care. The standard facilitates care planning, which is a vital component of a personalised care and support plan. It provides clinicians with a holistic view of the individual’s health, including their conditions, goals, needs, and preferences, while also empowering self-management.
Ojaih’s care plan helps her manage her diagnosis and goals by clarifying what actions to take to stay well and how to address any changes. For example, she can review her test results to track improvements. Her healthcare professionals also have access to her care plan, enabling them to understand her goals and collaborate effectively to achieve them.
“What the Diabetes Record Information Standard does is enable a lot of information to be shared with your healthcare professional before you even get to your appointment. It reduces the need to remember every single detail of my care history and allows me to focus on the actions that improve my health rather than on the administrative burden.”
“I would urge any organisation to implement the Diabetes Record Information Standard because it helps professionals to work effectively and efficiently, reducing errors, waste of time and duplications. It also enables people with diabetes to contribute meaningfully to their own care.”
“By implementing the standard, you’re enabling me, as a person living with diabetes, to get the best possible outcomes in the most efficient way possible.”
About Me: Sam and Shane's story
Sam and Shane
As a parent-carer of someone with complex needs, Sam Goncalves is in constant contact with the health and care system. As you move between care support staff, you are often asked to repeat your loved one’s ‘story’, which is an extremely sensitive and difficult topic. This was Sam’s reality and is currently still the case for so many other parents and carers.
Her son, Shane, lives with complex conditions and needs, including cerebral palsy. He wears ankle foot orthotics that allow him to walk. If his ankle foot orthotics are put on incorrectly, they rub and cause him pain, which in turn means he cannot wear them and cannot walk, removing a key chunk of his daily independence.
Using About Me information, Sam recorded a short video with clear instructions of how to properly fit Shane’s orthotics, giving us assurance that his independence will be retained, should any new care staff enter his life.
Shane likes to start each day with a sensory communication activity, known as a Tacpac session; information that is recorded in his About Me via using the Rix Research and Media Wiki, Sam had an idea to try a Tacpac session before his vaccinations, and this calmed Shane’s nerves to the extent that he was able to have both doses and his booster with minimal discomfort. This may have been a much harder process for Shane and his clinicians, had his About Me information not been available for all involved. As this example demonstrates, the About Me standard ensures essential care is given in a way that is tolerable and suited to the person. When we know how to support a person, it has a real benefit to their day-to-day life.
“People are experts on themselves, and their values and preferences should be respected. Using input from people with lived experience and professionals, the About Me standard gives people a voice by prioritising this information.
For parent carers like myself, the About Me Standard is the difference between care staff giving essential care and excellent, personalised-care, that sees the person for the individual they are.”
Are you a digital health or care system supplier?
Join our digital care community to learn more!
PRSB have a partnership scheme, where we link our wide-ranging community, ensuring they are the first to hear about changes in the health and care sector.
Our partners are the first to find out about new standards developments and opportunities to contribute to our projects around improving the quality of health and social care records.
You’ll also get exclusive access to online events on key digital health topics. We offer the opportunity for our Partners to influence the themes and topics we discuss, including speaking opportunities to ensure the messages reach all in the health and care sector. You can also benefit from our promotional opportunities, helping you showcase your brand in front of our extensive networks!
Are you an existing PRSB Partner?
You can elevate your digital health or care solution through standards conformance!
Over 67 digital health and care solutions are either conformant with PRSB standards or in the process of achieving conformance.
Being conformant means that your system meets the requirements for robust information sharing – a key to safe, integrated and personalised care!
Why PRSB conformance matters?
- Ensures consistency in people’s records across different care settings.
- Reduces errors and improves safety.
- Facilitates better coordination of care between hospitals, GPs, and social care providers.
- Supports digital transformation and integration within and between different settings.
Support our campaign
You can get involved by learning about our standards, educating others on their importance, and advocating for their adoption. Support our mission by raising awareness of why good information is essential for safe, high-quality care. Please use our resources in the dropdown below.
You can also stay updated on upcoming events and campaign initiatives by checking this page, and talk to us if you’d like to get involved. We’d love to hear how you are starting with standards—are you an implementer, a provider, or part of the wider health and care community? Let’s work together to make a difference!
Share our message with these resources
Post on X
I’m supporting @ProfRecordSB’s #StartwithStandards campaign to raise awareness of the importance of sharing standardised, accurate information between health and care settings in improving people’s quality of care: https://theprsb.org/startwithstandards/
PRSB’s standards ensure that meaningful information reaches the right professionals at the right time, supporting them in providing safe and effective care. Visit the #StartwithStandards campaign to learn more: https://theprsb.org/startwithstandards/
LinkedIn
Copy the text below into your LinkedIn post
I’m supporting Professional Record Standards Body’s #StartwithStandards campaign to raise awareness of the importance of sharing standardised, accurate information between health and care settings.
PRSB’s health and care record standards ensure that the right data is shared with the right clinician at the right time, enhancing safety, empowering individuals in their care, and improving integration between health and social care.
Find out more and get involved at: https://theprsb.org/startwithstandards/
Download these images for your social media posts
Do you publish a newsletter?
We’d love for you to help promote our campaign by sharing the content below!
Start with standards for more seamless and joined-up care!
The Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) has launched their #StartwithStandards campaign, which aims to educate health and care professionals, digital system suppliers and sector leaders about the importance of using health and care record standards in improving the quality of care.
PRSB health and care record standards ensure that health and care professionals have access to accurate, up-to-date, and relevant information so they can provide safe and effective care.
Visit the campaign page to find out more about the role of PRSB standards and how you can get involved: https://theprsb.org/startwithstandards/.
#StartwithStandards
