NHS England has confirmed that it has delayed the launch of its new Digital Pathways Framework for primary care, following a claim against the process.
Digital Pathways has been scheduled to launch early this year to provide standardised and interoperable digital systems for the sector. It was valued at up to £297 million.
But following reports of a delay, a spokesperson said: “A claim has been issued in respect of this procurement and the automatic suspension has been triggered. As such, the necessary approvals process and contract award has been delayed as a result.”
The nature of the claim has not been made public and it is currently unclear how long the delay will last.
Plans for the framework were laid out in a procurement notice in October of last year, with an indication it could be open to bodies from beyond the health service.
The scope covers a number of capabilities, including: care navigation for patients; online consultations and patient requests; reporting of the requests; cross-organisational appointment booking; prescription ordering; video consultations; communication management; and enabling patients to view content from their electronic patient records.
