In a sector that is complex and expensive for both suppliers and buyers, the Department of Health and Social Care is to create tech specifications standards for case management platforms
The Department of Health and Social Care is to intervene in the social care IT market with the aim of addressing issues in a sector that government claims is not serving the needs of either suppliers or local authorities.
In recent months the department has engaged with a wide range of both councils and the tech firms that provide them with case management systems (CMS) for adult social care, according to a newly published procurement notice.
“A consistent theme came up – that the CMS market was not functioning effectively; systems were not performing as expected, local authorities (LAs) were finding procurement excessively difficult, and suppliers were facing major cost pressures,” the document adds. “DHSC decided to explore this market in more detail and provide greater support. This is to enable the market to sustainably innovate and produce efficient and effective systems that best serve the needs of people requiring care.”
This additional government support will include a “foundational specification” providing all participants in the market with “technical guidance setting out what case management systems ‘must, could, and should do’ to enable local authorities to procure and manage them more efficiently and for suppliers to effectively prioritise future development”.
The DHSC has already drafted the first segment of the specification, including five chapters focused on: core data that comprises care records; interoperability stipulations; provision of self-service options for users; data, analytics and reporting; and non-functionality requirements, including minimum performance levels.
This technical manual will be complemented by a set of “standards that set out clear processes that govern priority use cases and promote greater standardisation and performance across the market”.
Beyond these two sets of guidelines, government will continue to work on “identifying opportunities to for more direct intervention in the market”.
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In the meantime, for the remainder of tech specification and the accompanying standards, the DHSC has published two respective requests for information (RFIs). Each of these seeks input from potential commercial partners that could support the department in continuing work on the creation of the guidance documents.
The second half of the specification will cover procurement demands, including chapters on: data-recording; monitoring of finance issues; supporting the commissioning of care from external providers; and non-functional requirements.
“The department is seeking a potential partner to continue development of the foundational specification, working with relevant stakeholders to create technical case management system guidance,” the RFI notice says. “This partner would have to engage with: a range of LAs on the technical requirements of their CMSs; all major CMS suppliers on the current and planned system capabilities; and a wide range of expert and stakeholder groups to ensure the specification supports the delivery of effective and efficient care. The supplier will also need to support the department in running consultations to test this guidance as it is developed and ultimately support its publication.”
It adds: “The final deliverable will be a comprehensive set of technical guidance on the requirements of a case management system, ready for the department to publish. This should enable local authorities to effectively procure systems and enable suppliers to prioritise the future technical development of case management systems. The ultimate aim is that LAs will be able to integrate this document directly into their procurement process to effectively and efficiently procure and manage their CMSs.”
Before commencing a formal procurement process to appoint a supplier to support this work, the DHSC is inviting potential providers to complete the RFI questionnaire and respond by 3pm on 17 October.
A similar exercise is also taking place for the CMS standards – for which suppliers have until 24 October to complete their RFI submission.
As and when a partner is ultimately appointed to a contract, they will be tasked with taking on a “longlist of opportunities” for areas to be covered by the standards, including aspects of data, functionality, and interoperability.
“[The] partner would develop a prioritised shortlist of standards and identify their implementation requirements,” the RFI notice says. “These would then be sequenced into a delivery strategy and roadmap. To test the validity of the approach, the first of these standards would then be developed as a pilot. The final deliverable would be a long-term strategy for delivering priority standards to the CMS market validated through the development of an initial pilot standard.”
The DHSC’s aim is to award a contract to its chosen supplier and finalise the “overall strategy” for delivering the standard by end of the current fiscal year. A full standard is the intended to be ready by the end of the 2025/26 year.
