Three trusts to procure joint EPR

Three trusts in the Greater Manchester area are looking to procure a joint electronic patient record system across the organisations.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and East Cheshire NHS Trust have issued a prior information notice saying that they are seeking to “procure a EPR system and associated services” as part of a wider transformation programme at the trusts.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Stockport said that the trusts have developed “a commitment” to collaborate and jointly work towards a new EPR.

“The joint procurement and implementation of an EPR is a key part of a wider transformation programme across the trusts and is an underpinning enabler to support and deliver new clinical models of service provision,” said the spokesperson.

“The trusts’ shared aim is to deliver a patient-centric record that enables information to be shared seamlessly across health and social care organisations in the region.”

The trusts see the prior information notice as a “market engagement exercise” to test the supplier market in terms of “the achievability of the scope, scale and timeframe of our EPR requirements and to encourage input from potential suppliers to the design of the service provision.”

“The trusts consider that this procurement represents a unique opportunity for the ‘right’ supplier to develop a true, clinically driven, joint-working based partnership with innovative and forward looking trusts over the next 10 years or more,” said the trust spokesperson.

“The trusts believe that the procurement offers an exciting opportunity to deliver improved patient care and improved patient safety via the use of leading edge technology.”

An official procurement is planned to commence in June this year and the trusts aim to award a contract in spring 2015.

The trusts have not disclosed the value of the planned contract. Stockport’s March board minutes says that this is a major project which will run for “a number of years in conjuction with a wider Southern Sector view."

“The next year will be spend testing the market and evaluating potential systems in terms of interoperability and to look at identifying the clear benefits to the trust going forward,” says the minutes.

According to EHI intelligence, both East Cheshire and Stockport currently use a Clinicom patient administration system from CSC, the contracts for which expire in 2016. South Manchester used the iPM PAS, also from CSC with a 2016 contract expiry date.