Welcome to the website of the Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care (ISB).  Established in 2001, the ISB initially provided an independent mechanism for the assurance and sign off of Information Standards for use in the NHS (England) and in its work with other agencies such as social care.  As of January 2008, the scope of ISB now formally includes information standards within social care.   

Health and Social Care is complex with many areas of speciality and care delivered in a variety of environments.  Health and Social Care information - in breadth and depth - reflects this complexity.  As computerisation increases, supporting better care and broader choice for individuals, a further layer of complexity is added.  As the health and social care arena adapts to the possibilities afforded by Information Technology and new innovations, Information Standards will help in achieving the goals:

• They introduce consistent language for common understanding.
• They permit easy transfer of information between computer systems.
• They allow better analysis of health records.
• They underpin meaningful communication between healthcare professionals and with patients. 

ISB focuses on interoperability, implementation, fitness for purpose and safety when undertaking its continuous assurance and approval of Information Standards – through development, implementation, change and review.

Using the links on the left, you can explore further the work of ISB and how it is undertaken. The site includes a searchable repository of ISB approved Information Standards and Standards under development. It contains latest news and a page of links to sites of interest about health and social care and Information Standards. The information will be of interest to professionals and organisations that work within Health and Social Care, along with suppliers of electronic systems and services, and individual users of services.

If you have a question about ISB, Information Standards or the content of the website, please contact isb@nhs.net.