Buyer Guidance

Find assured appointment management solutions for Primary Care Networks

From Monday 14 December 2020 participating system providers from this assured list  will be available to be selected by Primary Care Networks from our Digital Care Services Framework (GPIT Futures). Costs for selected services are covered via a central Call Off Agreement with each participating supplier, visit this page for more information.

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Welcome to GP IT Futures Buyer Guidance

This guide has been set up to support you in procuring from the GPIT Futures Framework

What is GP IT Futures? ​

The GP IT Futures programme is a critical enabler for taking primary care towards the requirements set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, five year framework for GP contract reform and the Digital, Data and Technology Vision. Whilst delivering safe, resilient and functionally rich clinical GP systems, the most important and urgent change is to ensure that patients and the NHS can safely and securely access and share primary care data in real-time. This data connects patient care across care settings. It provides the insight to allow the NHS to be more efficient. It enables progress in medical research.

A new GP IT Futures framework, the first framework from the new Digital Care Services model, has replaced the contractual framework GP System of Choice (GPSoC), to supply IT systems and services to GP practices and associated organisations in England.

We have an exciting opportunity to establish the foundations for patients, clinicians and staff to benefit from the rapid evolution of technology and insights from data.

We want to develop the GP IT market to meet growing needs in new models of care and in federated GP practices.

We are using technology and data to transform patient care in general practice. This will help to improve quality, safety and efficiency.

What’s happening?

We will deliver changes in the technology landscape to support the transformation of primary care.

The objectives of the GP IT Futures programme are to:

• provide clinically safe and useful digital services and data services for patients and general practice, ensuring minimal disruption to care for citizens as new tech standards or suppliers are introduced

• move to open, modern, cloud native architectures, with consistent technical and data standards

• reform the commercial landscape of GP and primary care IT to provide an open, dynamic and competitive market

• put NHS and patient users at the centre of the design, underpinned by user research and with regular iterations.

These are supported by four minimum strategic objectives for the programme to:

• achieve real-time and secure access to data for patients and NHS users

• allow interoperability between systems, enabling seamless, digitised workflows in and between care settings, in real time, underpinned by common standards and supporting new models of care and primary care networks

• enable relevant, resilient and plural ecosystem of GP and primary care IT systems, which evolve with advances in technology and the NHS

• allow data to be easily and consistently captured to enable comparison of activity and clinical outcomes.

The new GP IT Futures framework went operational on the 1^st January 2020.  It is the first framework from the new Digital Care Services model and has replaced the GPSOC contractual framework

Learn about our timelines here.

What this means for you

• You will have access to a new online Buying Catalogue to find primary care technology systems and services, making it easier to find, easier to understand, easier to choose and easier to buy.

• You will continue to have central support for the provision of core clinical IT systems. The systems and services bought will be interoperable, meaning they’ll be able to ‘talk’ to each other across the NHS. That means information can be shared safely and securely and will work more effectively across care settings, regardless of which systems are chosen.

• You will have access to a greater selection of modern digital tools and capabilities – such as e-consultation tools or social prescribing that will help you to be more effective and meet the needs of patients.

• GP systems will further develop interoperability with the NHS App and an increasing range of linked tools.

• You will have confidence that all services on the framework will have met stringent data and technology standards for safety, security and interoperability.

Your role as a buyer

• As a buyer you will, within certain constraints, be responsible for how to spend the funding allocated to you – more detail on funding arrangements is provided here

• As a buyer you will procure clinical IT systems using the procurement procedures available under GP IT Futures – more detail on how to use these procedures and the support available in executing them is provided here.

• As a buyer you will enter into call off agreements with suppliers for their clinical IT systems and will be responsible for managing those contracts – an overview of the contractual arrangements from a buyer’s perspective is provided here.

• Financial support is available to buyers should they switch foundation solutions

What supplier solutions are coming on to the framework, and when are they available?

• A list of compliant supplier solutions is available on the Buying Catalogue

• A list of supplier solutions currently undergoing assurance will be available soon

Who will support you?

• The GPIT Futures Programme will continue working with suppliers to improve migration, mitigate against risks and provide advice and guidance

• National Commercial and Procurement Hub will support you during the procurement process

 Learn more

• The new contracting model is available here and the full contract set is available here.

• More details on the assurance process for suppliers is provided here.

• The capability model is described in further detail here.

• Further detail on the standards and their applicability to capabilities is provided here.

Additional information on the Buying Catalogue and how to access it is provided here.