BMA wants tech to save boundaries
The introduction of videophones and webcams in GP surgeries would be a better way of improving patient access than scrapping practice boundaries, according to the British Medical Association. The doctors’ union has recommended a series of local solutions plus changes to the national ‘temporary resident’ system as an alternative to government plans to remove practice […]
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QoF reform in five year plan
The Department of Health has promised to introduce a “significant reform” of the Quality and Outcomes Framework from 2011 as part of its five year plan for the NHS. Launching its strategy, NHS 2010-2015: from good to great, health secretary Andy Burnham said it was time to accelerate the pace of NHS reform to make […]
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Kelsey – info should be compulsory
GPs and all other NHS providers should be mandated to publish routine, standardised data on their outcomes, according to the chairman of health information firm Dr Foster. Tim Kelsey told E-Health Insider Live ’09 that only English hospitals currently publish outcomes data and the next government should ‘force the pace.’ He said a future government […]
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DH seeks views on replacement for QMAS
The Department of Health is considering replacing the Quality, Management and Analysis System used for calculating Quality and Outcomes Framework payments. The DH and NHS Connecting for Health said they want a more flexible calculating and reporting system, which would collect information on more GP payments. QMAS is widely recognised as one of CfH’s success stories. […]
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QoF income falls trigger survey row
GP practices’ achievement on the Quality and Outcomes Framework fell across the UK in the last financial year, costing the average practice in England about £1,800. Newly published figures show GPs in all four UK countries suffered a drop in performance, which has been largely attributed to changes to the patient experience indicators. The figures […]
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Personal view: Mary Hawking
Process measures face QoF chop
Four potential new indicators for inclusion in next year’s Quality and Outcomes Framework together with five indicators that could be removed from the QoF have been published. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published its first menu of suggested inclusions and deletions from the QOF since it became responsible for managing […]
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One in three don’t collect anti-virals
More than one in three people have failed to collect their anti-viral medicine after being issued with an authorisation number by the National Pandemic Flu Service, according to latest statistics. Figures published by the Department of Health for the first two weeks of the NPFS show that out of 511,282 people who completed assessment on […]
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QoF ‘fails to promote access’
The Quality and Outcomes Framework has failed to promote improved access or continuity in general practice, according to a new study. Researchers from Leicester University compared how many points GP practices scored for patient experience on the QoF with the results of their patient access surveys. The results, published in this month’s British Journal of […]
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Quality down for non-QoF care
The Quality and Outcomes Framework has led to a reduction in the quality of care for activities not included in the QoF and had a negative impact on continuity of care, according to a new study. Researchers from the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre in Manchester looked at the quality of care in […]
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