Following a call-off from a framework agreement, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust has awarded a contract worth an estimated £865,000 to ICNH Ltd (trading as DrDoctor) for a patient portal.
The procurement notice describes how Lewisham and Greenwich sought a trust-wide patient portal for patients under acute and community care, to allow patients to securely view their own record, update appointments or information, and access information and care plans. The procurement marks the first time that the trust will offer electronic means for patients to view and update their records.
The contract is set to run for five years, until 26 October 2028.
In other procurement news from the London region, last week we covered that London Ambulance Service has awarded an EPR contract.
We have also reported on the news that South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has signed an year-year contract extension for the provision of their EPR; that a contract has been awarded to scale up virtual wards across West Yorkshire; and that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde published a contract notice for their neonatal EPR.
HTN previously explored views around patient portals by asking our audience for opinions on what could improve the success of patient portals and patient-facing tech – increasing awareness and engagement, developing staff skills and knowledge, redesigning processes or offering richer functionality and design? Check out the results here.
Finally, we took a look at a “systematic review of the effectiveness of patient education through patient portals”, published in Jamia Open journal, in which the authors stated their belief that portals “show promise as a means of achieving the quadruple aim of healthcare”. Read more here.
