GPs to get greater tech choice

Eight software companies are to be awarded contracts by NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) as part of an initiative to offer GPs a greater choice of clinical tech.

The eight contracts will be awarded over the next fortnight, and represent the first contracts in the GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) procurement scheme.

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GPSoC was announced in February and is designed to make sure patients see the full benefits of technology upgrades made through the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT).

GP practices will be able to choose between using systems provided by their Local Service Provider, keeping and upgrading existing systems, or moving onto systems provided by an approved supplier.

The NPfIT projects supported by the first contacts include the electronic booking system (Choose and Book), the Electronic Prescription Service and the GP2GP electronic patient records transfer system.

By giving GPs the choice, it is hoped better value for money can be achieved by making suppliers compete for contracts.

The successful suppliers are: CSC Computer Sciences, Egton Medical Information Systems, Healthy Software, In Practice Systems, iSoft, Microtest, Seetec Business Technology Centre and Waveform Solutions.

A second set of contract awards is expected to take place in the autumn, with data migration services being brought into the programme.

There is now a 10-day 'standstill' period in place for unsuccessful bidders to be informed.