We’re excited to be hosting a webinar alongside BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, later this month, exploring the importance of MODS — the Minimum Operational Data Standard. Ahead of the in depth session, lets take a brief look at why MODS matters and how effective implementation can help organisations improve data quality, interoperability, and insight.
Organisations across all sectors are increasingly reliant on data from multiple sources — different systems, suppliers, partners, and platforms. While this creates opportunity, it also introduces significant complexity, including inconsistent terminology, poor data quality, duplication, and barriers to effective data sharing.
MODS was developed to address these challenges. While it has been applied to great effect in Adult Social Care, its principles and value extend far beyond a single sector.
Adult Social Care provides a clear example of the issues MODS is designed to solve. Historically, the sector has faced inconsistent data capture, limited interoperability, and difficulties meeting regulatory and reporting requirements.
By introducing a national data standard, MODS helps to:
Improve data quality and consistency
Enable true interoperability across fragmented systems
Support CQC and national policy requirements
Unlock innovation, analytics, and research
These benefits translate directly into better outcomes for service users and demonstrate how a shared data standard can transform an entire ecosystem.
A standard only delivers value if it is implemented consistently. The NHS Assurance Portal supports the successful adoption of MODS by:
Driving compliance with the standard
Supporting organisations through implementation
Enforcing consistency across systems and suppliers
Enabling continuous improvement
This assurance framework ensures MODS is not just a specification, but a living standard that evolves alongside organisational needs.
The principles behind MODS are applicable to any organisation managing multi-origin data sets and seeking to improve trust, interoperability, and insight. Wherever data flows across organisational or system boundaries, a shared operational data language can deliver significant value.
When data originates from multiple sources, organisations often struggle to:
Align inconsistent definitions and terminology
Integrate fragmented systems in a meaningful way
Maintain data quality at scale
Reduce duplication, cost, and administrative burden
Generate reliable analytics and insights
MODS provides a shared operational data language that brings structure and consistency to complex data environments, enabling data to be used confidently across teams, systems, and organisations.
To explore MODS in more detail — and to understand how its principles can support any organisation dealing with complex, multi-origin data — join our upcoming webinar in collaboration with BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
🗓 Thursday 22 January
⏰ 1:00–2:00pm
👉 Register for the webinar:
https://facultyofhealthandcare22012026.eventbrite.co.uk/