
NHS LPP wins award for help to provide healthcare apps to patients
The NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) Clinical Digital Solutions team have this week won the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA) Procurement Consultancy award for their work to help the public sector provide high quality healthcare apps to patients and public.
The Health and Social Care Apps Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) provides public sector organisations with a safe and secure route to market for healthcare apps and has been used to procure new apps for fitness, mental health and most recently, a new NHS England and NHS Improvement app to help patients with diabetes stay well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A DPS is a procurement tool which provides a compliant route to market to contract with approved suppliers for goods or services. Unlike a traditional framework, suppliers can apply to join at any time.
The Health and Social Care Apps DPS was launched in December last year in partnership with the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA), who assess and accredit every app that applies to join the DPS for accessibility, security, clinical safety and clinical benefit.
Steve Dunkerley Executive Director, Consultancy, NHS LPP said:
“Previously, there was no pre-existing route to market for public sector organisations to procure these types of apps and there was no accreditation process to ensure they were safe and secure.
“Increasing the use of digital channels to help patients self-manage their conditions at home is one of the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan - and of course apps have played a vital role in providing patient care remotely since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Health and Social Care Apps DPS is the first of its kind in the country and provides assurance to public sector organisations that the apps they have been supplied with have a level of safety.
“We are delighted to have been recognised with this award, and thanks go to our accreditation partners ORCHA for their hard work and diligence at this time.”
For more information about procuring through the DPS including template documentation and a full list of apps currently available please go to:
https://healthappsdps.orcha.co.uk/
Suppliers interested in joining the DPS please email: CDS@lpp.nhs.uk