Health and social care - data strategy: 2025 update - progress and priorities

Success so far

In our second year since publication, we continue to make progress in realising the ambitions of the Strategy, building on the foundations of our achievements in year one.

As mentioned, digital and data are integral in realising the renewal and reform of health and social care. The effective use of data in particular supports effective planning and management of services, such as allowing identification of needs at a population level and in supporting research and innovation to deliver improved treatments and ways of working.

The Digital Front Door will be a key development in improving people’s access to data. The first iteration, currently being developed, will launch in December 2025 in NHS Lanarkshire for dermatology outpatients and will allow people to access their personal health and care information, appointments, and information on online services before being rolled out with additional functionality across Scotland. It will underpin delivery of other digital and data services such as a Digital Health and Care Record, making it easier for staff and individuals to have access to the right data at the right time.

We continue to expand on the capabilities of the National Digital Platform. This is a key enabler to improving access and use of health and care data as it supports many other services such as the Digital Front Door and the Seer 2 platform that provides the infrastructure for national analytics.

These developments are key to supporting reform of the NHS and social care. For example, identifying differential outcomes and access to services for different population groups and supporting targeted intervention and improving services for people. Having access to data for analysis helps us to better understand population health and areas for action that support preventative care - this data could be used to support campaigns to target obesity. Better sharing of near real time data such as the availability of hospital beds or social care capacity is key to planning and delivery of responsive services and will be critical to supporting the shift from acute care to the community.

In addition, the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill has passed Stage 3 of the Parliamentary process and will now be sent for Royal Assent. The provisions contained within the Bill will be a key enabler in further improving the quality, consistency and sharing of information across health and social care, including with the individual whom it is about. It will drive up the quality, consistency and interoperability of data held across the sector as it provides Ministers with powers to mandate information standards for the sector. Through the Data Standards Sub-board, we continue to develop our governance for setting out preferred data standards for use across the sector to encourage consistency and interoperability. Crucially, the Bill also recognises in law the need for everyone accessing health and social care services in Scotland to have the opportunity to have a digital health and care record.

Lastly, we have continued to improve the approvals process for accessing data for research and innovation purposes by publishing a refreshed Safe Haven Charter. This sets the strategic direction for Safe Havens in Scotland, streamlines the approvals process and provides greater data controller confidence. This is a key step to supporting our reform ambition to adopt new innovations. By enabling easier access to data and improving the population coverage, this will enable research to take place at pace to drive innovation and improve delivery of care for people in Scotland.

We acknowledge that there is still some way to go to fully realise the vision and ambition of our Strategy. However, it is clear that digital and data is fundamental in delivering the First Minister’s priorities for renewal and reform. We therefore will continue to build on progress, to improve infrastructure and skills to support better sharing, access to, and use of data. In doing so, we support innovation and efficiency and take a whole-system and preventative approach.

Priority Action Areas

1. Ethical approaches to data

2. Data Access

3. Talent and Culture

4. Protecting and Sharing Information

5. Technology and Infrastructure

6. Information Standards and Interoperability

7. Creating Insights from Data

8. Research and Innovation