Thirty suppliers have signed contracts for lot two of the new GP Systems of Choice framework, the Health and Social Care Information Centre has announced.
Kemi Adenubi, a programme director at the HSCIC, told EHI the framework will provide a “shop window” for services on offer to GP practices across England.
GPSoC is a framework that funds GP IT systems for 75% of practices in England. The previous framework expired last March, but was extended for another year while the Department of Health tendered for a new contract, worth up to £1.2 billion.
Lot two of the framework focuses on additional services which support the GP practice, including office hardware, medical devices, training and consultancy.
Services under lot two of the framework must be locally funded and ordered through a call-off agreement, allowing clinical commissioning groups to negotiate some of the contract terms such as service management and implementation provisions.
Adenubi said while the services will not be centrally funded, the framework will act as a “shop window to make them more available across the NHS.”
The HSCIC will now start working with suppliers to develop an online catalogue outlining the services they will offer.
The centre also said it is in dialogue with bidders about lot three of GPSoC, focusing on interoperable services across care settings, and expects to award contracts in early 2015.
Adenubi said lot three will focus on improving integration between GP practices and hospitals or other care settings, making use of the existing solutions that are in use in some areas.
“There are people in different parts of the country using examples with GP systems and other care settings, but we want them to come into lot three and offer it more widely.”
She said the HSCIC is still working with the four principal suppliers and 13 subsidiary suppliers who signed on to lot one of the framework, which is centrally funded and focuses on patient-facing services and advanced document management.
The main focus is on giving subsidiary suppliers access to the test environment so they can pass assurance testing, Adenubi said.
“We’re making good progress with the four principal suppliers on that, but there’s a lot of work to do around getting those subsidiary suppliers access to the test environment so we’re starting to prioritise which suppliers will go through.”
A full list of lot two suppliers is available on the HSCIC’s website.