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Getting the most from your suppliers

Getting the most from your suppliersPartnership working with both neighbours and technology suppliers offers the best route to improving efficiency, says James Morriss, Head of Sales & Marketing, Lexacom

There is a lot of pressure on practices to adopt more efficient ways of working, with technology seen as a key enabler in getting more done in less time without compromising quality.  But when it comes to investing in new solutions, there is so much to consider that it often falls to the bottom of the to do list. Whether it’s considering costs, understanding what’s available or training staff on new systems, making the right choice can feel more of a hassle than an opportunity to improve.

However, just as workload pressures have increased, so too have the opportunities for technology to support new ways of working. In particular, with an increasing willingness to move to electronic patient records, together with more integrated working across organisational boundaries, technologies such as remote information sharing via secure cloud technology become more relevant.

But with so many pressures and as many options, how do practices navigate their way to a sustainable solution? It might sound like the buzz phrase of the moment, but the reality is, working in partnership is often the route to success, both in terms of working with other practices and with suppliers too.

As new ways of working emerge, needs change and this is where practices have an opportunity to shape the systems which will support them in the future. Increasingly, the NHS is moving beyond the days of buying off the shelf solutions and is finding more innovative ways to develop services which are tailored to their particular needs. There’s no reason why this more collaborative approach can’t work for practices too.

So before you take the plunge on a new system, consider the following steps:

  1. Talk to neighbouring practices. Do you have challenges in common? Could you support each other if you worked together? What systems do they use which could benefit your practice? How likely are you to enter into an alliance in the future?
  2. Establish open dialogue with potential suppliers. Instead of focusing on the features you’re looking for, talk about the challenges you’re looking to fix and encourage suppliers to come forward with tailored proposals. Where possible, share your thoughts on future ways of working as well as your immediate priorities.
  3. When looking at proposed solutions, in addition to budget pressures, ask about flexibility, scalability and support. Find out where more advanced solutions are being used and ask to speak to those sites for further insight and recommendations.

While you may have a unique set of challenges in your locality, the chances are, another practice elsewhere in the country is facing similar issues. Tapping into the broader experience of your suppliers can help you take advantage of best practice and in many cases, can lead to solutions which deliver a great deal more than originally anticipated. And don’t forget, technology companies are often excited by the challenge of adapting and developing their systems so take advantage of their openness to innovation.

Taking this approach will give you access to more robust and sustainable solutions which are flexible enough to cope with changes in working practices in the future.

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