The paper describes the process followed when short-listing suppliers for a new integrated software application for patient records management. The paper explains how to determine if suppliers are approved National Health Service (NHS) suppliers. It explains the process of determining the capabilities of software application. It explains the process of supplier selection, and compares and contrasts different approaches outlining strengths and weaknesses.
¶ … Suppliers
Technology has reduced the challenges faced by healthcare providers in their efforts to provide patient care in a given period. The patient record system stores relevant patient information in relation to medical status, next appointments, and many others. This means that information is available to the patient and the provider, at their convenience. This has helped in that patients can seek medication elsewhere because the system is accessible by multiple providers in different locations, for a single record. Nevertheless, the information is adequate and accurate, and the system allows different views because it has knowledge-based tools (Bignaut, McDonald and Tolmie 2001).
Requirements
In healthcare setting, it is important to determine the software requirements for technological system. Therefore, many organizations will follow a prototyping approach to verify whether the acquired system will provide the functions postulated. The concept behind the approach was to establish an initial implementation, expose it to stakeholders, and refine it to develop an adequate system. Engaging the end-users was an important approach to establish the format and contents of the system in real practice. In addition, a mock implementation of the system is important to establish the services provided in connection with the healthcare facility.
Most importantly, this approach would assist in establishing shortcomings. The users would provide frank feedback in relation to their experience with the system. The opportunity to use the system would provide other opportunities for advancement in cases where the users discovered other needs. Most importantly, the system should make provision for the services offered at the facility. It should be modular, flexible, meaning it should provide possibilities to execute relevant modules at a specific venue.
Moreover, the prototyping approach should determine whether the system had the capacity to identify patients exceptionally. This was either by using the names, or a patient's identity number. In addition, the approach would help establish whether the system generated reports, which stakeholders identified as easy to use. On screen, capturing of statistics should be prompt, easy and not avert the user's attention primary task (Bignaut, McDonald and Tolmie 2001). The end users would see how the arrangement of statistics follows, and determine the overall organization.
Selecting Suppliers
Organizations select and evaluate suppliers using their own criteria because research suggests that there is no single approach deemed effective. Therefore, organizations develop their own supplier surveys and decide the variables to use in the selection process. However, the main criteria employed by many organizations include price, quality, and delivery. For this study, I will employ quality and price because they are the most important variables. Quality is the ability of a given product to meet or exceed the postulated expectations in relation to functions. Quality is an integral part of any product or service (Okes and Westcott 2001).
Importantly, certifications from relevant medical bodies such as NHS, which will make the given facility work in accordance, or avoid many unnecessary fines. The main weakness is that in the case where all the stakeholders approve the system on this scale, this cannot assure the quality of the system. On the other hand, cost refers to the amount of monetary value, resources in terms of time and staff, required to acquire the system. The advantage of this approach is that it helps the organization structure the assessment process systematically (Abdolshah 2013). Using costs as a means to select suppliers is simple, and not supported by objective criteria.
Nevertheless, using costs as a selection criterion does not lead to improvement in performances, and it is possible to select a defective system due to its affordability. In comparison, quality is the best way to select potential suppliers. Most importantly, it is important to determine the NHS certification either by n-site assessment, a written survey or request for a certificate showing the system registration. Based on quality, the organization has a guarantee of continued service, without any medical fines or defects in the future.
Narrowing Down Suppliers
The prototyping approach was effective in that using the results obtained, the organization can select the suppliers who provided systems, which met the specifications in relation to functions, modules, and usability. The feedback provided by the end-users will help determine the potential suppliers. Using this organization can choose potential suppliers and discard the others. In addition, using the strategies used to identify the suppliers, the organization can select suppliers who had affordable costs, and quality. In terms of quality, suppliers who had certification by the NHS were chosen as potential suppliers (Abdolshah 2013). The organization did not consider suppliers who lacked this certification.
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