NHS e-Procurement Strategy White Paper

In April 2014 the National Health Service published its NHS e-procurement strategy. The report was driven by the need to optimize and align existing e-procurement practices across the entire NHS.

The strategy states that adopting e-procurement will produce annual savings of between £3 million and £5 million for a typical 600-bed hospital and aims to help the NHS overall save £1.5 billion annually.

The United Kingdom Department of Health requires NHS Trusts and their network of suppliers to use GS1 and PEPPOL open standards and communication networks. The rollout schedule for the new system consists of different phases that extend up to 2020.

This guide covers the most important technical and legal aspects of the new NHS e-Procurement system, and the phases to be undertaken for optimum implementation.