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Introduction to NHS DTAC Version 2 (DTAC V2)
The Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) serves as England’s foundational framework for assessing digital health technologies, ensuring they meet essential standards in clinical safety, data protection, technical security, interoperability, usability, and accessibility.
Since its launch in 2021, DTAC—now anticipating the imminent arrival of DTAC Version 2 (DTAC V2)—has become a foundation for NHS compliance. It is widely viewed and used as both a tool for evaluating readiness and an entry point for suppliers into the NHS ecosystem. However, the pathway to its adoption has not been without challenges.
So, with the imminent release of NHS DTAC Version 2 of the assessment criteria, alongside various policy commitments made through the publication of the 10-year plan and other regulatory bodies and policymakers, what can industry hope for from DTAC Version 2?
The History of DTAC and the Road Towards NHS DTAC Version 2
DTAC emerged from the now-discontinued Digital Assessment Questionnaire (DAQ), which was initially used to vet products for the NHS Apps Library. The DAQ programme was dissolved following critical feedback around its inefficiencies, including misalignment with NHS priorities and a lack of value for public funds. In response, NHSX designed DTAC to set a unified standard, addressing clinical safety, data protection, and technical requirements, while being more cost-effective.
With the anticipated introduction of DTAC Version 2, or DTAC V2, industry expectations are that the next iteration will further strengthen these standards and address previous weaknesses, creating a more consistent assessment process for digital health suppliers across the NHS.
The Challenge and the Imperative for DTAC V2
The NHS is a vast labyrinth of services, and whilst they remain consistent in branding and mission, there are numerous system-level and geographic variations in how DTAC and compliance more generally are assessed.
Some organisations make it relatively simple for suppliers to evidence compliance with DTAC, whilst others have layered additional expectations on top of the minimum requirements. This presents not only duplication of effort for suppliers in addressing compliance requirements but also means that across the entire health economy, each health system may be reviewing the same information multiple times to come to similar conclusions of competency or quality.
These inconsistencies have highlighted the need for streamlining—something many hope will be addressed with NHS DTAC Version 2 (DTAC V2). The duplication and varied interpretation of the existing DTAC process present both challenges for the NHS and suppliers, but also an opportunity to promote cross-organisational working. To some extent, this has already happened with the establishment of ICB specialist groups for Governance or Clinical Safety, but due to liability issues, progress to secure ICB-wide approvals at a compliance level is challenging—verging on impossible—for suppliers. It’s also equally challenging to gain approval at a local level due to a lack of specialised resources and a prioritisation for major projects such as EPR implementations.
So how do we solve the gap in assurance?
Hopes for DTAC Version V2
DTAC’s primary purpose is clear:
To provide NHS organisations with a checklist-based approach to evaluate digital health technologies during procurement and commissioning.
But, to harness the power of this standardised assessment and help manufacturers expedite approvals as part of procurement, there need to be some systemic changes made to how DTAC is managed in Version 2 (DTAC V2):
- Shared Liability: NHS organisations should be comfortable with their peers’ assessments of quality, and where activities such as DCB0160s and DPIAs have been completed elsewhere, they should be made available to other systems to use to prevent duplication. Needless to say, there should still be an opportunity for ‘healthy challenge’ amongst experts if they feel there has been an oversight of risk—this, after all, is how safety is achieved at a system level—but there should be shared liability across the whole NHS. Ideally, DTAC Version 2 will pave the way for this critical shift.
- Passportability: This has to follow shared liability. The Innovation Passport will prove to be a key pillar of adoption in the future and needs to be prioritised alongside other policy commitments in the 10-Year Plan. With the aspiration to move from ‘analogue to digital’, this cannot be left at the wayside for innovation to continue to butt-heads with established processes. DTAC V2 implementation could finally create this more streamlined, portable approach to compliance across the NHS.
Looking to the Future: The Impact of DTAC V2
The DTAC framework is at a critical point, with the current consultation and related reviews offering a unique opportunity to streamline processes, clarify roles, and enhance its alignment with both the UK and international healthcare landscapes.
Stakeholders across the digital health ecosystem are watching closely, expecting that NHS DTAC Version 2 will deliver a more harmonised, effective, and supportive environment for suppliers and NHS organisations alike.
I look forward to seeing the full and final Version of the DTAC (DTAC V2) in September, following our review and feedback in July, which 8foldGovernance shared with our partners at the ABHI. I am hopeful it is complemented by a clear directive from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that it should be used as an enabler for innovation and not a wall to throw up to prevent purposeful progress.
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Don’t wait for DTAC V2 to launch—get ahead now! Schedule a call with our team to review your compliance approach and get actionable insights on preparing for NHS DTAC Version 2.
