Building Healthcare Platforms in the UK: What You Need to Know

Building healthcare technology in the UK is uniquely challenging. The combination of strict regulatory requirements, NHS integration needs, and high user expectations means you can't cut corners. Here's what we've learned from building PharmaTek and working with healthcare clients.

Understanding the Regulatory Landscape

The first thing any healthcare platform builder needs to understand is the regulatory environment:

• GDPR applies extra strictly to health data, which is considered "special category" data
• NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) is required for any organisation handling NHS patient data
• MHRA regulations come into play if your software could be considered a medical device

Before writing a single line of code, you need to understand which regulations apply to your product and plan for compliance from day one.

Privacy by Design

In healthcare, privacy isn't a feature—it's a fundamental requirement. This means:

• . Minimize data collection: Only collect what you absolutely need
• . Strong access controls: Implement role-based access with audit logging
• . Encryption everywhere: Data at rest and in transit should always be encrypted
• . Right to erasure: Build data deletion capabilities from the start

NHS Integration Considerations

If you're building for the NHS ecosystem, you'll likely need to consider:

• NHS login: The standard authentication mechanism for patient-facing services
• FHIR APIs: The international standard for healthcare data exchange
• NHS spine: The central system connecting NHS organisations
• GP Connect: APIs for accessing patient record data

Each of these has its own authentication, testing, and compliance requirements.

What We Learned Building PharmaTek

When we built PharmaTek, we made some decisions early that paid dividends later:

• . We implemented comprehensive audit logging from day one
• . We chose FHIR as our internal data model, even before external integrations required it
• . We built our consent management system to be granular and explicit
• . We designed for accessibility from the start, not as an afterthought

These early decisions meant that when it came time to seek NHS approval and handle compliance reviews, we were ready.

Key Takeaways

Building healthcare platforms in the UK requires:

• Deep understanding of regulatory requirements
• Privacy-first architecture decisions
• Planning for NHS integration from the start
• Comprehensive security measures
• Patience—compliance takes time

If you're considering building a healthcare platform and want to discuss your project, get in touch. We'd love to help you navigate these challenges.