Imperial College goes live with Virtualstock’s ‘Amazon for healthcare’

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has become the latest trust to implement a digital procurement platform from Virtualstock that aims to simplify the supply chain in the NHS.

The Edge4Health is an online product catalogue that allows hospital staff to order products and services from a single marketplace. Similar to Amazon, the solution offers detailed product information, images and prices.

Imperial College is the latest trust in the Shelford Group to have adopted the technology, following the implementation of Edge4Health at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in December 2017.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ has been using Virtualstock’s procurement platform since late 2015.

Denis Kelliher, head of procurement at Imperial College Hospital, said: “We reviewed the whole market and felt The Edge4Health offered the best solution for procurement staff to manage price variation, contract compliance and improve efficiency. As part of the Carter review we have been set a target to ensure 80% of spend is captured via a catalogue solution

“With the Edge4Health, we believe we can maintain and exceed our current percent spend on catalogue. With over 350 suppliers already loaded onto the platform we have access to current and new suppliers in one easy to manage location.”

The Shelford Group, a collection of trusts comprised of several NHS multi-specialty healthcare organisations, is in the middle of its roll-out of Edge4Health.

Speaking to Digital Health News last year, Rob Knott, director of healthcare and public sector at Virtualstock, explained that the platform could help hospitals save money by increasing transparency in the procurement process and reducing the volume of products that went to waste.

Edge4Health has also been designed for a “consumer-style” that the company hopes will increase the rate of adoption within the NHS. experience to accelerate the pace of adoption.

Denis Kelliher – head of procurement at Imperial College Hospital, said: “We reviewed the whole market and felt The Edge4Health offered the best solution for procurement staff to manage price variation, contract compliance and improve efficiency. As part of the Carter review we have been set a target to ensure 80% of spend is captured via a catalogue solution

“With The Edge4Health, we believe we can maintain and exceed our current % spend on catalogue. With over 350+ suppliers already loaded onto the platform we have access to current and new suppliers in one easy to manage location.”