Overview
This article explains how Rio Evo is designed to support NHS organisations across their key digital obligations, including the Digital Maturity Assessment, What Good Looks Like, interoperability requirements, data security standards, and the strategic direction set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan.
The Digital Maturity Assessment and What Good Looks Like
The Digital Maturity Assessment is the annual self-assessment completed by every NHS trust and ICB in England, scoring organisations on their digital maturity against the What Good Looks Like framework. Now in its third year, the DMA has become the primary mechanism through which organisations are benchmarked on digital progress, both internally and by commissioners, ICS partners, and NHS England. Results are published nationally, tracked year on year, and increasingly used to prioritise digital investment and support across systems.
The What Good Looks Like framework underpins the DMA and sets out seven success measures for digital transformation applicable to all care settings. For mental health and community health trusts, the most directly relevant pillars are:
Clinical and care records: a modern, structured EPR meeting NHS documentation standards with role-based access and real-time data.
Local health and care records: FHIR R4 aligned APIs supporting ICS shared care record participation.
Infrastructure and security: DC2 hosting meeting NHS data security requirements, supporting DSP Toolkit and cyber assurance obligations.
Workforce and leadership: a system designed to reduce administrative burden and support staff in delivering digitally enabled care.
Rio Evo has been built with the DMA pillars as a reference point throughout development. For organisations preparing for their next DMA cycle, refreshing their digital strategy, or under ICS pressure to demonstrate digital maturity, Rio Evo provides a well evidenced and forward looking answer to the EPR question.
Interoperability and shared care records
Rio Evo is built on an open API architecture aligned with FHIR R4 and NHS interoperability standards. In practical terms this means:
Connection to ICS shared care record platforms is supported without requiring bespoke interface development.
GP Connect integration is supported, enabling access to GP record data within the Rio Evo clinical workflow where locally agreed.
NHS Notify integration is supported for patient communications.
Information Standards Notice updates are delivered more efficiently on the DC2 infrastructure than on previous hosting environments.
For NHS mental health and community health trusts under ICS pressure to demonstrate shared care record participation, Rio Evo's architecture removes many of the technical barriers that have historically made this difficult.
Data Security and Protection Toolkit
Rio Evo runs on the Access Datacentre infrastructure, which provides:
ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification (ISOQAR)
AES-256 encryption for all data at rest
24/7/365 monitoring through the Access Global Network Operations Centre
DDoS protection and next-generation security controls
Cyber Essentials Plus readiness
Organisations preparing their annual DSP Toolkit submission will find the DC2 infrastructure provides a well documented, independently certified foundation for the data security and protection sections of the assessment.
The NHS 10 Year Plan
The NHS 10 Year Plan sets a clear direction toward technology that reduces administrative burden on clinical staff, supports the shift of care into community settings, and enables neighbourhood health models. Rio Evo has been built for this operating context: a modern EPR designed specifically for mental health and community health services, not adapted from an acute model.
Key areas of alignment with the 10 Year Plan include:
Support for community based care delivery, including mobile access and remote working capability.
Reduction of administrative burden through modern workflows and a system designed around how clinical teams actually work.
Interoperability that supports the joined-up care models the Plan envisions across primary, community, and mental health services.
Digital maturity that supports organisations in demonstrating readiness to commissioners and ICS partners.
Using Rio Evo in your digital strategy
For organisations developing or refreshing their digital strategy, Rio Evo provides a coherent and forward looking answer to the question of EPR provision. It is a platform that aligns with NHS direction of travel, meets current security and interoperability standards, and is designed to grow with your organisation's digital ambitions over time.
To discuss how Rio Evo maps to your organisation's specific digital strategy and obligations, contact your Account Manager. Supporting documentation on DMA and WGLL alignment, DSP Toolkit positioning, and interoperability architecture is available on request.