SYNANETICS LTD

Pathology Integration Engine

The Pathology Integration Engine (PIE) is a public-cloud, FHIR native, micro-services based interoperability system that routes pathology test orders and results between any connected requesting system and any connected laboratory. The PIE handles any order format, HL7 V2, FHIR, XML, text files etc, and maps to NHS SNOMED codes.

Features

• Hosted and Managed Pathology Interoperability Platform
• Standards based (HL7 V2, FHIR, XML) mapped to SNOMED CT
• Massively Scalable
• Micro-services architecture
• Public cloud native

Benefits

• Improves efficiency and performance across Pathology Networks
• Tracks thousands of samples throughout their journey
• Allows effective capacity planning
• enables networks to deal with service outages

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at accounts@synanetics.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 15

Service ID

345580683127313

Contact

Robert Hickingbotham
07947502896
accounts@synanetics.com

About your service

• Service categories:

  Application Development and Deployment

  Application platforms

  • Model driven application platforms
• Multi cloud support: Yes

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
• What software services is the service an extension to: Existing laboratory systems, EPRs etc
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: None at a systemic level, but discovery phase will identify any that may exist within a specific organisation or pathology network
• System requirements: Solution is browser based and public cloud first

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Yes
• Support response times: Variable SLAs available Base SLA, Business Hours Monday to Friday P1 - 1 Hour Response Target 4 Hour Resolution Target P1 - 8 Hour Response Target 16 Hour Resolution Target P3 - 8 Hour Response Target 32 Hour Resolution Target P4 - 8 Hour Response Target Best Efforts Resolution
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Silver - Included in base Fee Business Hours, Standard response times ; Gold - Extended Hours, Enhanced Response times ; A Client Engagement Manager will be appointed to assist customers; Costs are detailed in the attached pricing document
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: User documentation is available, and any individual training/user requirements can be agreed and costed as part of contract negotiations
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Upon contract end, Synanetics will agree the work package to extract the data in a mutually acceptable format
• End-of-contract process: The services required to de-commission the platform would be additional to the ongoing service provision
• Documentation accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AA

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: No
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Description of service interface: A web application UI.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Accessibility testing: Accessibility testing WCAG 2.2 AA, automated testing.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Consumers of the service may send requests to it using one of the formats described in the Service Description section in order to place orders for pathology tests, or return the results thereof. The service conforms to the HL7 FHIR specification (R4: https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/index.html), supports HL7 v2.x, and the development of other types of interfaces, to meet customer needs, is available.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Customers will have the ability to customise re-routing logic so that they can optimise their sample pathways. They can also add services to the test catalogue

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Google Cloud Platform (GCP) employs robust resource management techniques to ensure users are not adversely affected by demand from other users. GCP dynamically allocates resources to users based on their needs, scaling infrastructure horizontally to accommodate fluctuations in demand. Through features like auto-scaling and load balancing, GCP optimizes resource utilization and maintains consistent performance even during peak usage periods. Additionally, GCP's distributed network infrastructure and data centers minimize latency and improve reliability, further enhancing user experience. Continuous monitoring and optimization enable GCP to effectively manage resource allocation and prioritize user workloads, ensuring reliable and responsive service delivery.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Number of tests routed, turnaround times, aged test reports.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
• Resource tagging: Yes
• FOCUS resource tagging: Yes

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: None

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 4.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CREST-approved service provider
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v4.0
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
  • Encryption of all physical media
  • Other
• Other data at rest protection approach: Data at rest protection is a Google Cloud Platform core service offering
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Deleted data can’t be directly accessed / Cryptographic Erasure
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation / Secure Erase

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: PIE data is held in Google Cloud Platform (GCP). To export data from GCP, a customer can employ various methods depending on the type of data and its storage location. For structured data stored in databases like BigQuery, customers can execute SQL queries to delete records or drop tables. Unstructured data stored in Cloud Storage can be deleted using the Cloud Console, command-line interface (CLI), or programmatically through APIs. Additionally, customers should ensure to revoke access permissions and delete associated resources, such as virtual machines or instances, to fully remove their data from GCP and comply with data protection regulations.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • ODF
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • HL7 V2
  • HL7 FHIR
  • XML

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: The Pathology Integration Engine is hosted in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and 99.5% availability is guaranteed. Beyond this, and by agreement with our customers, Synanetics designs resilience into the platform by leveraging distributed architecture, redundancy, and automated failover mechanisms. We utilize multiple UK availability zones, load balancing, and managed services including Cloud Spanner for data replication. We Implement monitoring, alerting, and disaster recovery strategies to detect and respond to failures swiftly, ensuring continuous availability and reliability. These then feed into SLAs which, by agreement can include a service credit regime.
• Approach to resilience: Our approach to service resilience within Google Cloud Platform (GCP) ensures that applications and services remain available and performant, even in the face of failures or disruptions. We utilise various tools and features to enhance service resilience, including:; ; 1. Multi-zone Deployments: Deploying services across multiple UK zones ensures redundancy and high availability. GCP's global infrastructure enables users to distribute workloads geographically for resilience against local failures.; 2. Load Balancing: GCP's load balancing services distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances or regions, ensuring optimal performance and fault tolerance. Traffic management policies can be configured to handle spikes in demand and route traffic away from unhealthy instances.; 3. Managed Services: Leveraging managed services like Cloud Spanner for databases and Cloud Storage for storage ensures built-in replication, durability, and scalability, enhancing resilience against data loss and service disruptions.; 4. Automated Failover: GCP's managed services offer automated failover capabilities, such as Cloud SQL High Availability and Cloud Spanner multi-region configurations, enabling seamless failover and data replication to ensure continuous availability.; By implementing these practices and leveraging GCP's managed services, organizations can design resilient architectures that withstand disruptions and provide uninterrupted service to their users.
• Outage reporting: Email alerts and public dashboard are offered, but Synanetics will work with customers to align reporting to customer requirements

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Role based access control
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users receive audit information on a regular basis
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: User-defined

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Our information security posture is built upon an ISO/IEC 27001-aligned Information Security Management System (ISMS). This framework ensures that security is not a one-time configuration but a continuous process of risk management and improvement.
• Software Security Code of Practice: Yes

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: All changes are subject to board approval and tracked using robust change management and audit process
• Vulnerability management type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Active scanning on all infrastructure and application components; findings are prioritised according to levels of severity. Patches can be deployed within hours.
• Protective monitoring type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Active monitoring on the infrastructure, alerts are dealt with upon receipt. Response is according to documented security governance processes. Response will be handled within published severity guidelines.
• Incident management type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v4.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: Users can report and classify severity of incidents, either via the web-based ticketing system, by email or by phone. Incident reports are provided to meet customer requirements (both in format and cadence).
• Post-quantum cryptography secure: Yes

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: Yes
• Connected networks: Health and Social Care Network (HSCN)

Pricing

• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: No

Discount percentage by annual call-off contract value (excluding VAT)

• Less than £250,000: 0%
• Between £250,000 and £500,000: 0%
• Between £500,001 and £1,000,000: 2%
• Between £1,000,001 and £2,500,000: 4%
• Between £2,500,001 and £5,000,000: 5%
• Over £5,000,001: 5%

Non-mandatory Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: DNV - Business Assurance
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: Wednesday 19 March 2025
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: N/a
• ISO 28000:2022 certification: No
• ISO 9001 certification: No
• Quality management systems (QMS): Yes
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Please provide your Cyber Essentials Certificate Number: 42586072-0b9f-4dfb-a364-789d41d857ff
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Please provide your Cyber Essentials Plus Certificate Number: 9ef419b2-23aa-4cc9-8f8f-76f49df51f75
• Other security certifications: No

Social value

• Section B - Commitment for Future: Delivery:

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 1: Fair work: That offers fair wages and good working conditions. Help people get a job, stay in work, and progress in their careers, with good employment opportunities across the country. Notes: Where there is a large proportion of labour costs in the contract, commercial teams should consider MAC in Outcome 1 as a priority

    • New or retained jobs on the contract workforce in the relevant area that meet the criteria set out in MAC 1b, 1c and 1d
    • Providing opportunities for, and measuring and monitoring of, staff workforce conditions over time, including employee engagement, involvement in decision-making and satisfaction and adapting to any changes in the results, with clear processes for acting on issues identified
    • Plans to engage the contract workforce in deciding the most important workplace issues to address
    • Employment contracts that reflect actual hours worked; steps taken to ensure employees understand their contracts and have the ability to review and adjust them if actual hours regularly exceed contracted hours
    • Activities that support an environment where staff are educated about, and feel empowered to, address their physical wellbeing
    • Activities that support an environment where staff are educated about and feel empowered to report and address bullying and harassment
    • Activities to cascade good practice on fair working conditions throughout the supply chain
    • Payment of more than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (as appropriate) to the contract workforce
    • Entitlement to sick pay for the contract workforce, with provision in place for any staff who do not meet the earnings threshold for statutory sick pay, payment of sick pay from day one of absence and payment of staff on the contract workforce who are off sick a replacement income of 100% of their usual earnings for as long as possible
    • Understanding of in-work progression issues affecting the market, industry or sector relevant to the contract, and in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key sub-contractors
    • Measures to support in-work progression to help people in the contract workforce, to move into higher paid work by developing new skills relevant to the contract
    • Support for the contract workforce by providing career advice, and providing opportunities for staff working on the contract with in-work progression career development into known skills shortages or high growth areas
    • Support for educational attainment relevant to the contract, including training schemes that address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications
    • Understanding of the modern slavery risks and issues affecting the market, industry, sector or country (of origin or of source) relevant to the contract, and the workforce in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key subcontractors
    • Measures to identify, mitigate and manage modern slavery risks relating to the contract and how these will be implemented
    • Outline policies and practices to be applied to or put in place for the contract to mitigate and manage modern slavery risks, including: Pre-employment checks, recruitment practices. Workplace conditions, safeguarding plans and processes in place and regular monitoring with relevant groups considered, which may include sampling
    • How to ensure business decisions re: price/cost, short lead times, payment timescales do not create modern slavery risks in the supply chain
    • Means of influencing staff, suppliers, customers, communities and/or any other appropriate stakeholders with respect to modern slavery risks relating to the contract

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 2: Skills for growth: Supporting growth sectors and addressing skills gaps.

    • Understanding of employment and relevant skills issues, and of the education and training issues relating to the contract. Illustrative examples: demographics, skills shortages, new opportunities in high growth sectors, geographic/local community and skills/employment challenges
    • Support for educational attainment relevant to the contract, including training schemes that address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications
    • Activities to support relevant sector related skills growth and sustainability in the contract workforce. Illustrative examples: careers talks, curriculum support, literacy support, safety talks and volunteering

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 3: Resilient, innovative and flexible supply chains: Support economic growth through enabling resilient businesses, opportunities for small businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises

    • Understanding of the types of businesses in the market and the level of participation by new businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, VCSEs and mutuals
    • Plans for engaging a diverse range of businesses in engagement activities prior to appointing subcontractors (including activities prior to award of the main contract and during the contract term)
    • Activities that demonstrate a collaborative way to work with a diverse range of businesses as part of the supply chain
    • Ensuring accessibility to contracting and subcontracting opportunities for disabled business owners and employees
    • Structuring of the supply chain selection process to ensure fairness (e.g. anti-corruption) and encourages participation by a diverse range of businesses, including with regard to new businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, VCSEs and mutual
    • Understanding of local demographics, needs and opportunities for the co-design of the goods, services and works to be delivered under the contract
    • Methods for engaging with different parts of the community (including the education system and charities representing the community) and how communities come together to inform decisions, strategy and projects to leave a positive legacy for future generations
    • Measures to involve local stakeholders and/or users in design (e.g. in the design of services, systems, products or buildings)
    • Measures for making facilities used in the delivery of the contract available for community groups, education or training
    • Measures to engage users and communities and build relationships to increase community integration build trust and influence how the contract is delivered

  • Mission: Make Britain a clean energy superpower: To cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero

    Policy Outcome 4: Sustainable procurement practices: Reducing carbon footprints, minimising waste, and promoting the use of clean energy and green technologies.

    • Understanding of opportunities for additional environmental benefits delivery in the performance of the contract, including working towards net zero carbon emissions and use of clean energy and green technologies
    • Collaborative ways of working with the supply chain to deliver additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract, including working towards net zero carbon emissions and use of clean energy and green technologies
    • Delivery of additional environmental benefits through the performance of the contract, including working towards net zero carbon emissions and use of clean energy and green technologies
    • Understanding of how to influence staff, suppliers, customers, communities and/or any other appropriate stakeholders through the delivery of the contract to support climate and nature protection and improvement

  • Mission: Break down barriers to opportunity: By reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain

    Policy Outcome 6: Employment and training: For those who face barriers to employment

    • Understanding of employment and skills issues, and of the skills and employment shortages of high growth sectors relating to the contract
    • Delivery of training schemes and programmes to address any identified skills gaps and under-representation in the workforce for the contract (e.g. prison leavers, care leavers, kinship carers, disabled people)
    • Understanding of the issues affecting the representation of disabled people in the workforce in the market, industry or sector relevant to the contract, and in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key sub-contractors
    • Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, and retention-focused activities, including those provided in the Guide for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition
    • Working conditions which promote an inclusive working environment and promote retention and progression
    • Understanding of the issues affecting inequality in employment, skills and pay in the market, industry or sector relevant to the contract, and in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key sub-contractors. Measures to tackle inequality in employment, skills and pay in the contract workforce
    • Inclusive and accessible development practices, including guidance for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition

  • Mission: Break down barriers to opportunity: By reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain

    Policy Outcome 7: Creating a pipeline of opportunities: For the contract workforce, reducing barriers to entry for under-represented groups.

    • Understanding of the issues affecting the development of new skills by target cohort
    • Understanding of the underlying factors affecting improvements to reduce barriers to entry and training schemes for the target cohort(s) related to the contract workforce
    • Understanding of issues relating to entering the contract workforce
    • Creation of outreach activities to create a pipeline of employees for the future contract delivery

  • Mission: Build an NHS fit for the future: That is there when people need it; with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers; in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer.

    Policy Outcome 8: Increasing productivity through physical and mental wellbeing: In the supply chain and communities in the relevant area.

    • Understanding of issues relating to health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health, in the contract workforce
    • Understanding barriers to access to health and social care services or employment opportunities e.g. digital inclusion
    • Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, development practices and retention policies that support-focused activities including those provided in the Guide for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing which support people with a disability or health condition
    • Actions to invest in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the contract workforce

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at accounts@synanetics.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.