A digital procurement platform has helped the NHS identify millions of pounds’ worth of savings in its first year of use, the government has announced.
The Atamis system, which was the product of a £12.8m investment from the Crown Commercial Service, has allowed government and NHS bodies to better share insight so healthcare leaders can make more informed commercial decisions.
Many organisations in the sector have previously used different systems to buy goods and services, making integration impossible and data sharing opaque.
Atamis centralises each element of the commercial process and has eliminated time-consuming manual processes, leading to millions of pounds recuperated in administration costs.
The NHS in North West London, for example, grouped nine organisations on the platform and were thus able to identify £34m of savings.
Lord Markham, health minister, said: “I’m pleased to see the success so far of this digital platform, which is already helping NHS organisations across England identify savings opportunities.”
Atamis already has 258 NHS organisations signed up to it – the equivalent of 69% of all health service bodies. The government has a set a target of 90% uptake by 2025.
“As guardians of taxpayer money, having a unified view of the commercial data landscape is essential, so I expect the remaining NHS organisations who haven’t yet onboarded to do so as a matter of priority,” added Rock.
The e-commerce platform currently holds a pipeline of £24bn and active contracts worth £108bn.
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