MyCare.scot – digital front door to health and social care: equality impact assessment summary

Background

Description of policy purpose, aims and context

MyCare.scot is Scotland’s national citizen-facing entry point for trusted health and social care information and digital services. This service forms part of Scotland’s wider commitments to modernising health and social care and aligns with national strategic frameworks including the Digital Health and Care Strategy, the Service Renewal Framework (SRF), the Operational Improvement Plan (OIP) and the Population Health Framework (PHF).

The service is designed to complement – not replace - existing non-digital routes of access, reflecting the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to accessibility, choice and digital inclusion

MyCare.scot supports the ambition for more joined-up, person-centred and equitable services and forms part of a five-year digital transformation programme running to 2030. However, the service will continue to evolve and improve beyond this period.

Rationale for the Policy

The Programme for Government (PfG) committed to developing a Digital Front Door into health and social care services, accessible online and via a device. This commitment has been reaffirmed through various PfGs and incorporated within the Service Renewal Framework and Operational Improvement Plan.

On 27 January 2025, the First Minister confirmed MyCare.scot as an essential step toward making care more preventative, accessible, person-centred and efficient. Evidence consistently shows that digital exclusion is intersectional, arising from overlapping factors such as income, disability, ethnicity, language, rurality and caring responsibilities. MyCare.scot is designed to address these barriers while extending the benefits of digital access to those who stand the most to gain.

The rationale is underpinned by evidence from sources including Audit Scotland’s Tackling Digital Exclusion (2025), the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit’s 2025 Inequality Landscape, the Care in the Digital Age Delivery Plan 2024-2025, and the Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index.

Development Process

MyCare.scot is being delivered collaboratively through the Digital Front Door Programme – a joint initiative between Scottish Government and COSLA. Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) is the commissioned technical delivery partner.

The programme follows an agile, user-centred and evidence-based delivery approach. This EQIA was initiated early in development and will remain a live document throughout. The co-production process included:

• Workshops with representatives of protected characteristic groups in 2023
• One-to-one sessions with participating equality and third-sector organisations
• Ongoing engagement with equality advisers
• User testing and targeted work with NHS Lanarkshire and PSD Scotland on the launch of the minimum viable product in December 2025.

The programme uses an intersectional approach at programme level, with PSD Scotland working through service design, user research and iterative development. Equality and inclusion assurance is embedded at both policy and delivery levels.

Who the policy affects

MyCare.scot will apply across Scotland to all citizens with access to health and social care services. It is currently targetted at people aged 18 and over, reflecting the current ScotAccount identity verification infrastructure. Future access for younger people will be explored through later programme phases and the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment.

The programme recognises that certain groups are more likely to engage with and be affected by the service, including:

• People who are unwell or managing chronic or acute health conditions
• Disabled people
• Older people
• Those in rural and remote areas
• People accessing information or services on behalf of others
• People experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage or digital exclusion

In addition to the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, this EQIA also considers the impacts on carers, people experiencing homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, people involved in the criminal justice system, armed forces communities, and people affected by addiction – in line with relevant Scottish legislation and policy frameworks.