Cegedim GP System of Choice (GPSoC)

Currently there are 122 NI GP practices using the Cegedim Clinical System for patient management. To enable the Cegedim Clinical System to meet the needs of the practices it must interoperate with other specific hardware and software such as patient checkin and patient call systems. Given the dependency on IT in General Practice, stopping these services would very significantly impact on the ability of the 122 Vision GP practices to provide GMS services. Practices would be unable to access patient histories or record consultations against an electronic patient record. They would also be unable to interface electronically with other HSC systems - E.g. lab results, radiology reports, registration links, Emergency Care Summary, Key Information Summary, Electronic Document Transfer, GPIP etc. - so reintroducing delay and inaccuracy in patient care. A key element identified in the strategy was the alignment with England's GMS IT procurement, known as GP IT Futures, and the use of its proposed GP IT Futures Catalogue and GP IT Futures Framework. The use of the IT Futures Catalogue brings huge benefits to NI: • items on the catalogue, including both systems and services, can only be there if they have been rigorously tested and accepted. NHS Digital provide the testing for the catalogue. Without this, NI would have to find appropriate experts, both clinical and technical, to continuously carry out the testing of new or amended items. This would significantly increase risk, cost and timescales for every new item to be procured by NI. • England is a much larger CEGEDIM customer than NI and is better placed to negotiate costs. By using the GP IT Futures Catalogue, NI benefit from the lower costs. Unfortunately, the on boarding of systems and services onto the GP IT Futures Catalogue in England was delayed, in part due to covid pressures. This delay has had a knock on effect on the necessary assessment of all options within the NI procurement strategy. The NI procurement strategy is now being finalised and procurement planning now shows that the new NI contracts should be in place by March 2023 or shortly thereafter. The justification for this DAC, therefore, is to ensure the existing services continue uninterrupted until those services can be procured through contracts established by the on-going procurement process.