DSIC foundations and applicability

What DSIC means

Digital Services for Integrated Care (DSIC) is NHS England's model for digital care products, capabilities, standards, assurance and routes to market. It evolved from GP IT Futures and extends across care settings. It is not one clinical application or one interface. ⁰⁷²

The model needs several different kinds of evidence:

This table is a synthesis for review. A catalogue entry, supplier claim or component feature cannot answer every row. Requirements apply to a defined solution and baseline, not to a product name in the abstract. ^{002, 034, 035}

Read the capability structure precisely

A capability describes a business need. Epics and acceptance criteria make that need assessable. All acceptance criteria for an applicable Epic matter. Additional Implementation Details are mandatory assurance inputs; Supporting Information provides guidance. A MAY Epic can become mandatory through the contracting vehicle or a Supplementary Care Standard. Check selection and scope before treating absence as a breach. ⁰⁸⁰

The buyer guidance identifies six foundation capabilities: appointments, referrals, resources, patient information, prescribing and consultation recording. A non-foundation product is assessed against its own capability scope. Resource Management therefore needs explicit coverage in a foundation review, even though it received little attention in the seed. ^{095, 082}

Standards and assurance boundaries

Overarching standards govern cross-cutting matters such as safety, information governance, continuity and testing. Non-overarching standards govern particular interfaces. Supplementary Care Standards group requirements for a service or setting. Different entities have independent versions and lifecycle states. A high version number, future publication or retired page is insufficient evidence of the effective baseline. ^{001, 003, 024}

Baseline Assurance is an initial risk-based stage. Remaining requirements, agreed work-off dates and assurance conditions still need inspection. Record the solution category, service type and relevant contracting vehicle rather than inferring them from product size. ^{002, 059}

The Tech Innovation Framework is a route for core GP EPR innovation and is extended to 30 September 2027. A planned replacement procurement is distinct from a live call-off. Reconfirm the actual buying route and contract when reviewing a product; this reference is not procurement advice or evidence of a supplier appointment. ⁰⁷⁴

Four data journeys that need separate analysis

These are review distinctions derived from the source set and local research. Success in one journey does not establish success in another. NHS migration guidance supports planning and responsibilities, but is not a complete project plan. S26 has a narrower Catalogue/contracting-vehicle scope that must be decided separately. ^{007, 026, 027, 028, 032, 073}

Scope beyond England NHS general practice

Apply DSIC obligations through the relevant contract, capability, interface and jurisdiction. A Defence or devolved-nation deployment can use a DSIC requirement as a comparison without automatically being bound by every England commissioning rule. Keep statutory applicability, contractual adoption, national-service eligibility and voluntary safety practice separate. The local research synthesis explains how prior work informed these distinctions.

Plain-language glossary

Glossary descriptions are editorial aids. The applicable standard's definitions govern formal decisions.

Standards baseline and applicability map

DSIC model

DSIC means Digital Services for Integrated Care. It groups functional business needs into Capabilities, technical/non-functional obligations into Overarching Standards, interface obligations into Non-Overarching Standards, and setting/service obligations into Supplementary Care Standards. A Capability contains MUST and MAY Epics. All acceptance criteria for an applicable Epic must pass its assessment. Additional Implementation Details are mandatory; Supporting Information is guidance. A Contracting Vehicle or Supplementary Care Standard can mandate a MAY Epic. Draft, Published, Effective, Deprecated and Retired are separate lifecycle states; publication alone does not prove present applicability ^{001, 080}.

The Baseline Assurance Standard (BAS) is an onboarding milestone, with further requirements and timeframes depending on the contracting vehicle and solution category. Do not equate BAS completion or catalogue visibility with all applicable requirements being closed. Confirm the scope and evidence of assurance ^{002, 059}.

Observed overarching standard versions

These are retrieved public-page metadata, not a promise that every supplier contract adopts the same version. Reconfirm against the approved product baseline before a formal compliance finding.

Version history U01 — resolved metadata conflict: On 28 October 2026 the live canonical Confluence content API returned S30 v7.0.0, Effective 23 October 2026. The canonical page was updated on 26 October 2026. Cached web extraction still displayed v6.0.3, while the separate v6.0.4 page is Retired. Use the live public-page baseline for this reference; obtain the product’s adopted contractual baseline before a formal finding ^{005, 058}.

Accessibility distinction: Do not apply the draft GP extension as an already effective contractual DSIC requirement. Existing accessibility law, accessible-information duties and clinical safety considerations still require assessment independently ^{016, 017, 050}.

Principal functional capabilities

Other capabilities need a separate applicability decision when offered: advice and guidance, care plans, care navigation, caseloads, workforce/resource management, custom workflows, dictation, dispensing, medicines optimisation, medical reports, emergency alerts, remote monitoring, risk stratification, population health, reporting, extract verification, patient requests, prescription ordering, appointment check-in, video consultations, social prescribing, domiciliary care and personal health records/budgets. Their presence is a trigger to obtain the applicable capability/Epic baseline, not a claim that this file reproduces each one ⁰⁶⁸.

The current relationship guide groups six foundation capabilities: Appointments Management – GP, Consultation Management – GP, Patient Information Maintenance – GP, Prescribing – GP, Referral Management – GP and Resource Management. Resource Management C12 covers organisation sites and staff records; it is broader than appointment scheduling. The 2020 buyer guide provides historical context, while current individual capability pages govern adopted requirements ^{025, 081, 082}.

DCB and related baseline

Future/change watch: Prescribing C14 v4.0.0 was Published with effective date 4 December 2026; Patient Information Maintenance C13 v14.0.0 was Published with effective date 20 April 2027. Treat as forward requirements until adopted/effective in the relevant baseline. DCB standards being reviewed is not evidence that a replacement has already taken effect ^{056, 057, 034, 035}.