Health and Social Care Organisation Reference Data
Provides reference data about the Organisations that comprise the health and social care services, including non-direct-care Organisations, primarily in England but also in the other UK-constituent countries.
Contents
The standard
How to use this standard
Follow these steps to use Organisation Reference Data and ensure adherence to this information standard.
Contents
Step 1 - Review the Information Standard
Review the Information Standard to understand the correct application and usage of Organisation Reference Data.
1. Read the <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/information-standards/governance/latest-activity/standards-and-collections/dapb0090-health-and-social-care-organisation-reference-data">DAPB0090: Health and Social Care Organisation Reference Data</a> standard. 2. Read *this* <a href="https://standards.nhs.uk/published-standards/health-and-social-care-organisation-reference-data">NHS Standards Directory webpage</a>.
- Documentation
About this standard
- Publisher
- NHS England
- Also known as
- Organisation Data Service
- ODS
- Reference code
- DAPB0090 Amd 25/2022
- Publication date
- 8 June 2022
- Status
- Active
Show definitions of statuses
Active. Active standards are stable, maintained and have been approved, assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.
Deprecated Deprecated standards are available for use and are maintained, but are being phased out, so new functionality will not be added.
Retired standards Retired standards are not being maintained or supported and should not be used.
- Standard type
- Information standards
Show definitions of standard types
Collections. A Collection is a systematic gathering of a specified selection of data or information for a particular stated purpose from existing records held within health and care systems and electronic devices.
Extractions. An extraction is a type of collection that is pulled from an operational system by the data controller and transmitted to the receiver without additional processing or transcription by the sender.
Information standards. Information standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines, or definitions.
Technical Standards and specifications. Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.
- Contact point
ssd.nationalservicedesk@nhs.net
Using this standard
- Associated medias
- Applies to
- Healthcare System / Software Suppliers
- Primary Care Organisations
- Secondary Care Organisations
- Independent Sector Healthcare Organisations
- Commissioning Organisations
- Health and Social Care Authorities and Agencies
- Impacts on
- Any individual, organisation, body or entity engaged in supplying, contracting, or otherwise interacting with health and social care, and whom makes use of Organisation Reference Data currently or in the future.
- Effective from
- 29 July 2022
Topics and care settings
- Topic
- Appointment / scheduling
- Authentication
- Data definitions and terminologies
- Demographics
- Interoperability
- Key care information
- Messaging
- Reference data
- Referrals
- Care setting
- Dentistry
- GP / Primary care
- Pharmacy
- Prison
- School
- Social care
Dependencies and related standards
- Dependencies
No known dependencies.
- Related standards
A very large volume of stand-alone information standards require the use of Organisation Reference Data within data sets. For example to identify commissioners, referrers, those responsible for payment, and many other use-cases.
Review Information
- Sponsor
Will Monaghan, Director of Operations, NHS England and NHS Improvement
- Senior Responsible Officer
Fran Woodward, Director of Data Strategy and Policy, NHS Digital
- Business Lead
- Mike Presence Lead Business Analyst, Organisation Data Service, NHS Digital
- Approval date
- 11 May 2022
- Post Implementation review Date
- 31 March 2023
- Technical Committee
Data Alliance Partnership Board (DAPB)
Legal basis
- Link to Information Standards Notice (ISN)
- View the information standards notice
Information Standards Notices (ISNs) are published to announce new or changes to information standards published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
- Legal authority
Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
This information standard is published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
- Licence information
Open Government Licence
More information
Organisation Reference Data is distributed, consumed and uploaded to health IT systems. It supports user security, access control, messaging and is used as reference data for both operations and reporting; see some examples of use.
All users of Organisation Reference Data must consider the impact of updates to both this information standard and to the contents of Organisation Reference Data itself, and make timely, appropriate changes to systems and processes.
Data Access
Explore ODS products to access Organisation Reference Data. ODS products use the same data model and are refreshed at 2am each night.
Data Availability
View the ODS Reference Data Catalogue to understand the:
- Scope of Organisation Reference Data available
- Data items included and their definitions
- Maintenance and quality of the data
Stay Informed
Organisation Reference Data users must subscribe to ODS newsletters to stay informed about:
- updates and enhancements to ODS products
- organisation mergers, splits and acquisitions
- any changes to this information standard
Subscribing to ODS newsletters enables advance notification of upcoming changes, allowing the timely consideration of impacts and identification of any required changes to systems and processes.
Contact ODS
ODS have registered Organisation Contacts (OC1s) who can request changes to Organisation Reference Data records, by raising a call with the NHS National IT Customer Portal following this guidance).
Organisation Reference Data consumers may raise a call by the same method for any general queries about the data or to:
- Report an issue with an ODS product
- Provide feedback or request an enhancement to an ODS product
- Raise any significant impact of an upcoming change
Page last updated: 10 February 2026