The Department of Health and Social Care has published a ‘prior information notice’ for its Tech Innovation Framework, to advise the market of a forthcoming opportunity for foundation electronic patient record solutions and associated capabilities, for primary care.
The new Tech Innovation Framework hopes to ‘encourage innovation’ and ‘news ways of working’ to support the future of a digital primary care.
The aim of the engagement notice is to inform the market in advance and for suppliers to ensure “there is capacity to meet NHS Digital’s requirements, inform the design and content of any subsequent tender exercise, and provide potential suppliers with enough information to prepare a strong bid should that opportunity arise”.
According to the information, the drivers for change states “the foundation electronic patient record solutions market has remained largely static” and now “the time is right for NHS Digital to propose some changes in order to accelerate the provision of new market solutions”.
In addition the notice includes an indication for improving standards and interoperability, taking an Internet First approach [mandatory requirement] and how the GP IT marketplace can be improved through new innovations.
NHS Digital highlights on its website: “This is the third framework to launch under the Digital Care Services Catalogue and will run in parallel to the GPIT Futures and Digital First Online Consultation and Video Consultation frameworks.”
The notices goes on to note: “Following extensive research with GP practice staff, and across the NHS it was found that a number of general practice users feel that some of the technology has not evolved to meet their needs.
“The proposed Tech Innovation Framework will offer GPs the opportunity to enjoy a greater choice from assured modern secure and well designed products and services. Commissioners will be able to use the systems available from this framework to buy GP systems and associated products and services.”
Some of the new capabilities and standards, part of the framework technical requirements, include the need for solutions to work over the public internet, using tier one public cloud offerings, to be browser based, use single system identity, use a modern user interface and follow software development guidance laid out in the NHS Digital software engineering quality framework.
It’s expected the market engagement exercise will run between January 2022 and March 2022 to explore how it can best support suppliers. It notes that expressions of interest must be received to them by 12pm on 4 February.
For more information please visit the NHS Digital website here.
