Electronic Patient Records System Contract Extension (VEAT Notification)

Concepts

• romford
• information technology
• electronic patient records system contract extension
• electronic patient records system
• the existing electronic patient records system contract
• an electronic patient records system
• a voice recognition system
• system
• electronic
• patient

Location

London, UK

Description

The Contracting Authority is not awarding a new contract. This VEAT notice is in respect of a proposed modification to extend the existing Electronic Patient Records System contract to include additional services. See sections II.2.4 and IV.1.1 for further details.

Total Quantity or Scope

This is not a new contract opportunity, but rather a VEAT notice to inform the market that the Contracting Authority is seeking to extend its existing contract for the provision of an electronic patient records system and associated hosting services which was originally awarded in September 2023. This contract modification will provide the Contracting Authority with the Nuance Dragon One Medical solution, a voice recognition system, for an initial term of 2 years.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
• 48180000 - Medical software package

Indicators

Legal Justification

This VEAT notice relates to a modification to the contract originally awarded in 2023 following a competitive award process. The Contracting Authority considers that the modification is permitted under each of Regulation 72(1)(a) and 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Under the contract, the services specification references optional solutions which are available to be called off by the Contracting Authority to facilitate its healthcare and related services. This specifically includes Nuance Voice Recognition. In addition, the charges schedule permits the Contracting Authority to add such optional solutions to the scope of the Service Provider's solution deployed under the contract. It is clear that the contract's intention was to future proof the contract to the extent possible, and Nuance was envisaged at the time of the contract. The Contracting Authority considers that the original contract permitted this modification and envisaged Nuance at the time of the contract. In addition, this modification would not alter the overall nature of the contract. Therefore, the Contracting Authority's intention to modify the contract is justified on the basis of Regulation 72(1)(a). Secondly, the technology offered by the Nuance solution aligns with the Contracting Authority's long-term goals to have an intelligent ambient speech recognition solution which safely and appropriately records (natural) conversations between patients and healthcare providers, which are then seamlessly transferred to the electronic patient record. The Contracting Authority recognises that Nuance's products, which are critical to the delivery of the functionality that must be available at the point of go-live of the electronic patient record system, are already integrated and/or embedded into the Millenium solution provided by the Service Provider (and their deployment is therefore consistent with the licences and products already held by the Contracting Authority). Due to the way the overall EPR solution is being delivered by the service provider under the contract, it would not be feasible for another supplier to provide these additional services and adding another supplier would leave the EPR solution open to disruption, which would not be acceptable due to the critical nature of the EPR solution which is ultimately vital for patient care. In addition, the overall cost for including the Nuance solution in this contract will not exceed 50% of the value of the contract. Therefore, the Contracting Authority's intention to modify the contract is also justified on the basis of regulation 72(1)(b).

Other Information

This VEAT notice relates to a modification to the contract originally awarded in 2023 following a competitive award process. The Contracting Authority considers that the modification is permitted under each of Regulation 72(1)(a) and 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Under the contract, the services specification references optional solutions which are available to be called off by the Contracting Authority to facilitate its healthcare and related services. This specifically includes Nuance Voice Recognition. In addition, the charges schedule permits the Contracting Authority to add such optional solutions to the scope of the Service Provider's solution deployed under the contract. It is clear that the contract's intention was to future proof the contract to the extent possible, and Nuance was envisaged at the time of the contract. The Contracting Authority considers that the original contract permitted this modification and envisaged Nuance at the time of the contract. In addition, this modification would not alter the overall nature of the contract. Therefore, the Contracting Authority's intention to modify the contract is justified on the basis of Regulation 72(1)(a). Secondly, the technology offered by the Nuance solution aligns with the Contracting Authority's long-term goals to have an intelligent ambient speech recognition solution which safely and appropriately records (natural) conversations between patients and healthcare providers, which are then seamlessly transferred to the electronic patient record. The Contracting Authority recognises that Nuance's products, which are critical to the delivery of the functionality that must be available at the point of go-live of the electronic patient record system, are already integrated and/or embedded into the Millenium solution provided by the Service Provider (and their deployment is therefore consistent with the licences and products already held by the Contracting Authority). Due to the way the overall EPR solution is being delivered by the service provider under the contract, it would not be feasible for another supplier to provide these additional services and adding another supplier would leave the EPR solution open to disruption, which would not be acceptable due to the critical nature of the EPR solution which is ultimately vital for patient care. In addition, the overall cost for including the Nuance solution in this contract will not exceed 50% of the value of the contract. Therefore, the Contracting Authority's intention to modify the contract is also justified on the basis of regulation 72(1)(b).