Version: 1.0.5 | Published: 18 Mar 2026 | Updated: 27 days ago
Summary
Reference Code:
TIFFS
Publication Version:
1.0.0
Type:
Technical standards and specifications
Applies To:
- Organisations that delivery of telecare services.
- Contact and responder staff
- Operational Management
Topics:
Telehealth and Virtual Care
Care Settings:
Community health
Alternate Name:
TIFFS
Introduction:
The content of the standard - topics or questions; the codes, descriptions, and formats; and the explanatory guidance and suggestions on where further narrative detail would be useful - are intended as part of the foundation on which a modern telecare service can function and develop. The detail, once fully implemented in time, will give a universal minimum data set that provides comprehensive information and helps support telecare as person centred, trusted and safe, digitally focused and an essential part of an integrated health and care system.
Publication Date:
01 March 2023
Contact Point
Contact Point:
Contact Point Comment:
Transformation Support Lead, Technology Enabled Care Programme
Documentation
Associated Media:
Description:
By design TIFfS has the potential to deliver information that can be used for multiple purposes. Examples
of the kind of important questions that may be answered after the implementation of TIFfS are set out in
Appendix One. The main uses should be for the delivery of telecare services - contact and responder staff,
and operational management, are likely to be the principal users. The sharing of key information about
customers in need of urgent care with emergency services is also vitally important and has influenced the
content. TIFfS however also offers the basic data that, when aggregated, can enable summary information
to be generated - for example for benchmarking or for reporting, as required, on performance. The
information will also be an important source of national requirements for statistical and research
purposes.
It is likely that parts of TIFfS will be recorded and stored in different systems, such as a generic social care
systems - but the majority of the data is expected to be held in the system used by the alarm receiving
centre. Ideally, where multiple systems are involved, these will be designed to share the data virtually or
be interoperable and that a specific piece of data will only need to be recorded or updated in one system.
The content of the minimum data set has been developed through a collaboration between staff in the
Scottish Government’s Technology Enabled Care (TEC) programme and with staff from organisations which
deliver telecare services across Scotland. Wider contact, such as with TEC Cymru, has influenced elements
of the design. It is envisaged that the detailed content will be enhanced over time, especially as new digital
approaches to care are developed, and arrangements will be agreed to ensure that any changes to TIFfS
can happen in a systematic way.
Telecare services can collect further data where this is required for local purposes, but TIFfS is intended to
be the minimum universal standard for available data throughout Scotland.
For further information about the fields, codes and values and their sources and alignment with other
datasets, an accompanying reference document is being developed. By its nature, the majority of the fields
are unique to the provision of telecare services, and have been arrived at through extensive co-design
sessions. That said, where possible, fields align with wider health, housing and social justice data, providing
a framework for personalised services to be delivered to an individual across often artificial departmental,
organisational and geographical boundaries.
Documentation Link:
Dependencies:
Name:PHS Revised Source Social Care Dataset (March 2020)
Explanation:The Social Care (Source) dataset is a Public Health Scotland (PHS) national
collection that provides individual-level information on social care clients,
including care at home, care homes, and self-directed support, designed to fill
gaps in other data sources
Review & Status
Scope:
This has been co-designed by service providers using the Scottish Approach to
Service Design.
Mandated:
Yes
Status:
active
Origin
Name:
Data Catalogue