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Clinical Principles

Warning

These principles are not yet approved by the DHCW TDA

These principles have been developed by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) Clinical Design Principles Working group who report to the DHCW Technical Design Authority (TDA). The principles are owned by the DHCW Executive Medical Director/CCIO Wales and maintained by the Associate Director of Clinical Informatics Professionals & Business Change in collaboration with the DHCW Clinical Design Principles Working Group.

A principle is a guideline which supports consistent clinical design decisions and delivery. These principles are a guide for decision making by Service Owners, Product Owners and Clinical Informatics professionals.

To ensure that digital products and services comply with these principles, the principles should form part of the governance for their release.

There may be rare circumstances where a trade-off needs to be made between strict adherence with the principles and other considerations. The rationale for not complying with the principles should be documented. To the greatest extent possible, there should be an understanding of the route to compliance, and a target timetable to compliance.

These principles reflect:

1. Design with the Clinical Voice

Description: Involve clinicians at all stages of the discovery and design process to ensure practical and effective solutions.

Rationale: Ensures that designs are grounded in clinical expertise and real-world application.

Result: Solutions that are more Useful, Usable and Used as aligned with clinical workflow.

2. Design for Safer Care

Description: Ensure digital health technologies are safer and trusted by users and patients.

Rationale: Compliance with clinical professional and regulatory standards including clinical safety standards and medical device regulations.

Result: Enhanced patient safety and reduced incidence of digital-related safety issues.

3. Design Together for Wales

Description: Develop solutions that can be used across the entire NHS Wales system.

Rationale: Reduces unwarranted variation and duplication, ensuring consistency.

Result: More efficient use of resources and consistent UX across Wales.

4. Design for Clinical Value

Description: Design to provide tangible clinical benefits to patients and healthcare providers.

Rationale: Focuses on improving clinical outcomes and enhancing the quality of care.

Result: Improved clinical outcomes and higher quality of care for patients.

5. Design for Data Driven Care

Description: Ensure that solutions are designed to Collect, Store and Share structured clinical data through the Care Data Repository (CDR).

Rationale: The CDR is a foundational component of the national digital architecture, supporting safer, more informed decision making.

Result: Improved data quality and enhanced clinical insights that supports better outcomes for patients and more efficient service delivery.

Glossary

Term Definition
Clinical benefit A positive, clinical meaningful effect of an intervention on a patient’s health.
Clinical safety Specifically pertains to the safety of clinical systems and technologies used within healthcare
Clinical voice The voice of frontline clinicians delivering healthcare
Clinical workflows The systematic processes and interactions that guide the delivery of healthcare, encompassing all tasks and steps performed by staff and patients.
Clinician Someone qualified in an area of very skilled health work
Health & care Encompasses a broad range of services aimed at maintaining and improving overall health and well-being.
Health outcome The effect or result of an intervention, condition or event on an individual’s health or well-being.
Patient safety The prevention of errors, injuries, accidents, and other adverse events that may occur during healthcare delivery.
Real-world application The practical use of a concept, skill, or technology in real-life situations.
User experience (UX) The overall experience a person has when interacting with a product, system, or service.