Version 9 of the Information Governance toolkit was released in August 2011. This NHS tool is updated and re-released each year. It ought to be completed by all healthcare establishments, regardless of whether the healthcare organisation is NHS based or privately run. In addition, any organisation that processes top secret or patient level information on behalf of the NHS should also complete an annual Information Governance assessment, and from August 2011 onwards, causes and establishments that belong to the voluntary sector can complete Information Governance (IG) assessments too.

Version 9 of the toolkit demands that a greater level of information about how an organisation conforms with each of the IG standards is provided. Indeed, the toolkit submission will not be marked by the Department of Health if it is thought that insufficient information is provided to support an organisation's self assessment of their compliance with each IG standard. It is therefore imperative that a large number of detail is provided for each standard. Without it, foreign exchange you are unlikely to pass the Toolkit assessment. This can have disastrous effects, as most NHS contracts stipulate that the Information Governance Toolkit must be passed annually by any organization that blends with them or provides services to them.

So, what information should you include within your assessment tendencies to avoid your submission being rejected or returned to you as 'insufficient'? The list below provides some pointers:

-- Be sure to respond to every one of the requirements that sit within a standard. The detailed description for each standard is very helpful here,ISO 9001 toolkit as it provides you with a list of the type of operational processes or documentation that the standard requires. Work through this list and ensure you have these processes or documents in place. Then state this explicitly within your assessment response.

-- Make sure you provide written examples of how you comply with the prerequisites of each standard. If the standard tickets that you have an Information Sharing Policy in place, you'll want to say more than just, 'we have an Information Sharing Policy'. Something similar to the following statement is more preferable: 'We have an Information Sharing Policy in place which is reviewed and updated appropriately on an annual basis by the Information Governance sub-committee. All staff are required to read this policy when they commence employment with us, and this is recorded on a policy signatory form. Furthermore, the principles contained within the policy are reiterated in our mandatory Information Governance training. no

-- There is an include option contained within the Toolkit for establishments to include waste evidence to each standard. This is a powerful way to demonstrate your compliance with a standard and should use wherever possible.