The Commissioning Data Sets (CDS) are patient level, secondary uses data sets providing information about NHS provided and NHS funded secondary care activity.

As a secondary uses data set, CDS re-uses clinical and operational data for purposes other than direct patient care. It specifies the data items, definitions and associated value sets to be extracted or derived from local information systems.

The data is submitted via NHS England’s Secondary Uses Service (SUS), in an XML format, on a weekly, monthly or annual basis, depending on the CDS type.

CDS data is used for a variety of purposes to support the NHS in the delivery of healthcare services, including national reporting through Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and the allocation of payments through the National Tariff Payment System.

About this change

The changes in this release update CDS to:

• Introduce SNOMED CT, as per the SCCI0034 information standard
• Introduce a complementary field to allow the submission of null responses alongside SNOMED CT codes, making use of the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) ValueSet
• Remove Read Version 2/Clinical Terms Version 3 (CTV-3) structures
• Conform with other information standards, such as:
  • DCB0028 Treatment Function and Main Specialty Standard
  • DCB3017 Overseas Visitor Charging Category
  • DCB0090 Health and Social Care Organisation Reference Data
  • DCB2094 Sexual Orientation Monitoring Standard.
• Introduce the ability to submit multiple commissioners
• Introduce a SPECIALISED SERVICE CODE data item, to support specialised commissioning requirements
• Introduce Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt) changes to support alignment with the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) submissions of data for private patients
• Add data items to support NHS England and NHS Improvement Outpatient Transformation Programme requirements
• Add data items to match and enable linkage with the forthcoming Ambulance Data Set
• Capture risk assessments completed for ophthalmology patients and an associated ‘latest clinically appropriate date’ for treatment
• Remove enumerated value lists from the submission XML schema for some data items
• Retire redundant CDS types i.e., types 021, 030-110 and 170
  • Note that type 010 (A&E), which was originally included in CDS 6.2, is now a separate information standard DCB0092-2062 Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS)
• Align with changes to the NHS Data Model and Dictionary

Note that this release confirms the move to weekly submission for the following CDS types:

• 020 Outpatients
• 120 Admitted Patient Care - Finished Birth Episode
• 130 Admitted Patient Care - Finished General Episode
• 140 Admitted Patient Care - Finished Delivery Episode

From 1 April 2022, providers of NHS-funded secondary care activity SHOULD be able to collect the information as defined in the Technical Output Specification for local use.

From 1 April 2022, providers of NHS-funded secondary care activity SHOULD start making CDS v6.3 submissions.

By 1 April 2023, providers of NHS-funded secondary care activity MUST be fully conformant with CDS v6.3, including the capture and submission of any new mandatory or required data items.

Note: CDS v6.3 will replace CDS v6.2 at a date to be determined following successful implementation of CDS v6.3.

Note: While implementation activity may start immediately, the Enhanced Technical Output Specification will be published in July 2021, and the XML schema will be published in September 2021, as set out in section 3.5.4 of the Implementation Guidance. This may have an impact on implementation, and the consequential risk has been accepted by the development team.