Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 8650 |
| Work Detail | Council’s ten year agreement with IBM Watson Health will build on existing system for selecting more personalised integrated social care by making use of cognitive technologies Harrow Council has entered into a partnership with IBM to scale-up a prototype system developed in-house for better managing personalised social care services between users, caregivers and authorities as part of a ten-year agreement that aims to make use of cognitive technologies. By teaming up with IBM Watson Health, the authority said it hoped to expand its My Community e-Purse (MCeP) system beyond its 1,000 present users as a means of cutting costs and improving efficiency in administering social care. The deal is claimed to be the first of its kind for a local government organisation in the UK. The prototype allows health and social care providers to bid on supplying services as part of plans to ensure more competitive contracts, with IBM’s Watson Care Manager technology intended to automate payments and ensure users are receiving the service as required. The platform maximises the workflow for care management activities such as scheduling, managing budgets, selecting providers and enabling care. It is hoped that integration of the system with cognitive technologies will provide more personalised insight and set out best practices for more individualised care planning. IBM is expected to use Harrow’s technology as the basis for new technology that will implement the company’s artificial intelligence and user interface experience to potentially serve a wider number of authorities and organisations going forward based around its Watson Care Manager solution. “Using Harrow Council’s expertise and innovations in adult social care, IBM will enhance Watson Care Manager to enable individuals and caregivers to quickly and easily select the most appropriate provider that can deliver the services they need, using their allocated personal budget,” said the authority in a statement. “Many social and health programmes globally require personal budgets, and Watson Care Manager’s new functionality could simplify that process for individuals beyond Harrow and the UK.” In a statement, Harrow noted that social care accounts for an estimated 35% of council spend – a figure that is expected to increase with an ageing population. The agreement with IBM was therefore expected to support a more integrated approach to how health and social care can be administered at a time of wider reforms for NHS and local government funding via initiatives such as Personal Health Budgets and the Integrated Personal Commissioning programme. Harrow Council chief executive Michael Lockwood said the agreement reflected the growing needs of authorities at a time where the use of personal care and health budgets was increasing. “It will help us deliver better services with better outcomes, all for less cost. It will save money, reduce waste in the system and give people more control and flexibility over what care and health services they and their loved ones receive.” From IBM’s perspective, the agreement presented an opportunity to tailor its technology to the needs of UK-based local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). “Harrow have consistently taken an innovative approach to delivering services, which makes Watson Care Manager a natural fit in advancing greater personalisation and data-driven efficiency,” said Martin Duggan, the company’s director of social programmes. It also expands upon the functionality of its Watson cognitive computing technology that can analyse high data volumes through the cloud and deliver evidence-based solutions to complex questions that are posed to it. |
| Country | United Kingdom , Northern Europe |
| Industry | Information Technology |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://healthcare.governmentcomputing.com/news/harrow-and-ibm-to-build-up-health-and-social-care-technology-4999469 |
