Paul Martin, healthcare executive at Cognizant UK, supports the increased use of application programming interfaces in the NHS

Cognition UK的医疗保健执行官保罗·马丁（PaulMartin）支持在NHS中增加应用程序编程接口的使用

The NHS has begun to harness the potential of application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable data sharing and underpin development of a wide range of new applications - but there is still plenty to be done to obtain the full value from the movement.

NHS已经开始利用应用程序编程接口（API）的潜力来实现数据共享，并支持各种新应用程序的开发，但要从这一运动中获得全部价值，还有很多工作要做。

There is tremendous scope for this in the healthcare sector, with the development of an API infrastructure to support integrations from patient care into social care. This could make it possible for an organisation to develop a single API for a specific dataset that could be made available to internal teams and a range of external bodies for them to make use of the data..

随着API基础设施的开发，这在医疗保健领域有着巨大的发展空间，以支持从患者护理到社会护理的整合。这可以使组织为特定的数据集开发一个单一的API，该数据集可以提供给内部团队和一系列外部机构，以便他们利用这些数据。。

This would be most effective when supported by a robust API platform, a place that users can go to register, obtain documentation and test their solutions with an API, and the development of standards for best practice in their creation, presentation and how they are used.

当有一个强大的API平台支持时，这将是最有效的，用户可以在这个平台上注册、获取文档并使用API测试他们的解决方案，以及在创建、演示和使用过程中制定最佳实践标准。

Cognizant’s conversations with NHS digital leaders - including a recent roundtable - suggest there is a lot of enthusiasm at the prospect but also frustration at the progress so far. They identified a need to simplify the complexity in the effort and see how some suppliers of legacy systems could be incentivised to provide APIs.

。他们发现需要简化工作的复杂性，并了解如何激励一些遗留系统供应商提供API。

They called for an accreditation for systems that have APIs enabled and a scope for new suppliers to enter the NHS economy with new solutions..

他们呼吁对启用API的系统进行认证，并允许新供应商以新的解决方案进入NHS经济。。

Momentum for progress

取得进展的势头

Now, however, there is a momentum to overcome the barriers, with existing government resources and a plan to develop an API platform for the NHS in England.

然而，现在有了克服障碍的势头，现有的政府资源和为英格兰NHS开发API平台的计划。

The Government Digital Service has developed a catalogue of APIs from a range of organisations in central government, available on GitHub, to help build an understanding of what datasets can be reused and best practice in doing so.

政府数字服务局（Government Digital Service）开发了一系列中央政府组织的API目录，可在GitHub上获得，以帮助人们了解哪些数据集可以重复使用以及最佳实践。

Initiatives have also emerged within the health service. NHS England has an API and integration catalogue on those that are currently available or in development for itself and associated organisations. This includes standards and a guide to building software with the APIs.

卫生服务部门也提出了一些倡议。英格兰国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）有一个API和集成目录，其中包括目前可用的或正在为其自身和相关组织开发的API和集成目录。这包括使用API构建软件的标准和指南。

It also has an open API policy, including key expectations aimed at helping organisations to embed the use of APIs, and a supporting management programme providing components such as a service template and related management utilities.

它还有一个开放的API政策，包括旨在帮助组织嵌入API使用的关键期望，以及一个支持管理计划，提供服务模板和相关管理实用程序等组件。

The effort has now been intensified with work on an API platform as a ‘front door’ for health and care APIs.

随着API平台作为医疗保健API的“前门”的工作，这项工作现在得到了加强。

Three components

三个组成部分

It will consist of three components, the first being a hosting platform including proxies for security and rate limiting against bot attacks, a translation layer, sandboxes for early testing, an authorisation service integrated with the NHS Care Identity Service and NHS login, and tools for logging, monitoring and alerts..

它将由三部分组成，第一部分是一个托管平台，包括针对机器人攻击的安全和限速代理、翻译层、用于早期测试的沙盒、与NHS护理身份服务和NHS登录集成的授权服务，以及用于记录、监视和警报的工具。。

Second is a developer and integration hub for people building the front end applications that consume APIs. This includes tutorials for getting started, a catalogue, detailed API specifications, self-service access to test environments, a digital onboarding service and a developer community for help and support..

第二个是开发人员和集成中心，用于构建使用API的前端应用程序。这包括入门教程、目录、详细的API规范、对测试环境的自助访问、数字登机服务以及提供帮助和支持的开发人员社区。。

Third is the producer zone that includes self-service guidance, technical and non-technical support, and lightweight governance to ensure APIs are built to a consistent quality. It requires an NHS England Confluence account for access.

第三是生产者区，它包括自助服务指导、技术和非技术支持以及轻量级治理，以确保API以一致的质量构建。它需要一个NHS英格兰汇合账户才能访问。

The priorities in delivering these three elements are to produce a good experience for the people engineering APIs, balancing the needs of API consumers against risks, keeping consumer communities engaged, aligning with industry standards and balancing innovation with stability.

提供这三个要素的首要任务是为设计API的人员提供良好的体验，平衡API消费者的需求与风险，保持消费者社区的参与，与行业标准保持一致，并平衡创新与稳定性。

It is all designed to make integration easier between point-of-care, patient facing and back end applications within the NHS and from third parties. It also provides a range of benefits including lowering the barrier to entry for software providers, reduced software costs for the NHS, a variety of well integrated software for healthcare workers, and an environment in which digital innovation can thrive..

这一切都旨在使NHS内和第三方的护理点，面向患者和后端应用程序之间的集成更加容易。它还提供了一系列好处，包括降低软件供应商的进入门槛，降低NHS的软件成本，为医护人员提供各种集成良好的软件，以及数字创新蓬勃发展的环境。。

Exemplars and iterations

示例和迭代

An exemplar API – for the NHS Personal Demographics Service – has already been developed, more are being built and there are plans to migrate others onto the platform. A series of iterations is to follow to overcome any problems and provide a reliable resource.

NHS个人人口统计服务的示例API已经开发出来，正在构建更多API，并计划将其他API迁移到该平台上。随后将进行一系列迭代以克服任何问题并提供可靠的资源。

This will involve a lot of hard work but it will ultimately make things more simple for those using APIs to develop new applications.

。

NHS England is now looking for more developers and new ideas, urging them to register for an account on the platform, become active in the community, engage with the NHS Innovation Service, provide feedback and suggestions, and comment and vote on features of the work done so far.

英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS England）目前正在寻找更多的开发者和新想法，敦促他们在平台上注册一个账户，活跃在社区中，参与NHS创新服务，提供反馈和建议，并对迄今为止所做工作的特点进行评论和投票。

It should all help to build an API economy within the sector, making it as simple as possible for developers to do things that are really needed, while ensuring robust mechanisms for information governance, security and clinical safety are in place.

这一切都应该有助于在该行业内建立API经济，使开发人员尽可能简单地完成真正需要的事情，同时确保建立健全的信息治理、安全和临床安全机制。

UKAuthority and Cognizant are currently partnering on a research programme on the use of APIs throughout the health and public sector, investigating the issues in efforts to unlock their value for the public good. It includes a survey in which you can provide your perspective. Take part here.

英国权威机构（UKAuthority）和认知（Cognition）目前正在合作开展一项关于在整个卫生和公共部门使用API的研究计划，调查这些问题，以释放其对公共利益的价值。它包括一项调查，您可以在其中提供您的观点。在这里参加。

Paul Martin recently spoke at UKAuthority Integrating Digital Health and Care 2024 conference, catch up with his presentation now:

保罗·马丁（PaulMartin）最近在英国管理局（UKAuthority）2024年数字健康与护理整合会议上发表讲话，现在就来看看他的演讲：

Image source: istock.com/Aliaksei-Brouka

图片来源：istock.com/Aliaksei-Brouka