Coalition for change
Our commitment to progress
We have always represented the interests of our members and partners, from setting priorities for standards through to supporting suppliers and care providers to implement them in a way that is respectful of an already hard-pressed workforce.
Our Coalition for Change takes us one step further. It is an open invitation to our members and partners to work with us on individually small, but collectively decisive actions that will create a paradigm shift in the use and impact of standards.
Together we have the power to make good things happen.
Our coalition for change
We have identified five strategic missions:
1 . Help people to understand the fundamental role of standards
Technologies come and go rapidly, but data is constant whatever the system and the thing we need to get right. High quality, standardised data is the foundation of personalised, safer and consistent care. Without standards, big data for research and innovation is just BIG (and not very useful).
Information standards drive up data quality for better individual care, planning, research and innovation. They also generate the trust, transparency and collaboration – around what data should be collected and when it should be shared, with who and why – fundamental to the use of tools such as Artificial Intelligence.
We need health and care organisations to start with standards. But that requires people to understand what they are, how they work and why they are so important.
Shared Priority Actions
- PRSB will expand and refine our portfolio of standards, focusing development on the areas our members identify as most important.
- Our Coalition are invited to support our ‘start with standards’ campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the fundamental role of standards.
- We offer the Government our help in developing education and training resources to upskill the digital workforce of the future – the most important investment we can make towards consistent and high-quality data.
2. Champion the value of information sharing to improve health outcomes and quality of life
Shared information between health and social care organisations supports people to stay at home for longer and to receive better, safer healthcare when they need it. It has the potential to prevent millions of unnecessary A&E visits and delayed discharges from hospitals each year.
Without shared information, we can’t build the foundations of a preventative and truly person-focused system, we won’t tackle the elective care backlog or support our hard-pressed workforce. We will miss out on rich insights into the measures that drive the right outcomes for people and improve their quality of life. Perhaps if we focussed on these measures, alignment between health and social care organisations would happen of its own accord.
The opportunity is huge. Which is why we welcome the new Government’s commitment to a National Care Service, underpinned by standards, to deliver consistently high-quality care for all. We stand ready to help.
Shared Priority Actions
- We will champion development of health and social care standards that are 100% aligned with each other to better support integrated care and professional collaboration .
- Our Coalition are invited to help us drive implementation of standards that support
more integrated care. - We offer the Government our help to consult on the national standards required to underpin a National Care Service – one that is better integrated with our NHS.
3. Be bolder in our ambition to put people's needs and preferences at the heart of their health and care plans
There is strong evidence that involving people in their own care leads to increased satisfaction with services and better outcomes. 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.
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% fewer ED attendances.
Many of PRSB’s standards (About Me, Shared Care Records, Shared Decision-Making, Discharge Summary, Personalised Care and Support Plan) support individuals to self-care and share essential information about their preferences, needs, and wishes with professionals.
Shared Priority Actions
- PRSB will work to ensure healthcare leaders recognise the value of standards in driving prevention through personalized care, with a focus on promoting the Personalized Care and Support Plan (PCSP) as a key enabler of these efforts.
- Our Coalition are invited to support our #careaboutme campaign to embed About Me into the NHS app.
- We offer Government our help to make sure that the About Me standard is accessible consistently across the UK.
4. Join up efforts and align across borders to share learning and best practice and move further faster
Digital health is a priority across the UK and the wider-world and resources are scarce. The challenges are universal but with its vast amount of health and care data and leading position in life sciences and AI, the UK has a unique opportunity to unlock the enormous value of this resource.
With very different levels of digital maturity across the UK, let alone internationally, we have so much to learn from different cultures and contexts and so many benefits to share from collaboration.
PRSB already engages and coordinates with UK and international standards organisations and suppliers to ensure consistency and alignment with our core standards and share best practice. But we need to go further faster together if we want to become a truly learning health and care system.
Shared Priority Actions
- PRSB will facilitate a UK-wide standards working group to cultivate partnership across home nations, share learning and codesign approaches to implementation
- Our Coalition are invited to engage in our work with NHS England and other partners to develop common data models that underpin and align all standards regardless of use case.
- We offer the Government our help to get standards working across nations and
deliver a more joined up UK approach.
5. Increase the focus on implementation as the most important part of transformation
To support all of the missions above, standards need to be useful, usable and used.
A holistic, whole-system-owned implementation strategy would move us from the current state of waiting for standards and their benefits to be realised, to actively creating the demand and evidence, supporting widespread adoption and showcasing the impact.
To achieve this, there needs to be investment in training and supporting people alongside investment in technology; if the right balance isn’t achieved and the workforce isn’t effectively supported, digital transformation ambitions won’t be realised.
Shared Priority Actions
- PRSB will baseline the implementation of key standards and develop resources and tools to make implementation easier for both suppliers and providers.
- Our Coalition are invited to use their networks and channels to help us to gather insights that will inform improvements to the content, consistency, quality and useability of our standards.
- We offer the Government our help to mandate both the commissioning and implementation of minimum standards, setting goals for full adoption and actively supporting their implementation.
Our collective voice
Professor Andrew Morris
Director, HDRUK
“The highest performing health systems have ‘whole system intelligence’. This relies on robust data standards to drive data-driven care that is person-centred, safe, effective, efficient, equitable and timely.
PRSB standards exist to enhance the overall quality and usability of health data which holds untapped transformative potential for research that can improve people’s lives. HDR UK is a proud member of PRSB and is embracing the step changes we can make together towards better, safe, data-driven care, research and innovation as part of a coalition for change.”
Professor Erika Denton
Medical Director for Transformation, NHS England
"Standards underpin everything we do, and it’s our collective responsibility to champion their adoption and use as part of the care we provide.
As technology and clinical pathways continue to evolve, high quality data is essential for everything else to succeed.
Standards are at the core of safe, effective care across the health and care system - and that is why PRSB's work is so critical."
Professor Martin Green OBE
Chief Executive, Care England
Dr Jeanette Dickson
Chair of the Council, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
"As a founding member, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges remains fully supportive of PRSB’s crucial work in developing robust information standards for health and care.
Standardised, high-quality data is essential for patient safety, improving outcomes, and enabling seamless, evidence-based care.
PRSB standards contribute to a more integrated health and care system, enhancing continuity of care and empowering clinicians to make more informed decisions together with their patients."
Sir Julian Hartley
CEO, NHS Providers
"True digital transformation is not just about technology—it’s about fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and strong leadership at every level. Overcoming challenges like interoperability and workforce shortages requires a unified approach, where common standards support necessary data exchange, consistent digital infrastructure, and the capacity to build a skilled workforce.
That is why NHS Providers is proud to be part of PRSB’s Coalition for Change, working together towards a shared vision for better, safer care."
Paul Mason
CEO, Pennaeth Safonau Gwybodaeth | Head of Information Standards, Digital Health and Care Wales
“NHS Wales has been actively collaborating with the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) on the development of standards for our Radiology Replacement and Maternity services.
This partnership has proven to be invaluable, providing us with critical insights and identifying areas for improvement.
Through this collaboration, we have been able to ensure that our standards are not only aligned with best practices but also tailored to meet the specific needs of our healthcare services.”
Jonathan Cameron
CEO, Deputy Director - Digital Health and Care at The Scottish Government
"We have had fantastic engagement with PRSB who are working closely in partnership with Scottish Government and colleagues across Health and Care in Scotland.
As a strategic partner with PRSB, we look forward to continuing to develop our data strategy and delivery plans utilising the skills, experience and outputs that PRSB can provide”