JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The National Health Service (NHS), the healthcare system of the UK, is one of the largest healthcare entities in the world and has been successfully serving the UK population for decades. The NHS is also the 4th largest employer globally. True to its reputation, some of the most modern and technically advanced medical services are available in the UK. However, between the acute, primary, secondary, and tertiary care providers of NHS, there needs to be seamless integration and interoperability to provide timely, holistic care to the patients at a national level. Various efforts have been taken and programs launched since 2002 to achieve digital transformation in NHS, but with partial success rates. As it is important to completely understand a problem before trying to solve the problem, in this article, we focus on tools used to assess the digital maturity of NHS trusts and organizations. Assessment tools adopted from the global market, later modified and tailor-made to suit local preferences are currently being used. But there is a need for a robust framework that assesses status, allows target setting, and tracks progress across diverse providers.