Technology selection criteria for healthcare supplier evaluation

¶ … 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.

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.

The organization can review evaluation results for the various suppliers to qualify the potential suppliers. Some of other important aspects to consider for further evaluation include delivery, performance, experience, direct evaluation, and evaluation of the supplier's will for long-term relationships. If a given supplier has not provided or qualified for such projects before, then the organization should not consider them. Subsequently, if the supplier is new in the market, it is possible that they lack appropriate experience, and should not qualify. On the other hand, if a supplier is not willing to develop long-term relationship with the organization, even if the organization does not select them now, they should not qualify for future projects (Okes and Westcott 2001).