PCNs need access to data security teams to avoid risk

Primary care needs access to data security teams at the neighbourhood level, according to a digital transformation lead.

Dr Tom Micklewright, clinical lead for digital transformation in primary care at Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, said it was important to connect general practice with data experts.

Speaking at Pulse PCN’s Birmingham event, last week, he said: ‘Where there is sometimes specialist expertise, it doesn’t sit at the neighbourhood level. We’ve got to get better at connecting general practice with where those resources are the system, whether that be a CSU or an IT provider.

‘Every hospital trust will have a clinical safety team and data protection officer and security person. We need to make sure those services are available to general practice otherwise we’re taking on all the risk with none of the expertise at our level.’

Dr Micklewright added that while there are over 350 health apps available to patients and clinicians, only 20% currently pass the quality thresholds set by Orcha, the organisation for the review of care and health apps where he is also medical director.

However, Dr Micklewright said PCNs and practices do have options available to them to help ‘navigate the market’ of digital tools, despite this lack of access to security teams.

This includes asking developers for the digital technology assessment criteria (DTAC), which is a checklist of conformance standards.

‘A developer who wants to work with the NHS should complete this self-assessment criteria,’ said Dr Micklewright. ‘It asks questions like do you have a clinical safety team? Do you have a clinical safety report? Do you have a technical security certificate?

‘It’s a very quick way to look through and see if they are compliant with all of the main legal requirements and digital safety security standards.’

PCNs can also ask suppliers for a clinical safety report, which will say who the safety team is, how regularly they test the product, what issues they have identified and what they have done about it.

‘They should all be able to provide you with this report, and very quickly you’ll be able to see if this an organisation that takes safety seriously, or if it’s a checkbox exercise. And it will also make you aware of the risks associated with using the product,’ he said.

He added that Orcha also provides assessments on apps and currently works across 60% of ICB regions.

‘Orcha assesses digital health products against 350 criteria questions that cover usability, security, effectiveness and safety. Rather than giving you a long checklist, they bring it all together into a series of four simple scores and an overall score out of 100,’ he said. 

He also urged PCNs  to approach their health innovation networks which might have suggestions of tools they can work with. These networks are set up across the country and funded by NHS England.

Dr Micklewright said: ‘Their job is to scale the adoption of proven and effective tech, so they’ve often got a pipeline of products that they’ve already worked with, already assessed the evidence themselves.’ 

For more information on the upcoming Pulse PCN events click here.