GPC condemns proposed QoF changes
GP representatives have condemned the government’s proposals for changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework. The British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee claims they could lead to greater health inequalities, a postcode lottery in healthcare, and damage the GP-patient relationship. The GPC’s official response to a Department of Health consultation says a moratorium on change […]
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New survey hangs on the phone
Patients’ experience of getting through on the telephone for a variety of queries – including consultations and test results – will be explored in the new GP Patient Survey to be launched in January. The Department of Health has released guidance on the expanded survey, which will be sent to patients in the New Year […]
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QoF closes a deprivation gap
The gap between the least and most deprived areas of England for blood pressure monitoring and control has almost disappeared since the introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, according to new research. A paper published in the British Medical Journal shows that the achievement of blood pressure targets in a range of conditions, including diabetes, coronary […]
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Think-tank calls for QoF to be devalued
The value of the Quality and Outcomes Framework should be reduced from 30% of GP income to just 7%, according to a think-tank that also wants the number of indicators cut dramatically. A report from Civitas, Checking-Up on Doctors, claims the relationship between GPs and patients is being undermined by the QoF, and that it […]
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Patients to get Facebook-style Communicator
From March, patients will be able to carry out email consultations with GPs and other clinicians using a Facebook-style tool called Communicator. E-Health Insider has been told that Communicator will be launched as part of ambitious development plans for HealthSpace, the online organiser that gives patients access to their NHS Summary Care Record. Communicator will […]
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DH launches consultation on QoF
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on its plans for the Quality and Outcomes Framework. The DH is proposing that from April 2009, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) should be put in charge of reviewing existing and new indicators for the QoF, which was originally introduced as part of […]
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Value of QoF to decline under new deal
NHS Employers and GP representatives have agreed a revamp of the GMS contract which will see the value of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) decrease over time.
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MPs call for overhaul of quality framework
The Department of Health should revamp the Quality and Outcomes Framework to give more weight to health outcomes and less to activity, MPs have said.
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GP practices score highly on QoF
GP practices have increased their achievements on the Quality and Outcomes Framework, with an average score of 96.8% in England and 98.2% in Scotland in 2007/8. The figures published in England and Scotland today show that practices in England achieved an average of 968 points, 96.8% of the 1000 points available, compared with an average […]
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NI GP practices score highly on QoF
GP practices in Northern Ireland earned almost 99% of the total points available to them under the Quality and Outcomes Framework in the last financial year. The results for 2007/8, the first of the UK’s four home countries to be released, show that 361 GP practices in Northern Ireland took part in the QoF, earning […]
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