Suppliers announced for new GP IT Futures framework

NHS Digital has announced that nearly 70 GP IT system suppliers are to be awarded contracts to supply IT systems via the new GP IT Futures framework.

The latest phase of the GP IT Futures framework procurement process has been completed following a rigorous assessment and review of all supplier submissions. The next stage of systems assurance is now underway and due for completion in the coming weeks.

NHS Digital has notified 69 suppliers of the intention to award framework agreements to those suppliers, subject to them completing the assurance process successfully, including 16 existing suppliers, as well as three new entrants offering core clinical systems and 53 new entrants offering a range of additional system capabilities to the UK primary care market.  

This is the first framework to be awarded as part of the Digital Buying Catalogue, which will act as a digital marketplace allowing buyers to search for and compare supplier solutions that will meet their needs. The supplier systems are now being evaluated and assured against the new standards set by GP IT Futures, with successful existing solutions set to become available from 1 January 2020 and new to market solutions coming online throughout next year.

Sarah Wilkinson, NHS Digital’s chief executive, said: “GPs and their patients deserve the most effective and efficient modern technology with which to run their practices and access their data respectively, and the health and care system at large needs easier access to the critical data held within the primary care system to enable better secondary care and a richer flow of data into medical research.

“We are delighted that the supplier community has responded so positively to our proposal for the next generation of these systems, and are going to provide such a rich set of technical solutions for primary care. We look forward to working closely with all of them over the coming years, and I thank them all for the work they have done to ensure their solutions meet our new standards and for their work in delivering them into the primary care system.”