ORCHA Global Baseline Review

The world’s leading digital health assessment framework

The ORCHA Global Baseline Review (OBR) is the foundation of ORCHA’s assurance ecosystem and the world’s most widely adopted digital health assessment framework.

Talk to us

What is the ORCHA Global Baseline Review?

The ORCHA Global Baseline Review (OBR) provides a consistent, objective, and evidence-based method to evaluate digital health technologies (DHTs) across five critical domains:

Data Protection & Privacy

How information is handled, stored, and protected.

Clinical Regulation & Safety

Compliance with medical device and clinical safety standards.

Evidence & Outcomes

Proof of effectiveness and impact.

Usability & Accessibility

Ease of use and inclusivity.

Monitoring & Compliance

Continuous monitoring for updates and changes.

Why the Global Baseline Review exists

Digital health products are evolving faster than traditional health technology assessments can manage.
The Global Baseline was designed to solve that, offering a practical, scalable, and internationally relevant framework that makes it possible to assess any digital health solution fairly and efficiently.

It brings together the essential elements of multiple national and international standards - such as GDPR, DCB 0129/0160, ISO 27001, and the NICE Evidence Standards Framework - into one coherent and testable model.

Purpose: To give health systems, regulators, and suppliers a shared global language for quality and compliance in digital health.

A 350+ point assessment that underpins over 70% of the world’s digital health accreditation models

Our ORCHA Global Baseline Review (OBR) is used to evaluate digital health products across five domains:

Data & Privacy – how information is handled, stored, and protected.
Clinical Regulation & Safety – compliance with medical device and clinical safety standards.
Evidence & Outcomes – proof of effectiveness and impact.
Usability & Accessibility – ease of use and inclusivity.
Ongoing Compliance – continuous monitoring for updates and changes.

Built for objectivity and repeatability, OBR ensures every product is assessed to the same standard, creating a level playing field across the market.

What makes the OBR unique?

Objective, not subjective

Every OBR question is designed for binary, evidence-based scoring, removing guesswork and personal interpretation. This ensures consistency across assessors, products, and countries.

Designed for digital health

Unlike traditional medical device assessments, the OBR adapts to digital-first innovation - assessing mobile apps, web apps, AI tools, and connected care platforms of all complexities.

Continuously updated

The OBR is a dynamic, living framework. ORCHA’s Review Engine continuously monitors digital products and app stores, prompting reassessment when a product changes or standards evolve.

ORCHA Assured: The benchmark of trust

Our frameworks underpin ORCHA Assured, a tiered certification that verifies digital health technologies against essential standards.

Bronze – confirms baseline compliance across privacy, safety, and usability.
Silver – adds deeper evidence and advanced usability checks.

Each ORCHA Assured product carries the ORCHA Guarantee - our commitment to independent, defensible assessment that reduces procurement risk and builds trust.

Learn more about ORCHA Assured

Trusted by the world’s leading health systems

When the NHS, health boards, and international health systems need a trusted way to assess, procure, and deploy digital health, they turn to ORCHA.

For over a decade, we’ve been the partner of choice for NHS Trusts, ICBs, national regulators, and ministries of health across Europe, North America, and Australasia. These organisations rely on ORCHA to:

Set a standard

Using the ORCHA Global Baseline Review, which underpins NHS DTAC, US DHAF and more

Provide confidence

With over 31,000 independent assessments completed

Access safely

Millions of patients and clinicians already access trusted tools via ORCHA-powered formularies

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ORCHA Global Baseline Review (OBR)?

The OBR is ORCHA’s core digital health assessment framework. It evaluates apps and digital health technologies across key domains including data protection, clinical safety, evidence, and usability. It provides an objective, structured way to determine whether a product meets recognised quality and compliance standards globally.

Who uses the OBR?

The OBR is used by national health systems, regulators, and digital health programmes around the world, including the NHS, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the American College of Physicians, and the Nordic Council of Ministers. It’s also adopted by developers and suppliers seeking to demonstrate their compliance and readiness for health system deployment.

Is the OBR assessment publicly available?

The domains and principles of the OBR are openly shared, but the detailed question set and scoring logic are proprietary to ORCHA. This protects the integrity of the framework while ensuring transparency in how products are evaluated — all assessments are version-controlled and applied consistently across the ecosystem.

How long does the OBR assessment take?

Timeframes vary by product complexity, but most reviews are completed within a few weeks of receiving all required information.
ORCHA’s assessment team provides clear guidance and support throughout the process.

How can I start an assessment?

You can begin the process by contacting ORCHA’s team or signing up through the [Get Assessed] or [Talk to us] links. An ORCHA representative will guide you through the submission process and help identify the right pathway for your product.