NHS England has announced an open framework for the future procurement of general practice IT systems, valued at up to £838 million. The tender process is expected to open in November, and the framework is due to go live in the third quarter of 2027. The notice says the timetable remains subject to final governance approvals. The figure sets a ceiling on the value of contracts that can be placed through the framework. It does not allocate funds to practices, and the sum actually spent will depend on what practices and commissioners choose to buy from approved suppliers.
The last national framework of this kind, GP IT Futures, was valued at £484 million when suppliers tendered for it in 2019. It was designed to level the playing field for new entrants and to emphasise open standards.
A separate attempt to establish a digital pathways framework worth about £300 million was cancelled in June 2024 after delays caused by a legal claim. The new procurement is divided into three lots. The first covers foundation electronic patient record systems, the core software a practice uses every day, with capabilities that include appointments management, consultation management, patient information maintenance, prescribing and referral management. The second covers clinical and operational support tools such as cross-organisational booking, clinical decision support, video consultations, social prescribing and risk stratification software. The third lot is for research and development. It gives suppliers that win places on the first or second lot the chance to help shape new capabilities and standards, from discovery through to public beta testing.
Several suppliers can be appointed to each lot, and a supplier can be appointed to more than one. The framework will reopen at planned intervals during its term, which allows new companies to apply after the first awards have been made. That is the main feature of an open framework, since a closed one admits suppliers only once. NHS England describes the approach as a simplified route to market that gives access to innovative products while securing value for money for the health system.
The procurement will follow a multi-stage competitive flexible procedure. The market that the framework addresses has been concentrated for many years. General practice IT in England has long been dominated by two suppliers, EMIS and TPP, and the new framework is intended to widen the range of companies whose products practices can choose. It forms part of the Digital Services for Integrated Care programme, which aims to give clinicians and other NHS staff a broader set of assured digital tools. The notice says it also supports commitments in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and the digital requirements of the GP contract.
Whether competition widens in practice will depend on how many suppliers qualify and how readily practices move between systems. Replacing a core clinical record is a significant task for any surgery, and a framework creates the choice without obliging anyone to use it.
Suppliers will be able to apply for a place on either or both of the first two lots once the tender opens, and awards are expected to be made before the framework launches. Practices should not expect products bought through it to arrive before 2027, so any change to everyday systems is some way off.
