PROCUREMENT
NHE spoke to its chairman, Tom Hum- phries of Clinical Solutions, who said: “When I joined the Alliance, about six months in, I looked at the format and the companies who were the original mem- bers, and realised quickly that some of the leading health IT providers for the UK market were sat in the room. I’ve worked in healthcare for about 15 years, from both ends of the spectrum, and have experi- enced fi rst-hand some of the frustrations that procurement causes for the NHS, where healthcare IT providers don’t com- municate.
“There are reasons for that, and a majority of them are commercially driven: a lot of IT providers are commercially sensitive. But the Alliance seemed to be almost a plat- form for ‘what happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch’.”
Streamlining
Humphries continued: “We have a model of inviting frontline NHS staff in, and they all seemed to have the same sorts of issues – diffi culties with integration, the cost of migrating to new services, a lot of politics between legacy suppliers and new sup- pliers, and so on. After one presentation given to us by a GP, I approached the other members, and said we had a fantastic op- portunity – as a group of companies, we could cut away all the red tape and bureau- cracy and politics involved in NHS pro- curement if we were to just sit down, listen to what the needs were, and then work as a collaborative. We’d each have our own individual solutions, but would all work to the same aim – making ourselves a viable proposition to a commissioner by working together, sharing specifi cations, integrat- ing at the fi rst instance, breaking down communication or technological barriers, all prior to the point of commissioning.
“We’ve tested this model, fi rst of all com- mercially – would it work? As the leading IT suppliers, all in the same market space, we realised very quickly that actually the individual solutions are so different that it doesn’t really have any sort of commercial impact on us individually. We realised we would be a very attractive proposition to any commissioner in the NHS because we could streamline the processes that are cur- rently causing them so many diffi culties.”
Unsurprisingly, the members of the infor- mal alliance are growing closer together and now launching joint procurement bids.
Humphries explained: “Alliance members are already embarking on a number of dif- ferent procurements within the NHS. We
80 | national health executive Nov/Dec 11
are working with each other and looking at what our skillsets are, then looking to the market at what procurements are out there.
“This whole model of integrating systems and sharing data is very much on the agen- da at the moment.
“We complement each other in so many different ways, rather than being competi- tive. Whenever a joint procurement comes out, with multiple lots for different tech- nologies, we engage and have a thought leadership session between ourselves and, where we can, with the commissioners. We explain our ‘alliance’ approach and notify them that our bid is going to be covering multiple lots on that basis.”
A GP VIEW
Dr Richard Fisher, a GP from Swindon said: “The world in which GPs operate is very different to the commercial world.
“Not only was meeting with the One Health Alliance an opportunity to tell suppliers what GPs in my community need and have an interactive discussion about those requirements, but it also enabled me to see the commercial world close-up; something that frontline staff rarely get the opportunity to do.”
Experience and attitude
The Alliance members are only too will- ing to share their procurement experience with commissioners.
Humphries explained: “From a supplier point of view, we come across so many different variations in the way trusts pro- cure, it’s almost half the problem – the fact that there are so many different processes. We’ve recently been talking to potential GP commissioners, and although it’s very much still up in the air, they fi nd it very nerve-wracking, the mere thought of han- dling the sorts of budgets they’re going to be made responsible for. It could make procurement even more complicated be- cause they have to be so risk-averse.
“But we’re saying that as individual com- panies, we’re used to dealing with trusts on a solution-by-solution basis, and now as an alliance, we can support the techni- cal design and written specifi cations of solutions. We want to sit down and listen to what they’re trying to achieve, and will use our expertise and shared knowledge of health IT to support their procurement. Judging from the positive feedback we get, it’s a breath of fresh air for them – and there’s a sense of relief there. That tells us the market is quite nervous: maybe they
don’t feel confi dent with the current skill- sets they’ve got to make procurements the size they’re being asked to make.”
New paradigm
IT suppliers, like everyone else working in or with the NHS, are affected by the two major ongoing upheavals – the structural reforms, and the savings necessitated by the QIPP agenda.
Humphries said: “It does provide the op- portunity for smaller technology providers to enter into the marketplace. Historically, services were commissioned on very long and complex contracts with providers. The mere model of having regional commis- sioning groups will open the door to tech- nology providers on a smaller scale.
“That would mean that the criteria would need to change on individual procure- ments. There’s many restrictions for small- er companies – they must have 250 em- ployees, or a certain turnover – and they’re ignoring the technology that could revolu- tionise a service. There are small providers out there now who have applications, soft- ware and infrastructure solutions which all support the NHS and the reforms they’re trying to meet.
“From our point of view, we recognise that all of our product roadmaps would need to be designed on the basis of providing effi - ciency. Effi cient cost-models, minimal ini- tial capital investment for maximum capi- tal gains over the long term, and total cost of ownership need to be at the forefront of any procurement, and a consideration es- tablished at the beginning of any process.
“This was never done before. The NHS never viewed procurement in this way; I feel they’ve gone into commissioning quite blind, historically.
“We’re trying to put a transparent layer in that process – this is the technology, this is the cost to introduce it, this is where we’re ironing out the creases in the commis- sioning process by sharing information, integrating the solutions we’re providing – and we’re going to give you all the technical support and resources we can.
“There hasn’t been that type of ethical approach to health IT by any other organisa- tion as far as I know.”
Visit
www.onehealthalliance.com Tom Humphries
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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