Digital Maternity Record Standard
Summary
- Maternity service providers MUST implement the entire record standard.
- Ultrasonography service providers MUST implement the Scan Report Heading and all the Elements contained within that Heading.
- Other service providers with an active involvement during a pregnancy episode MAY implement the standard.
- Maternity staff MUST work with local informatics teams to ensure implementation.
- Care records
- Clinical safety
- Continuity of care
- Demographics
- Health
- Patient communication
- Referrals
- Tests and diagnostics
- Ambulance (Urgent and Emergency Care)
- Community health
- GP / Primary care
- Hospital
- Maternity
- Social care
- Urgent and Emergency Care
Documentation
The Digital Maternity Record Standard will help to improve the quality of maternity care records and support better information sharing during pregnancy, birth and post-natal care.
Health and care professionals, charities, maternity IT system suppliers, representative organisations and people who had used maternity services were invited to help shape the standard through a range of consultation opportunities. The latest release reflects this collaboration.
About this standardThe primary goal of the standard is to improve safety and effectiveness in maternity care by making sure health and care records are shareable across different IT systems and healthcare providers. The standard covers antenatal to postnatal care, ensuring its adaptability for future digital updates.
Implementing the standard offers several potential benefits;- Improves safety by providing accurate and accessible patient records, reducing errors in care.
- Improves risk management and information accessibility throughout pregnancy
- Personalised care and support plan for maternity
- Informed consent tool (including decision support tools with patient information aids)
- Equality & Diversity maternity policy
- Midwifery continuity of carer
- Maternal medicine
- Fetal medicine
- Perinatal pelvic floor health
- Smoking cessation
- MEWS / NEWTT-2
- Postnatal GP
- Perinatal mental health