Making sure digital care records speak the same language
The Adult Social Care DSCR Minimum Operational Data Standard (MODS) was formally published 1 April 2025, for digital social care record (DSCR) assured solution suppliers.
It has been developed by the digitising social care programme (DiSC) over the past four years with people from across the sector to provide a set of standard data and definitions to help care providers received information in the same format, and label it the same way, across all care systems in England.
All DSCR assured solution suppliers are obliged to comply with this standard by the effective date of 1 July 2026. The details of the standard can be found on Confluence including details of how to register for the MODS assurance tool.
Ensuring that all care providers and partners are speaking the same language when it comes to the data they record, collect and safely share is key to helping deliver better, safer and more personalised care for everyone. This information standard will unlock the potential to deliver a range of benefits for both care providers, those people receiving care and their families.
It will ensure care packages can be set up faster, more efficiently and in close collaboration with partner organisations in the NHS and the community. It will also help to reduce the burden on care providers, freeing up precious time and resources to deliver care.
Like any language, the data requirements and formats will evolve. The digitising social care programme will continue to work with representatives across the care sector to ensure these standards are regularly updated to reflect developments and best practice.
The new Minimum Operational Data Standard (MODS) has been developed primarily for Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care providers which use or are preparing to use assured DSCRs for recording standardised information to share.