Results from the latest Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) revealed that although 93% of NHS providers had an electronic patient record (EPR) in 2025, only 30% had fully integrated bi-directional data flows.
The DMA is an annual self-assessment survey which collects data on the digital and data maturity of NHS organisations in England, aligned with the seven pillars of the NHS What Good Looks Like framework.
It was completed by 205 NHS trusts and 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) in 2025, with scores varying dramatically across the country, more than doubling between the lowest and highest performing systems.
The findings, published on 27 March 2o26, show that providers performed most strongly in digital leadership and infrastructure, while capabilities around empowering patients and transforming care delivery were less developed.
Even among the top-performing quarter of systems, scores were relatively modest, although a small number of organisations achieved higher levels of digital maturity.
NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB was among the highest-performing systems, achieving top scores of five out of five across multiple digital maturity domains.
Several providers scored towards the lower end of the scale, at around two out of five, indicating more limited digital maturity.
Dermot Ryan, director of digital transformation NHS England, said: “The findings of the 2024 and 2025 Digital Maturity Assessments are a guide, not a ranking, measuring progress in digital transformation”.
NHS England said that the low level of EPRs with integrated bi-directional data flows — which enable data to move continuously between two or more systems — is “limiting system-wide productivity”.
The survey, conducted between April 2025 and June 2025, found that almost all providers said their staff could access a shared care record, with around 90% of them able to do this directly through their EPR or with a single sign-on.
It also found that 90% of providers had a central data repository, with two thirds of these including both clinical and non-clinical data such as operational or HR information.
All the ICBs surveyed had commissioned virtual wards, but only 86% of providers had them in place with two thirds of these saying that they could share data digitally with clinical teams to support virtual ward decision-making.
Commenting on the findings, Lee Rickles, chief information officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is encouraging to see that trusts continue to strengthen their smart digital foundations, a finding reflected in national reports that identify this as the strongest-performing dimension of digital maturity.
“At the same time, the assessment makes clear that empowering citizens through better digital access and engagement remains one of the most significant opportunities for improvement across the system.
“As we move towards the 2025 ambition for all trusts to reach a minimum level of digital maturity, these findings give us a valuable evidence base to guide investment, collaboration and planning.”.
EPR usability survey
Results from the 2024 EPR usability survey for secondary care, published the same day, show that 60% of doctors and 70% of nurses would welcome additional EPR training.
Also, 44% report receiving no further training after joining their organisation, despite evidence that regular training can return 50-60 minutes of clinical time per week.
Ryan said: “The 2024 EPR usability survey, the largest ever of its kind, offers a snapshot of EPR user satisfaction.
“Together, they show that to deliver the government’s 10 year health plan we must focus on maximising the effectiveness of existing digital platforms— so staff can work more effectively and patients experience safer, more joined‑up care.”
Responding to the survey, Thomas Webb, founder of Ethical Healthcare Consulting, said: “The real shift now is from deployment to optimisation.
“This isn’t about more technology, it’s about training, workflow and applying known good practice at scale.”
