New NHS Standard for the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag (RADF)

The NHS has introduced a new Information Standard for the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag (RADF). This standard outlines how health and care providers can record and share information about patients who require reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

The RADF will be used across the NHS to help staff understand a person’s needs quickly and provide safer, more inclusive care.

The RADF information standard

A cross-sector NHS communication indicated that by 30th September 2026, healthcare providers must have the capability to:

• read RADF information
• write RADF information where appropriate
• share RADF information with other NHS providers

However, all pharmacy owners already meet these requirements through their National Care Records Service (NCRS) access and do not require any additional systems. This also means there is no requirement for pharmacy owners to contact IT suppliers about this topic.

About the flag and how to use it

The RADF is a shared NHS record held in the NHS Spine. It lets authorised staff record and view key information about a patient’s needs, for example:

• communication support
• help for people with learning disabilities
• sensory impairment adjustments
• other disability-related needs

This information is visible in SCR/NCRS, enabling pharmacy teams to review it to support safe, person-centred care.

Refreshing your knowledge with the NHS How to use the NHS RADF in NCRS guide and RADF e-learning can help ensure your team understands what reasonable adjustments are and how they can support people effectively.

Information Standards

Following changes to the Health and Care Act 2022  it became mandatory for all NHS and publicly funded health and social care service providers, including pharmacy owners, to comply with information standards if they are subject to them. Previously, the requirement was advisory only.

The Equality Act

Pharmacists have a duty to make an assessment of a patient, under the Equality Act, to determine if a reasonable adjustment is necessary and if so, what that reasonable adjustment is. This duty remains unchanged.

The RADF is a useful indicator that another health care professional has determined that a reasonable adjustment was necessary for the patient during their assessment and care for the patient. Pharmacists can use this information during their assessment of the patient.

What’s changing for community pharmacy?

Community pharmacies already provide reasonable adjustments and can already view RADF information through NCRS.

What’s new is that the NHS is now enabling this information to be recorded and shared consistently across all care settings. This means staff in other healthcare settings will see the same information that you see in the pharmacy.

For pharmacy teams, this brings practical benefits:

• RADF information will be easier to find when you need it (over time, as RADF and NCRS improvements occur)
• information will be more consistent across NHS services
• communication between providers will be smoother
• duplication will be reduced for both patients and staff

The RADF is designed to support your existing processes — not add new steps or replace what you already do.

What does this mean for your everyday practice (in summary)?

Pharmacy teams can:

• continue to view RADF information in NCRS
• use it to understand patient needs more quickly
• continue to apply professional judgement when deciding what is safe and reasonable

Pharmacy teams are not expected to:

• record every possible adjustment
• check the NCRS portal for every patient in case of a flag
• replace normal assessments with the RADF
• rely on RADF information as a mandate for action
• contact their system supplier

The RADF supports your work — it should not increase burden or replace your professional decision-making.

Further support, guidance and training

A full set of resources — including guidance, new FAQs and links to NHS training — is available at our RADF webpage.