NHS API Integration

NHS API integration can be complex due to a range of technical, regulatory, and operational challenges. These often include navigating legacy systems, ensuring compliance with NHS data standards, and securing the right approvals from NHS England or regional bodies. Many health tech innovators also find it difficult to access up-to-date documentation or to understand which APIs are most relevant to their use case, especially in a rapidly evolving digital health landscape.

To overcome these challenges, it’s crucial to engage with a partner who understands the NHS ecosystem and can provide both strategic guidance and technical delivery. At 6B, we streamline the process by handling API discovery, managing assurance pathways, and designing integrations that align with current NHS interoperability frameworks like FHIR and GP Connect. Our experience in the digital health domain means we anticipate regulatory roadblocks and resolve them before they impact your product roadmap.

Effective NHS API integration has a direct and measurable impact on clinical safety by enabling faster, more accurate access to patient data. By integrating your application or platform with NHS APIs, healthcare professionals can make better-informed decisions, reduce the likelihood of errors, and avoid unnecessary duplication of services. This not only improves the patient experience but also supports safer care delivery across different care settings.

Improved integration also contributes to better long-term patient outcomes. By enabling continuity of care and reducing delays in data sharing, digital health solutions can support proactive management of chronic conditions, personalised treatment planning, and faster referrals or discharges. In short, NHS API integration isn’t just a technical requirement—it’s a clinical enabler.

Yes, in many cases, NHS Digital (now part of NHS England) requires assurance for digital products integrating with core NHS services. This includes security, clinical safety, and interoperability assessments that ensure your solution is safe, compliant, and fit for deployment within the NHS. The level of assurance needed will vary depending on the API you’re integrating with and the nature of your service.

6B supports clients through the entire NHS assurance process. We help you understand what standards apply, prepare necessary documentation (such as DPIAs, DTAC, or CSO evidence), and liaise directly with NHS assurance teams to reduce delays. With the right preparation and guidance, this process can be streamlined significantly, helping you go to market faster.

NHS API integration creates a robust foundation for scaling your digital health product. By aligning your platform with national standards such as FHIR and HL7, and by integrating with widely-used services like NHS Login or GP Connect, you position your product for adoption across multiple NHS organisations without needing bespoke modifications for each trust or region.

Moreover, by working within NHS digital architecture, your solution is better equipped to adapt to future changes in policy, system upgrades, or interoperability mandates. As NHS infrastructure evolves, your integrated product can evolve with it, reducing the need for costly rebuilds and ensuring you stay compliant and competitive over time.

Absolutely. While NHS API integration is often associated with public sector services, private healthcare providers and digital health startups can also benefit. Many NHS APIs, such as PDS for demographics or EPS for prescriptions, can be used by accredited third-party applications to deliver more joined-up care between NHS and private systems—assuming the necessary governance is in place.

By integrating with NHS APIs, private providers can enhance the patient experience through better information access, improved referral pathways, and interoperability with NHS systems. 6B helps private sector clients understand eligibility, gain access to APIs, and integrate securely—opening new opportunities for collaboration and service innovation.

Cybersecurity is a critical component of any NHS API integration. Given the sensitive nature of patient data and the strict data protection obligations under UK GDPR and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT), every integration must be designed with robust security controls. This includes end-to-end encryption, secure authentication (e.g., using NHS CIS2 or NHS Login), audit logging, and access control mechanisms.

At 6B, we adopt a “security by design” approach. Our integration solutions are built with NHS information governance requirements in mind, and we conduct regular risk assessments to ensure compliance. Whether you’re handling demographic data or clinical records, our team ensures that your integrations are secure, scalable, and trusted by both regulators and users.

The timeline for NHS API integration can vary significantly based on the complexity of your product, the specific APIs involved, and the readiness of your technical infrastructure. For straightforward read-only integrations (e.g., demographic lookups), timelines can be as short as a few weeks. More complex, bi-directional integrations with services like EPS or Spine can take several months, especially if assurance and testing processes are required.

6B helps to shorten these timelines through careful planning, stakeholder engagement, and deep familiarity with NHS systems. We establish clear integration roadmaps and proactively manage dependencies, ensuring that your project progresses efficiently without compromising on quality or compliance.

6B is uniquely positioned to support digital health innovators with NHS API integration thanks to our deep sector experience and technical expertise. We don’t just write code—we understand the clinical, regulatory, and user experience aspects of NHS-facing applications. Our team has delivered integrations across primary care, secondary care, and mental health settings, giving us a nuanced understanding of what works in practice.

When you work with 6B, you gain more than just a technical supplier—you gain a partner who is committed to the long-term success of your product. We support you through discovery, assurance, implementation and beyond, ensuring your NHS API integration not only works, but adds real value to patients and clinicians alike.