The R261 million tender for upgrading and maintaining hospital information systems in the Limpopo province has been awarded to LHC Health Solutions, a Limpopo-based black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium, says health department spokesperson Phuti Seloba.
It is understood LHC will partner the Australian-based IBA Health, and Seloba confirms the Medicom software solution will be deployed, while he says IBM will be "strategically involved".
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts recently criticised the Limpopo Health and Social Development Department for spending about R193 million on failed IT system deployments. It is believed to be referring to an IBM deployment of Medicom between 1996 and 2000.
The Indian developer of the software, Medicom Solutions, in late 1995 merged with IBA Health, the largest health IT company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, in a transaction valued at US$24 million.
The merged entity is called IBA Health India, and Medicom HIS software, which is developed in Bangalore and Oman, is its flagship product. It is deployed in over 150 hospitals worldwide, including "Africa`s largest hospital with more than 3 200 beds", the company says.
Steve Garrington, CEO of IBA Health, says the company is setting up an operation in SA to increase local support capacity. Medicom`s strongest customer base is in the Johannesburg-Pretoria region, says Garrington, but the solution is also deployed in other provinces. The local office will possibly be based in Johannesburg, with several branch offices in other locations, he adds.
Garrington says IBA does not work on an exclusive basis and cannot comment on how IBM will be involved. His local office will establish relationships with a number of local support partners, he notes.
No explanations
Ethniks Systems has been supplying information systems to Limpopo hospitals for the past five years.
The company was awarded a five-year contract in 2000 and, through its subsidiary Delta, deployed its locally-developed Unicare software during 2000-2005 in 40 hospitals.
Seloba says Ethniks` Unicare was brought in after IBM`s 1996-2000 contract ended, with the software giant installing systems in 23 of the 40 hospitals it was contracted to supply.
Martin Sethlapelo, government IT officer at the Limpopo health department, says Ethniks` contract had expired and the department issued a tender on the basis of new requirements.
There were 11 bids and Sethlapelo admits that some were for less than R261 million. Ethniks` tender bid to continue with the current system was R75 million.
However, Sethlapelo refuses to specify whether the cheaper bids failed in the technical, financial, BEE or administrative compliance components, but rather says they "did not fulfil the general requirements of the tender".
Related story:
Limpopo awards R261m hospital IT tender
Share