Adopters' guides- Social care guide: how to use this website

This website helps you plan when buying, deploying or using artificial intelligence or digital healthcare technology in social care. It explains the regulations and guidance that may apply to using the technology in your service. Each page explains why the guidance is important and whether it is a legal requirement or best practice.

We recommend you read the webpages for developers of digital healthcare technologies. These will help you understand the guidance and regulations that apply to a technology, for example:

• Complying with medical device regulations. You’ll need to understand whether the technology is a medical device. Sometimes, what makes it a medical device is the way it’s used: for example, using a technology to help someone diagnosed with dementia, when the technology is marketed as a direct-to-consumer product. You should pay particular attention to guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on intended purpose and getting a UKCA mark
• Registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) if you provide, or intend to provide, adult social care activities in England. The use of digital technologies can form a regulated activity. If you’re not already registered, you’ll need to check if you need to register with the CQC

We also recommend you read guidance for adopters of technologies on understanding the evidence for a technology before adopting it. This can help you show clients and staff how a technology works. It can also help make sure you get value for money from the technology.