Who we are:
The Clinical Digital Resource Collaborative (CDRC) is an NHS‑owned digital innovation partnership that develops and delivers high‑quality clinical resources to support safer, more effective patient care across primary care settings. Based in the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) but with a growing national reach, CDRC brings together clinical, digital and informatics expertise from multiple regional organisations to create resources that integrate seamlessly into EMIS Web and TPP SystmOne, supporting clinicians where they work.
Our purpose is simple: to make it easier for clinicians to do what matters most — deliver exceptional care to patients.
CDRC is a collaboration of:
- Health Innovation North-East North Cumbria
- CBC Health Federation Ltd
- North East Commissioning Service (NECS)
- Cumbria PRIMIS Informatics
- NHS NENC ICB
What we do:
CDRC develops a robust suite of NHS‑validated digital resources that reflect accepted clinical pathways and regional priorities. These include:
- Population reporting tools for identifying and managing patient cohorts
- Clinical templates for structured, safe review and coding
- Patient status alerts and icons to highlight essential information
- Localised referral forms that auto‑populate from the patient record
- Visual dashboards for quick clinical and administrative insight
These tools cover a wide range of clinical areas such as cardiovascular health, diabetes, respiratory disease, frailty, safeguarding, cancer, women’s health, and many more.
All resources undergo hazard review by North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) to ensure they are safe, accurate and clinically robust.
Our Journey:
CDRC’s origins trace back to the Derwentside Clinical System (DCS), created in 2015 by Dr Gareth Forbes to bridge the gap between clinical guidance and real‑world implementation. The DCS delivered notable improvements in patient safety, medicines monitoring, and outcomes for people with long‑term conditions.
In 2018, Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria partnered with Dr Forbes to scale this work further. Through collaboration with regional NHS organisations and digital experts, CDRC emerged as a comprehensive and reliable primary care resource — one now used across the region and increasingly across England.
Our Evolving Offer:
Building on a proven track record of regional and national adoption, CDRC now also supports a wider commercial model. This offers enhanced data insights and population health intelligence to support larger‑scale improvement while maintaining the safety and confidentiality of patient data. Our work continues to evolve as we respond to real‑world needs and collaborate with partners to shape the future of primary care digital innovation.
Want to see who the CDRC Team are? Come Meet the Team