We are changing the Health Service's approach to how we provide information online. We are at the start of a process of improvement, focusing on providing what our users need. We have a long way to go but we have started to make it better.

HSE Digital values, vision and mission

Our values: Care, compassion, trust and learning.

Our vision: A Digital Experience Network for Health that fulfils care and trust online

Our mission: To help our users navigate and engage with Ireland’s health services online and manage and improve their health and wellbeing.

Our guiding principles

1. Put users first

We will learn what our users need and deliver experiences that meet their needs. We are a part of our users’ healthcare journey.

2. Be personal and relevant

Every engagement should be personal and relevant to the user and their context. Seize opportunities to cross-promote relevant content.

3. Publish with care

Everything we publish must be created, governed and maintained to be accurate, consistent, and of the highest possible quality.

4. Consider the ecosystem

Every element of the ecosystem affects the entire ecosystem.

5. Be accessible to all

we will strive to create an ecosystem that is understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, ability or disability.

6. Reuse and improve

We will focus on continuous iterative improvement benefiting the whole footprint rather than building new stand-alone products.

7. Be data driven

All decisions must be evidence based - backed up by data and user research.

8. Address accessibility, privacy, security

We take our responsibilities in relation to accessibility, privacy and security seriously. We will meet, and aspire to exceed, mandatory standards.

9. Be collaborative

We will work across health to ensure business needs are met, and identify opportunities to collaborate - with other teams and divisions - for the good of our users.

10. Design for scale

we will build an infrastructure that can accommodate requirements across the health service

11. Build for sustainability

we will Introduce a common lexicon, taxonomy and structured content model to ensure we can leverage future technology and changing user behaviour.

What does this mean?

In delivering our Digital Experience Network we will ask this single question - “Does it meet a user need?” - every time we think about doing something online. 

Everything we create or publish online must assist a user to:

• Access the health service.
• Understand the health service.
• Improve their health.
• Engage with the health service.
• Achieve better health outcomes.

If the answer is yes then we should do it.

Once we have published new information or a digital product we will ask the second question: did we meet the user’s need?

We will:

• analyse the data;
• get user feedback;
• test with users; and
• make the necessary improvements.

We should not publish online or develop a digital service or product without a valid, verifiable user need as this negatively impacts on the overall experience of the health service for our users.

A user-focused Digital Experience Network offers significant benefits for both users and the Health Service. The definition of users includes the public, patients, healthcare professionals, staff, businesses, media, government and all stakeholders in the Health Sector.