Electronic Patient Record implementation with the right people

The NHS Frontline Digitisation Programme’s focus to date has rightly been on supporting those Trusts with limited digital capability and systems, but what about those early adopter Trusts whose first-generation electronic patient records (EPR) contracts are coming up for renewal over the next couple of years?

A transformational digital/IT project like an EPR is a major undertaking – it requires significant time and resource (not to mention money) right the way through from the strategy/pre-procurement phase to a successful up and running system that works for the users and starts to deliver the promised benefits. And in the context of all the other competing financial and operational pressures facing Trusts and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), unless a Trust is seriously unhappy with the incumbent supplier and/or their product (or due to ICB convergence it's required to take a different route), most will be looking at ways to compliantly re-contract with that incumbent for a further period beyond the original contract without having to run a full procurement process.

Will NHS England step in and offer an obvious framework route? That looks unlikely right now but would be very welcome because at present the routes available to do this appear to be limited and subject to potential limitations and risks.

Trusts and ICBs, their procurement teams and legal advisors will need to look carefully at available options. Our team is very experienced in supporting first and second-generation NHS digital transformation procurements and these types of thorny issues – please get in touch if you’d like to find out how we could help you.

To find out more, head to our NHS Digital Transformation webpage.