Under the Custodian Model, clinical software developed in the open is held by a clinician-led custodian - for DITO, the Apperta Foundation - rather than locked to any single vendor. The custodian represents the wider NHS on policy, standards, safety and security; accredited professional-services partners implement and support the software; and every health and care organisation can both use the product and contribute to its development.
Why it matters
- Ownership sits with the sector, not a supplier: no vendor lock-in, and no orphaned software when a supplier moves on.
- Clinical governance is built in: the custodian's subcommittees provide clinical leadership, safety assurance and change control.
- A competitive support market grows around the codebase - implementation partners compete on service, not on captivity.
- Compliance is automated: through DITO, software under the Custodian Model is scanned automatically against the OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 standard.
Documents
- Custodian Model overview v2.0 (PDF) - as presented at the DITO Showcase, 3 December 2019.
- Developing in the Open governance (Apperta repository)
- The Custodian Model is a pillar of the method story alongside the TCI eChain of Prevention paper and the Open Digital Approach.