COVID-19 is putting strain on healthcare professionals globally.
During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Asian countries including Singapore and China tried to contain it using innovative new technologies. Disinfecting drones, robots and Artificial Intelligence that can scan thousands of medical images in seconds were all rolled out to tackle COVID-19.
As the NHS ramps up its response to the coronavirus pandemic, we look into the kind of services and supplies the healthcare sector may need from the IT procurement community.
Challenges faced by GPs
The British Medical Association has said that there is an urgent requirement for the routine monitoring of long-term conditions so that GPs can focus on the sickest patients as the coronavirus outbreak worsens.
To mitigate the pressure on GP surgeries, the NHS’s Medical Director for Primary Care, Nikita Kanani, and Director of Primary Care Strategy and NHS Contracts, Ed Waller, are urging GPs to move to a triage-first model of care “as soon as possible”. Triage services are mainly delivered over the phone, but the letter to GPs advised practices to promote online consultation services to patients “where they can” or “rapidly procure online consultation services”.
Within the letter it states that “rapid procurement” for those practices that do not currently have an online consultation solution will be supported through a national bundled procurement. It continues: “This will be available within the next 14 days and will be accessed by commissioners on behalf of practices. Commissioners should approach our regional team for more information on this process.”
NHS Digital
NHS Digital is the national information and technology partner to the health and social care system. It works with IT partners and uses digital technology to transform health and social care in the UK. As NHS Digital is responsible for providing a range of digital services to the health and social care system in England, they need the supplier expertise to put technology and data in place.
In the past NHS Digital has released many lucrative tender and framework opportunities for IT suppliers, many of which can be found using our Spend Analysis tool. NHS Digital issued an invitation to tender for existing and new suppliers to deliver a new IT systems framework for primary care in 2019.
The service is supporting health and care as part of the government response to COVID-19. So far it has responded to the outbreak by developing new services that will reduce pressure on the NHS. It is also capturing critical information around the national planning and operational response around COVID-19, to reduce the burden of data collection wherever possible. This data will also be used to help healthcare experts develop their understanding of the virus.
The NHS needs you
IT suppliers are integral to the efficiency of the NHS.
If your business can offer expertise in IT services to the healthcare sector now is the perfect time for your organisation to be proactively analysing and identifying where the opportunities sit within the public sector in the next 6 to 12 months ahead.
Tracker is the ideal place not only to find new IT tender opportunities but also to understand more about buyer requirements, historic spend patterns and competitor activity, all in one place.
Find IT contracts and access intelligence now using Tracker’s Spend Analysis and Archive Data with your free trial today (no credit card required).
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