Listed are the latest 50 news and events items
posted by Insight Solutions. If you require further information about any of the items displayed or services we offer please contact us
16/05/2012 GPs are routinely overcharged by hospitals 'creative coding'
An exclusive article in pulse reports that GPs have prompted an investigation into ‘creative coding' by hospital managers after submitting a dossier of evidence detailing what they claim to be routine misuse of the payment by results system.
Hospital staff are accused of a raft of coding errors that have resulted in practices being overcharged by as much as £30,000 in some cases – with one patient reportedly admitted to hospital every day for three months.
GPs warned the alleged gaming – even where strictly within the rules – was a multimillion-pound drain on CCG finances. It also risks hitting GP pay directly through the quality premium, due to be tied to the ability of CCGs to stay within budget.
An Audit Commission report last month flagged coding within payment by results as a national problem, warning ‘inconsistent treatment descriptions' were ‘affecting patients, skewing management information and wasting NHS funding'.
Insight Solutions have been working with some CCG's analysing information recorded on the clinical systems against information reported by secondary care and has identified a number of areas where the costings (based on HRG codes) do not match the details on the discharge summaries or recorded within the clinical record. With CCG's having to control costs against budgets having a system in place to validate inpatient or outpatient attendances and costs is paramount to having the finances to provide effective care.
Ensuring that the data is available to validate and the initial referral is consistent with CCG policy and contains the information required to ensure Clinical Coding is accuarate requires robust policies and protocols. For more information on what Insight Solutions can do for your practice or CCG please contact us
Further Information: Read the Full Pulse Article
09/05/2012 GPs must ensure nurses are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
News item taken from GPONLINE
The GPC and RCGP has partnered with the NMC to inform GPs that nurses cannot legally practise in the UK unless they are registered with the NMC.
The group is contacting GPs across the UK to remind them that practices which do not perform the required checks on nurses may find themselves facing contract sanctions and nurses may be liable for prosecution for claiming to be registered when they are not.
GPC chairman Dr Laurence Buckman said: ‘GPs will recognise the importance of making sure the qualifications of all their practice staff are properly checked before they are appointed.
‘If they weren’t aware of the NMC’s free confirmation service already we would recommend they use it as it's a valuable resource.’
The NMC's service helps GPs to check a nurse’s current registration status and details of any conditions of practice, cautions or suspensions issued as a result of fitness-to-practise proceedings.
RCGP chairwoman Dr Clare Gerada said: ‘Practice nurses play an invaluable role in the primary care team, but nurses cannot legally practise in the UK unless they are registered with the NMC.
‘Practices must ensure that anyone appointed to a nursing post holds the necessary qualifications and effective registration with the NMC before starting employment – and the NMC enables practices to do this quickly and effectively.’
Professor Judith Ellis interim NMC chairwoman, said: ‘As the regulator for the UK’s 670,000 nurses and midwives, it is the NMC’s duty to ensure the health and wellbeing of patients and the public.
‘Nurses and midwives cannot legally practise in the UK unless they are registered with the NMC. A nurse practising without registration puts themselves and their patients at risk.’
Further Information: Clcik here to go to GPONLINE
08/05/2012 CQC Registration and Compliance Road Shows
Details of all venues & dates on our Whats On Pages. Many venues are already filling up, if you want to attend book sooner rather than later to guarantee your place(s).
All places need to be booked online (this will reserve your place) and payment can be made either online (choose pay online) or you can print off your booking form and send to us with your cheque (choose pay by cheque).
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us - 01527557407
Further Information: Book Your Place now
07/05/2012 Practice boundaries pilots in disarray as no PCT meets April deadline
News Item from Pulse.
Exclusive: Not a single practice has begun offering commuters the chance to register near their work under the Government's much-trumpeted ‘patient choice' pilot scheme.
Related articles
Dissecting the practice boundary pilots
Playing by a national scorecard will play right into the ‘postcode lottery' trap
The Government has previously said the scheme to test the abolition of GP practice boundaries would begin ‘during April 2012', but some areas say they won't be ready until later in the year.
The pilots to allow patients to either register or attend as an out-of-area patient near their workhave been thrown into disarray by a practice boycott and continuing uncertainty about local arrangements.
All the six pilot areas told Pulse that no practice had yet formally agreed to participate in the scheme, although some areas had expressions of interest.
A spokesperson for NHS East London and the City cluster told Pulse that no practices had signed up to date to take part in the pilot following a call from LMC leaders on local practices to boycott the scheme.
A spokesperson said: ‘We don't have any because of the LMCs.'
‘We are to identify the best way to cater for the potentially large population of commuters who may be interested. We are hopeful of having a solution in place later in the pilot year.'
Both NHS Manchester and NHS Salford said they were awaiting further guidance from DH on the contract variations needed for practices wishing to participate.
A spokesman for NHS Salford said: ‘We are taking formal plans out to practices at the moment, we hope we'll have everything running for the pilots at the start of June. 13 practices have expressed an interest.'
NHS Westminster said the process of signing up practices was ‘still being worked through' and a spokesperson for the Nottinghamshire cluster, where the Nottingham City pilot is due to take place, said no practices had signed up.
He added: ‘We are meeting with GP practices who have expressed an interest later in May.'
Chris Locke, secretary of Nottinghamshire LMC, told Pulse the practices were concerned over hospital care for commuter patients.
‘They are not happy with the money situation. Even if the money that they are paid is ok, there is no allowance made for use of hospital resources by those patients that register with them.'
Dr Deborah Colvin, chair of City and Hackney LMC, said they had yet to receive response from the PCT on their call for practices to boycott the scheme. ‘I don't know what they've decided since we set out the letter.'
A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘The legislation for the Patient Choice Scheme came into effect on the 30 April 2012. Practices can now approach their PCTs if they wish to join the scheme.'
Further Information: To go to the Pulse Website click the link
07/05/2012 Somerset plans 4,000 telehealth users
From EHI
NHS Somerset is planning to monitor the symptoms of 4,000 people living with long-term conditions over the next three years, using technology from Safe Patient Systems.
The programme will be one of the largest roll-outs of telehealth monitoring outside the national whole system demonstrator project, and will focus on people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart disease, and diabetes.
The Safe Mobile care System, which was developed by a consultant surgeon, David Morgan, works by providing patients with a touch-screen mobile phone-style device, which is programmed with personalised care plans from its web-based application software.
The system prompts patients to complete questionnaires and capture relevant vital signs, using connected mobile devices. Responses are sent to triage management software that analyses the results and sends an automatic alert to a nurse or doctor if they indicate cause for concern.
Clinical staff can then advise patients on any action they should take. The system was piloted by NHS South Birmingham and has already been bought by NHS Bristol, which awarded the company a £1.4m contract last July.
Mark Doorbar, chief executive of Safe Patient Systems, said: "The simplicity of the Safe Mobile Care system is a key strength.
"It is quick and easy for healthcare professionals to ‘prescribe’ individual care plans from the system’s web-based Triage Management software that are then instantly uploaded to the touch-screen mobile device.
"Patients like the fact the device is mobile and easy to use. It has multiple language options and easy-to-follow voice instructions to make it accessible to people of all ages and ethnicities: in fact, the average age of current users is 76."
The government is now promoting telehealth and telecare as a way for clinical commissioning groups to cope with an aging population living with a growing burden of chronic disease.
It is running a 3millionlives campaign with a number of industry bodies to stimulate the market over the next five years. However, there is concern that the full results of the whole system demonstrators have still not been published.
A number of other large and high-profile telehealth programmes - not involving Safe Patient Systems - have also experienced problems in recruting patients.
Further Information: Link to E Health Insider
03/05/2012 QOF will overlook ‘significant proportion’ of over 65s with atrial fibrillation, say experts
News item from Pulse
The call for routine screening in all patients aged 65 or over comes as Department of Health screening advisers look again at the evidence for a national screening programme.
The QOF for 2012/13 contains new indicators that measure practices on the proportion of patients that are put onto anticoagulation therapy after being given a CHADS2 score of greater than one.
Writing in this month's edition of the British Journal of General Practice, Professor John Campbell, professor of general practice, and Dr Martin James, consultant stroke physician, at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in Exeter, said this was the wrong approach as an age over 65 years already conferred ‘substantial risk'.
Professor Campbell said: ‘The use of the CHADS2 score in the QOF indicators risks overlooking a significant proportion of older people at appreciable thromboembolic risk who would benefit from anticoagulation.'
He urged routine screening by GPs instead: ‘Radial pulse checking at every primary care consultation with a person over 65 years, with a 12-lead ECG for individuals with any irregularity, is relatively
cheap, costing approximately £337 for every case detected, and with a high probability that screening and anticoagulation are cost-effective through substantial reductions in disabling stroke.'
A consensus panel held by the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh in March concluded that a screening programme for atrial fibrillation satisfied the criteria set by the National Screening Committee for a national programme.
The NSC is currently looking at the evidence for atrial fibrillation screening and will report back to ministers in November this year.
It also comes after a recent UK study showed that 8% of patients in primary care aged over 75 years had atrial fibrillation, and that mortality risk was 57% higher in this group.
Study leader Professor Richard Hobbs, head of the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham and a GP in the city, said the study showed that anyone aged over 75 years should be on some sort of anticoagulation therapy.
He said: ‘If you use one of the scores such as CHADS2 it will underweight those aged over 75 years.'
'You don't need a risk score, they are at sufficiently high risk to warrant treatment.'
Further Information: Link to news item from Pulse
24/04/2012 Analysis: Fears growing over the freedom of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
FULL STORY FROM GPONLINE
Analysis: Fears growing over the freedom of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs.
With the authorisation process for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) due to start this summer, GP leaders remain concerned that the groups will be denied genuine freedom to make their own decisions.
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Further Information: Link to gponline and login page
24/04/2012 Quality Care Commision Fees
News Item taken from the CQC website-fees
Fees
Each provider of regulated activities will pay a single annual fee on the same date each year. This fee will cover all registration, variation and compliance requirements for all locations.
Fees scheme and guidance: 2012/13
Full details of the scheme for 2012/13, which is applicable from 1 April 2012, are available to download. We have also published guidance on the fees for providers including how and when to pay and our regulatory impact assessment on the scheme.
Further Information: Link to the CQC Website-fees and other items for download
23/04/2012 Changes to QoF 2012/13 Road Shows
Details of all venues & dates on our Whats On Pages. Many venues are already almost full so if you want to attend book sooner rather than later to guarantee your place(s).
All places need to be booked online (this will reserve your place) and payment can be made either online (choose pay online) or you can print off your booking form and send to us with your cheque (choose pay by cheque).
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us - 01527557407
Further Information: Book Your Place Now
23/04/2012 Nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers across the UK can now prescribe controlled drugs following a change to drug legislation
Stroy taken from GPOnline
Up to 20,000 nurses and midwives and 1,500 pharmacists will now be able to prescribe controlled drugs, including morphine, diamorphine and prescription-strength co-codamol.
Independent prescribers will also be able to mix a controlled drug with another medicine for patients who need drugs intravenously.
They will also be able to supply or administer morphine and diamorphine under patient group directions, for urgent treatment of sick or critically injured groups of patients.
Chief nursing officer for England, Professor Dame Chris Beasley, said the changes would ‘help deliver faster and more effective care, making it easier for patients to get the medicines they need, without compromising safety’.
She added: ‘Enabling appropriately qualified nurses and pharmacists to prescribe and mix those controlled drugs they are competent to use, for example in palliative care, completes the changes made over recent years to ensure we make the best use of these highly trained professionals’ skills, for the benefit of patients.’
Former Royal College of Nursing prescribing adviser Professor Matt Griffiths said the new regulations represented a ‘historic’ change for nursing.
‘Nurses have been safely prescribing these medicines for a number of years, in fact before we reached the public consultation more than 1 million controlled drug prescriptions had been prescribed by nurse prescribers,’ he said. ‘It’s the legal mechanism that has been frustrating here for both nurses and their patients.’
‘The formal process of supplementary prescribing many of these medicines to date has meant delays to patients receiving the medicines and therefore in some cases extended periods or pain,’ he added. ‘This legislation will support us in ensuring our patients receive the best care.’
Further Information: Link GP Online for Full Story
13/04/2012 GPs face inspection by CQC every two years
Story from PULSE
Exclusive: Every GP practice in England will be forced to undergo a surgery inspection by the Care Quality Commission once every two years, the regulator has disclosed.
The surgery visits are likely to last between half a day and a full day and may include interviews with practice staff and patients. They will assess GPs against key quality standards, with the resulting report published in the public domain.
The plans were revealed in an exclusive interview with CQC national clinical adviser Professor David Haslam just days after MPs warned the regulator it risked being little more than a ‘postbox' for GP applications and urged it to tighten its inspection processes.
Registration with the CQC will see practices assessed against 16 ‘essential standards' including cleanliness, treating patients with respect and whether practices have the right number of qualified staff.
For full Story and other associated stories-please click the link below to go to Pulse Today
Further Information: Link to Pulse Today
28/03/2012 NVQ Level 2 Customer Service
Insight Solutions have managed to secure funded training for a limited number of places for NVQ Level 2 Customer Service. Learners must have completed all units and be signed off by end of July 2012 in order to achieve this funded qualification
THIS QUALIFICATION IS FREE OF CHARGE TO YOUR PRACTICE.
These units have been designed specifically around general practice so that they fit around the role of the receptionist in general practice (see attached flier for details on the units included). Due to the short timescales, this is ideally suited to more experienced members of staff who are just looking for a qualification to recognise the skills they already have. For less experienced members of staff, we hope to have further options available after July 2012.
Due to the short timescales involved, we are looking for:
- Practices looking to ensure that all their receptionists sign up to work towards a formal qualification – therefore, they would be looking at 4+ learners from one practice.
- Alternatively, as a locality or practice manager group, you may have one or two learners in 4 or 5 practices in close proximity to each other – by signing up a number of learners across multiple organisations will ensure that we are able to assess & accredit learners within the timescales in place.
More information is available in the Flier. We very much hope to start our initial sign-up visits from April 2012, places & timescales are very limited so please do come back to us as soon as you can if you wish to proceed.
The units covered in this NVQ are detailed by clicking Here
Further Information: NVQ Level 2 Flier
27/03/2012 Patients are unaware of CKD in 40% of cases
NEWS ITEM TAKEN FROM GPONLINE- LINK BELOW
GPs have been urged to improve communication with patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), after research found that four in 10 patients were unaware they had the condition.
Researchers found that GPs were concerned about causing patients anxiety for what is seen as a low-risk condition.
But the DH kidney care czar warned GPs they risk ‘failing our most vulnerable patients’ and breaching moral and legal codes by not telling them about their diagnosis.
Although a register of CKD patients is in the QOF, GPs believe many patients are low-risk and do not require active management, researchers said. This can lead to a lack of communication.
A study led by Dr Maarten Taal of the Royal Derby Hospital examined the management of stage 3 CKD patients in primary care. It found that 41% of 1,741 patients on QOF registers at 32 general practices were unaware of their CKD diagnosis. This was despite two-thirds of patients needing at least one intervention.
The authors said CKD education must improve: ‘High-risk groups, older people and the less well educated should be the focus if these efforts.’
In another study, a research team led by Leeds GP Dr Tom Blakeman of the University of Manchester found GPs and practice nurses were uncertain about the merits of disclosing a CKD diagnosis to the patient. This occurred where vascular risk was low and there were concerns about causing patients excessive worry and ‘medicalisation’.
In a related editorial, Dr Donal O’Donoghue, national clinical director for kidney care in England, and colleagues, said: ‘Some practitioners will have concerns over the stigmatising and anxiety-provoking impact of a CKD label and the greater consultation time required for a complex explanation of the diagnosis.’
But he insisted: ‘We should not forget that physicians have a duty, morally and legally, to disclose truths that patients could reasonably be expected to be told in a sensitive way that they will understand.’
Useful link to Nice.org
http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/12069/42117/42117.pdf
click the link below to go to GpOnline
Insight Solutions Data Quality Days
Many surgeries throughout the UK are taking advantage of our on-site Data Quality Assessments. The day focuses on your disease registers and prevalence, identifying patients who potentially should be on the disease registers and are inadvertently being missed – resulting in loss of income (can be thousands of pounds) & compromised patient care. This service comes with a full money back guarantee; if we do not find more possible missed income than the service costs you, you don’t pay a penny for it – you cannot lose out. This service also helps to identify areas of priority & provides feedback to ensure consistency for future data entry.
call the office on 01527 557407 or click on our Exclusives tab
Further Information: Link to GPonline news item
26/03/2012 PRIMIS News
NEWS ITEM TAKEN FROM PRIMIS WEBSITE - LINK BELOW
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has announced that its funding for PRIMIS+ will end on 31 March 2012. We would like to reassure all our customers that PRIMIS will be continuing its training and data analysis services through a new membership scheme.
The month of April will be a transition period when, with backing from The University of Nottingham, PRIMIS will continue its normal services for information facilitators and associates, with the exception of face-to-face training.
From 30 April 2012 onwards, all the current products and services will be offered through a new membership scheme, the PRIMIS Hub.
There will be two levels of membership: basic and full. Basic membership will be free and open to everyone in the UK with an interest in primary care data quality, clinical audit and the use of health information. Basic membership will provide access to a limited number of services, including the CHART software and certain query libraries. Further details are on the PRIMIS website, including details of how to sign up now for free basic membership of the PRIMIS Hub from 30 April 2012.
To access the full range of PRIMIS products and services, including new ones such as the Data Quality for Commissioning query set, you will need to be subscribed as a full member of the Hub. Details and pricings are available on our website . In summary, each full membership subscription covers one Super User in a primary care organisation (PCO) and up to 24 practice staff members (Practice Users) in 12 GP practices. Additional practices can be added and there are bulk discounts for larger organisations, as well as substantial discounts for early registration.
If you are in a GP practice, you will be pleased to know that full Hub membership will give you direct access to PRIMIS products and services. This includes key elements of the PRIMIS e-learning curriculum, now tailored for GP practice use. PRIMIS also has plans to build on the success of its accredited award programme for information facilitators by developing an award for general practice staff, available later this year. In the first instance, you should contact your PCO regarding their plans for PRIMIS Hub membership. If your PCO has no immediate plans to subscribe your practice, there are other options for GP practices wishing to become full members of the Hub. Please contact PRIMIS to request more information.
We are confident that the new PRIMIS Hub membership scheme will enable us to successfully continue the PRIMIS services that are so valued by PCOs and practices, but it will also enable us to expand what we offer and tailor it to meet the needs of individual organisations in a more responsive and flexible way than has been possible in the past.
www.primis.nottingham.ac.uk/membership
click on the link below to go to the PRIMIS site
Further Information: Link to PRIMIS Nottingham
04/03/2012 Business rules v22.0 Released
Information from the PCC web site
Version 22.0 of the QOF business rulesets are available for download by clicking on the link below to go to the PCC web site
Insight Solutions QoF Changes ROAD SHOWS
Details of all venues & dates on our Whats On Pages. Many venues are already almost full so if you want to attend book sooner rather than later to guarantee your place(s).
All places need to be booked online (this will reserve your place) and payment can be made either online (choose pay online) or you can print off your booking form and send to us with your cheque (choose pay by cheque).
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us - 01527557407
Further Information: Business Rules V22
02/03/2012 70 CCGs to back letter of support for health bill
News Article taken from Pulse Today
Exclusive Dozens of CCG leaders are to hit back at calls from fellow commissioning GPs for the health bill to be dropped, backing a joint letter warning that abandoning the bill now would be a ‘disaster'.
Tower Hamlets CCG and City and Hackney CCG have piled pressure on the Government this week by writing to the Prime Minister to ask for the withdrawal of the bill, citing anger among their GP members that their enthusiasm for commissioning has been used to demonstrate political support for the bill as a whole.
The move suggested support for the reforms was draining even amongst commissioning enthusiasts, with Labour leader Ed Miliband accusing Prime Minister David Cameron of losing the confidence of the very people supposed to be implementing the bill during Prime Minister's Questions yesterday.
But a letter backed by up to 70 CCGs – submitted for publication in The Times tomorrow - advises the Government not to water down the reforms, and calls on professional bodies to engage more with CCG chairs to canvass their views of how commissioning is working on the ground.
The letter's original author Dr Paul Bowen, chair of Eastern Cheshire CCG, told Pulse he had circulated it among commissioning colleagues and received replies of support from 70 CCGs, and said he believed there was ‘a silent majority' whose voices were not being heard.
In a dispatch to CCG members calling for support for the letter, Dr Bowen insisted that he had ‘no political allegiances or agenda', but said he had tabled the latter to ‘balance some of the negative media about the subject'.
The letter, obtained by Pulse, says: ‘Since the Health and Social Care Bill was announced, we have personally seen more collaboration, enthusiasm and accepted responsibility from our GP colleagues, engaged patients and other NHS leaders than through previous "NHS re-organisations", and feel that if certain elements of the bill are watered down we may not achieve the significant evolutionary change required to bring the NHS into the 21st century.'
The letter said the Government was right to ‘listen to the concerns raised by our professional bodies' such as the BMA and RCGP, but advised those bodies to ‘learn from the positive experiences of CCG leads to find a workable solution'.
‘We feel that totally abandoning the bill at this advanced stage would undo some very promising work in our communities,' it reads.
‘In our experience, we believe the Government has listened to the public and profession to alter the bill from its original draft. We hope and expect that concerns and ideas raised by our professional bodies around training, conflicts of interest, the role of the GP as the patient's advocate, and the appropriate role of competition, the private sector and choice, are addressed adequately as this bill passes through the Lords.
‘However, putting clinicians in control of commissioning has allowed us to concentrate on outcomes through improving quality, innovation and prevention - a task that, whilst possible, would have been difficult in the old "managerially-run" system when such huge efficiency savings need to be made.'
Dr Bowen told Pulse: ‘I have no intention of waving any political flag, but there is a lot of anger among some CCG members that our voice is not being heard. I have had replies from 70 CCGs - there is potentially a silent majority who have got our heads down.'
‘Professional organisations are not coming directly to CCG chairs. We are asking people like the RCGP and BMA to engage with us.'
Dr Bowen said many CCGs ‘wanted the wording of the letter to be tougher', but said he personally believed amendments were still needed on the identified areas before it could be passed.
But he said he firmly believed the bill should not be thrown out. ‘I think if they lost the momentum and passion currently out there from engaged clinicians who want to lead, then that would be a disaster. I think it is extremely important that CCGs have their voices heard.'
Further Information: Link to Pulse Today
02/03/2012 GP rallies 100 CCG members to oppose Health Bill
By Abi Rimmer, 02 March 2012 Taken from GP online web site
A GP has backing from 100 clinical commissioning group (CCG) members who think commissioning can be supported without backing the Health Bill.
Lewisham GP Dr Louise Irvine said she is planning submit a letter to The Times rejecting the Bill.
‘We’re writing a letter and so far I’ve had 100 replies from clinical commissioning group (CCG) members who think you can support clinical commissioning without supporting the Bill.’
Dr Irvine said she was hoping to achieve 300 to 400 signatures from CCG members before submitting the letter to the newspaper next week.
A website allowing GPs to express their views on the Bill has also been set up, Dr Irvine said.
www.lobbyyourccg.blogspot.com hopes to gather GPs views ‘to publicise how doctors wish to improve the NHS and be involved with other health professionals in commissioning but that this does not indicate support for this unnecessary and unwanted Health Bill.’
The news comes as CCG chairman Dr Paul Bowen, and 70 CCG lead signatories, submitted a letter to The Times supporting the Bill.
The letter warned that abandoning the Bill would be detrimental to the progress of clinical commissioning.
Dr Irvine said that the content of the letter was not representative of the views of most GPs.
‘I don’t believe that ordinary GPs actively support the Bill. I don’t think [the signatories] have a right to sign a letter purporting to express the views of GPs and CCG members.’
Dr Irvine said it was more important than ever for GPs and CCGs to express their views on the Bill.
‘The fight for the Bill has reached it peak.’
Dr Irvine said that she planned to send a letter with the backing of her local colleges to her own CCG in Lewisham, calling for it to publicly renounce the Bill.
‘I’m hoping other GPs around the country will do something similar,’ she said.
Further Information: Click link to be taken to GP online website
01/03/2012 GP Patient Survey Results – National Reports and Data
Information From GP Patients Survey Results Page.
The pages give you access to the latest GP Patient Survey reports and survey data tables most recently run between July and September 2011. You can also access all archived reports using the menus on the patietns survey results screen
To analyse the results, you may do so by accessing the ‘Analyse results’ tools.
Click the link below to go to the GP Patients survey results Page.
Further Information: GP patient Survey Results
21/02/2012 MHRA suspends licence for Teva levothyroxine 100 microgram tablets
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has suspended the licence of levothyroxine 100 microgram tablets, manufactured by Teva, for patients with hypothyroidism. This follows manufacturing difficulties and concerns that the product might not be interchangeable with other available levothyroxine 100 mcg tablets. This may lead to a loss of control of hypothyroidism when switching between products.
Only levothyroxine 100 mcg tablets supplied in the Teva and Numark brands are affected. As this medicine is a generic, alternative products are available and most patients are unlikely to notice any change if they are switched from the Teva product to another levothyroxine product. Teva levothyroxine 100 mcg tablets will cease to be available in the UK within the next few weeks as stocks are exhausted.
The decision to suspend follows a review by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), the MHRA’s independent advisory body, of manufacturing issues and sporadic reports of loss of control of hypothyroidism when switching between products. As a precautionary measure, whilst investigations are ongoing, Teva has voluntarily ceased manufacture and distribution in line with the CHM recommendation.
The CHM review concluded that it might not be possible to switch use of the Teva product with other levothyroxine products, and that no further supplies of the product should be released for marketing until these issues are resolved.
If patients feel unwell taking the Teva levothyroxine tablets they should report them to their healthcare professional because adjustments to the dose of levothyroxine may be required.
The following patients may be particularly susceptible to changes in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and may require close monitoring by their doctor: pregnant women, those with heart disease and those under treatment with levothyroxine following treatment for thyroid cancer. For those patients an early appointment with their doctor may be needed.
After dose adjustment of levothyroxine, consistent with usual practice, TSH should be retested after a period of six weeks to confirm blood levels are stabilised within the normal range as determined by their doctor.
Further Information: Read the Full MHRA Press Release
06/02/2012 Insight expand their team of consultants ...
Tina has worked for the NHS for 8 years and specifically primary care for the last 4 years at a PCT as a Data Quality Facilitator. Tina loves working with practices and using her expertise to help practices with their day-to-day IT needs. She is looking forward to working with our client base delivering data quality assessments.
05/02/2012 Online Data Quality Assessment
For one reason or another you haven’t yet booked an on-site data quality assessment. You may be convinced that your data is already as good as it can be or you may not really understand prevalence and the difference patients missing off your register will make to your annual practice income.
Whatever the reason, we are now offering you the chance to analyse your own data (register totals) from the privacy of your own practice! To access our on-line DQA toolkit click on the Exclusives tab and select the link to register for access.
Follow through the registration process, enter in your practice population and current disease register totals and hit the calculate button. If there are any figures that you are unsure about, or you want to follow-up with an on-site assessment, do not hesitate to contact us. On-site DQA’s come with a full 100% money back guarantee if we do not find more than your initial investment - you cannot possibly lose out.
Further Information: Click here for more Info
02/02/2012 View Our Free Newsletters and Documents
To view our newsletters- click on 'Client Zone' and scroll down until you see 'Documents and Downloads'. Click on this link and you will be taken to the public downloads and the folder options for Documents or Newsletters.
Or Sign up for a free newsletter from the home page
02/02/2012 Version 84 of the Primary Care Commissioning Application is available for download in Excel
INFORMATION TAKEN FROM THE PCC.CO.UK WEBSITE
The release comprises updates and additions to data, including:
• Updated QOF achievement, prevalence and exception data to 2010/11
• Average clinical QOF scores
• Adding practice level immunisation data
• Updating the stroke, CHD, COPD and hypertension prevalence data from the new models
• IMD has now been attributed to the practice population to improve relevance
The Application collates, benchmarks and analyses a wide range of primary medical care data at both PCT and practice level:
• Gathers existing primary medical care data and presents it in a range of simple, usable formats
• Presents PCTs, practices and practice groups with a set of indicators enabling benchmarking at both practice, practice groups and PCT level within a selection of peer groups
• Offers simple analysis to assess relationships between indicators and changes in those indicators over time
• Allows users to enter additional data about their practices to support local priorities and insights
• Allows users to set up their preferred practice peers groups (e.g. CCGs or localities) and benchmark between the groups and between the groups.
• Practices can benchmark against those with a similar IMD throughout the reports.
For optimal performance please ensure your Excel macro security setting is 'low' before opening the application.
Further Information: clcik to go to the PCC website for more information
20/01/2012 Prepare your Property for CQC
News article taken from Pulse Today
By Andrew Darke | 18 Jan 2012
Assura property expert Andrew Darke on how you can prepare for CQC registration at your practice premises
Preparing your property for CQC compliance
The news that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has delayed the deadline for GP registration will have been greeted with relief by many practices. Bringing older surgeries up to the required standard could become a costly and time-consuming exercise and we have already seen the costs associated with compliance cited as a reason for the potential closure of a small number of surgeries across the country. Converted premises are likely to be particularly problematic, and it is vital that GPs and practice managers take action now to be ready for April 2013.
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Read more practice dilemmas
There are two outcomes that have significant implications for property – outcome 8, which covers cleanliness and infections control, and outcome 10, which concerns the safety and suitability of the premises. The steps that are to be taken will vary from property to property, but for the vast majority there will be work to be done.
Designating a treatment room
For any treatment room, the changes that may need to be made will depend on the nature of the additional service that is to be provided. Counselling, for example, can be undertaken with very little need for alterations or refurbishment. However, once any minor invasive operation is carried out, whether by a GP or by a practice nurse, the room must comply with substantially more stringent rules and regulations. This could be as basic as the type of flooring, which should be seamless with an up-swept skirting to avoid leaving places where bacteria and dirt could lurk. Old-fashioned, converted houses with traditional skirting boards or even vinyl over plastic tiles will certainly be picked up by CQC inspectors. In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to look at any air-changing equipment to ensure the
Soundproofing doors
There are also a number of issues that could easily be missed by the untrained eye or those who are not completely up to date with the legislation. Many people might not be aware that the doors to a consulting room must meet with current decibel restrictions to protect patient confidentiality. Solving this problem might be as simple as adding door seals, but the challenge will be in spotting these shortfalls before the CQC inspectors come calling.
Accessing funds
In the past, PCTs have had the financial ability to support practices in bringing premises up to standard when there has been a change of legislation, as was the case with the Disability and Equality Act 2010. In these straitened times, however, the NHS has very little capital available to assist GPs with the process. It may be necessary for Trusts and GPs to look to private sector landlords to help them meet new requirements.
One option to consider for GPs that own their own premises is a purchase and leaseback agreement, where property ownership – and thereby the responsibility for compliance – can be transferred to a third party as part of the leasing arrangements. This has a number of benefits beyond CQC compliance, removing many of the property-related headaches associated with incoming and outgoing partners and repair and maintenance issues. However funding is accessed, it is vital that it is put to use quickly to bring premises up to standard in advance of the deadline.
This is not only about ticking boxes – it is about ensuring the best possible quality of care for patients in the new healthcare environment.
Andrew Darke is the managing director of property at Assura Group Limited
http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/newsarticle-content/-/article_display_list/13302711/bringing-premises-up-to-scratch
Further Information: Link to Pulse Today
13/01/2012 Consultation on QOF indicators 2013-2014
From NICE.org.uk
As part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) process, stakeholders have the opportunity to comment on potential new indicators for the QOF. We encourage stakeholders from all participating countries to comment on potential new indicators for consideration for the 2013/14 QOF. The consultation is now open for a four week period from Monday 9 January and will close at 5.00pm on Monday 6 February 2012.
There are 20 potential new indicators across the following ten domains:
•Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
•Heart failure
•Secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD)
•Diabetes: Erectile dysfunction
•Depression
•Diabetes: Lipid management
•Hypertension
•Rheumatoid arthritis
•Asthma
•Cancer
This information is taken from the NICE website. Please click the link below to read more and to submit your comments
Further Information: Click to go to the NICE website
03/01/2012 Regulator chastises managers forcing GP practices to prepare for CQC registration
News item from the Pulse website.
NHS managers trying to force GP practices to prepare for registration with the CQC early have been slapped down by the regulator, it has been revealed.
In a move to reassure GPs over registration, the CQC has also pledged that surgeries won't be closed over not having disabled access and that supporting evidence won't always be necessary to prove compliance with standards.
However, GP leaders warn that the beleaguered commission is likely face a shake-up and the requirements for registration may change before April 2013, when regulation of GPs begins.
In answers to questions submitted by members of the Family Doctor Association, the CQC said it was taking a tough line over PCTs which have jumped the regulatory gun, as Pulse reported recently.
A response from the regulator said: ‘PCTs should not be telling practices to do things in the name of CQC.'
‘GP practices are not subject to regulation by CQC until April 2013 and where we have found out that this has gone on we have spoken to the PCTs involved and will continue to do so.'
Click link below to reead full story from Pulse
Further Information: Link to Pulse for full story
15/12/2011 Prescribing by GP practice
From NHS UK:
In his letter to cabinet ministers on 7 July 2011, the Prime Minister restated the commitment to make available "prescribing data by GP practice by December 2011".
This data was released for the first time on 14 December 2011, and provided information relating to September 2011. Data for subsequent months will be released monthly thereafter.
Covering all general practices in England, the data includes figures on the number of prescription items that are dispensed each month and information relating to costs.
What information is being made available?
■All prescribed and dispensed medicines (by chemical name), dressings and appliances (at section level) are listed for each GP practice.
■For each GP practice, the total number of items that were prescribed and then dispensed is shown.
■The total Net Ingredient Cost and the total Actual Cost of these items is shown.
This data does not list each individual prescription and does not contain any patient identifiable data.
Using and interpreting the data
Practice prescribing data requires careful interpretation, and the information should not be looked at in isolation.
This data can be used to construct comparators of practice prescribing, for example some of the Quality Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) measures of prescribing. Details of these can be found on our Prescribing Comparators (including QIPP comparators) page.
Accessing the data
Each month a file of practice prescribing data will be made available in CSV format. Due to the large size of each monthly dataset (over 4 million rows), it will be necessary for data users to analyse the information using specialist data-handling software. Standard spreadsheet applications will not be able to handle the volumes of data contained in the monthly datasets.
Practices are identified in the prescribing datasets by their national code. Supplementary file(s) will contain further practice identifiers, such as names and addresses. This supplementary information can be linked to the prescribing dataset using the national practice code.
What does the data cover?
General practice prescribing data is a list of all medicines, dressings and appliances that are prescribed and dispensed each month. A record will only be produced when this has occurred and there is no record for a zero total. For each practice in England, and for each medicine (by chemical name), dressing and appliance, the following information is presented:
■the total number of items prescribed and dispensed
■the total net ingredient cost
■the total actual cost
The data covers NHS prescriptions written in England and dispensed in the community in the UK. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. The data includes prescriptions written by GPs and other non-medical prescribers (such as nurses and pharmacists) who are attached to GP practices.
GP practices are identified only by their national code, so an additional data file - linked to the first by the practice code - provides further detail in relation to the practice
To go to the NHS UK website to read more and to download available data click the link below
Further Information: Link to NHS uk
08/12/2011 Directed enhanced services 2012/13
Taken from the nhsemployers website.
Directed enhanced services 2012/13
In 2012/13 the Extended Hours DES will be extended by one year, in England, to 31 March 2013. The Patient Participation DES which was introduced in April 2011 for two years and will continue in 2012/13.
The following existing DESs are to be re-commissioned by PCTs, in England, for the twelve-month period ending on 31 March 2013:
the alcohol reduction scheme, and
the learning disabilities health check scheme.
The requirements for these clinical DESs remain the same and the payment scheme will mirror the payment scheme at the same rate that applied for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012.
The Osteoporosis DES will no longer be available from 1 April 2012 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The GMS portion of the funding from the DES will be reinvested in the global sum with no corresponding increase to correction factor payments. Any money released through reductions in correction factor payments are reinvested back into the global sum.
Directed Enhanced Services 2011/12
In 2011/12 the Extended Hours DES was extended by one year, but with a reduction in the detailed requirements and cost. The Extended Hours monies was reinvested to fund a new Patient Participation DES to ensure patients are more involved in decisions affecting the services they receive. Three of the clinical DESs were rolled forward for a further year: the alcohol reduction scheme; the learning and disabilities health check scheme; and the osteoporosis diagnosis and prevention scheme.
Directed Enhanced Services 2010/11
In 2010/11 the Extended Hours Access DES and four clinical DESs were continued for a further year.
Directed Enhanced Services 2009/10
In 2009/10 the heart failure DES formed part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. The four remaining clinical DESs and the Extended Opening Hours Access DES continued.
Directed Enhanced Services 2008/09
In 2008/09 five new clinical DESs and the Extended Opening Hours DES were introduced. Practice eligibility to receive one-off payments under the IM&T DES continued.
Further Information: Link to nhsemployers website- to read more
06/12/2011 Interactive Guide to the Flu Season 2011/12 from gponline
From gponline- link below- Track the progress of the flu season and the effect on GP workload with the series of interactive guides following consultation rates, vaccination uptake and more across each of the UK countries.
To view this content you need to sign in or register for free.
Click the link below to be taken to the GpOnline site, to log in and read more
Further Information: Link to gponline for the Interactive guide
06/12/2011 GPs face tougher QOF in new contract
Negotiators have also agreed to scrap all prescribing indicatrors in the quality and productivity (QP) domain in QOF, introduced in 2011/12.
But the BMA and NHS Employers revealed that practices would be expected to continue doing much of this prescribing work for no extra pay.
Under the changes for 2012/13, all lower thresholds for QOF indicators that are currently 40% will be raised to 50%, while any indicator with an upper threshold of 70-85% will now have a lower threshold of 45%.
There have been further, specific upper threshold changes for 14 indicators.
The changes agreed in the 2012/13 contract mean GPs will need to perform better to earn the same points as in previous years.
Five of the 11 quality and productivity (QP) indicators introduced in the 2011/12 contract have been scrapped.
Negotiators agreed to withdraw QP1-5, which incentivise improvements in prescribing behaviour.
Instead, new QP indicators worth 31 points will see practices work in groups to reduce avoidable A&E attendances.
They will review patterns in use and design a strategy to improve the quality and accessibility of the care provided to avoid unnecessary attendances.
The DoH said the scheme will focus 'in particular on quality of care for older patients with complex health needs at high risk of admission, children with minor illness or injury and patients who frequently re-attend A&E'.
Information taken from the gponline website.
click the link below to read more
Further Information: link to 'GPs face tougher QOF in new contract'
27/11/2011 QoF Back to Basics Manual
Insight are always asked about when the next QoF Back to Basics seminar/webinar is being delivered - unfortunately they are never always in the right place at the right time!
Therefore, we have written a QoF Back to Basics manual - this is a perfect read for your new starters, it just covers the basics but includes all of the essential QoF start-up information they need as well as busting much of the QoF jargon that is used.
Included in the manual is:
- Structure of QoF - domains & indicators
- Clinical Domains
- Organisational Domains
- Patient Experience
- Additional Services
- Quality & Productivity
- Exceptions v Exclusions
- Remission Codes
- QoF Management Software
- Read Codes (V2 & CTv3)
- Managing Disease Registers
- Disease Register Diagnosis Codes
- Resolved Codes
- Year End Reporting & achievement
- Year End Process
This manual is available for only £30 + VAT & will be a real asset to your staff- it will give them the basic confidence they need to embark on tackling QoF!
Visit the manual section in the shop now and place your order
Further Information: Visit the Insight solutions E-Shop
24/11/2011 Wave of CCG mergers expected
Dozens of CCGs look set to merge after the 2012/13 NHS Operating Framework published today set GP commissioners a management allowance of £25 a head and said that CCGs should be ‘coterminous with a single local Health and Wellbeing Board'.
SHA clusters have been charged with ensuring that ‘any outstanding configuration issues' are ‘resolved by the end of March 2012', in a move expected to trigger a wave of mergers among smaller clinical commissioning groups.
The £25 per head figure is at the lower end of the predicted range for the CCG management allowance, which GP commissioners were previously advised would be between £25 and £35. It comes after a Government-backed paper from the NHS Alliance and NAPC earlier this week warned that funding at that level would mean CCGs would need to cover at least 100,000 patients in order to manage clinical and financial risk.
Further Information: Pulse Article and Full Story
23/11/2011 2011 QoF Data Now Available
The 2011 data is now available on the GPContract website, and the new version of the site is on line. This currently mirrors of the function of the old site with more detail at the SHA, country and UK level.
There is more functionality to come which is made easier by an entirely new data model in the background. The database will be able to cope with things such as comparisons between years.
There is also a new look which is hopefully easier to find your way around. Search is on pretty much every page.
Don't forget that an Insight Solutions Data Quality Assessment can identify missing patients and income. Contact us now for more information
Further Information: GP Contract Website (opens in new window)
07/11/2011 Manipulating Data in Excel Recorded Webinar
Data is provided in a number of ways either from the clinical system or other organisations and being able to analyse it is key to presenting and understanding what it means. Excel provides a number of ways to analyse and manipulate the data easily to make the results more meaningful and usable
This recorded webinar will show you how to:
Analyse the Data in Excel
- Using Excel Functionality to format the Data
- Insert/Delete/Hide Rows and Columns
- AutoFit Data
- Using Filters
- Using Subtotals
- Conditional Formatting
- Using Pivot Tables
Further Information: Insight Solutions Recorded Webinars
04/11/2011 The Adult Patient’s Passport to Safer use of Insulin
The aim of this Alert is to improve patient safety by empowering patients as they take an active role in their treatment with insulin.
This will be achieved with a patient information booklet and a patient-held record (the Insulin Passport) which documents the patient’s current insulin products and enables a safety check for prescribing, dispensing and administration. The Insulin Passport will complement existing systems for ensuring key information is accessed across healthcare sectors.
NHS organisations should ensure that by 31 August 2012:
1. Adult patients on insulin therapy receive a patient information booklet and an Insulin Passport to help provide accurate identification of their current insulin products and provide essential information across healthcare sectors.
2. Healthcare professionals and patients are informed how the Insulin Passport and associated patient information can be used to improve safety.
3. When prescriptions of insulin are prescribed, dispensed or administered, healthcare professionals cross-reference available information to confirm the correct identity of insulin products.
4. Systems are in place to enable hospital inpatients to self-administer insulin where feasible and safe.
Ordering information
Supplies of the Insulin Passport and patient booklet will be available from June 2011 (in English and in Welsh) from the current NHS Forms and Print Contract.
Orders can be placed as follows:
GP Practices should order via their PCT or Agency Stores, Hospitals and other organisations should place their orders in the usual way for national forms, www.nhsforms.co.uk or email nhsforms@mmm.com.
Information in this News article has been taken from the Nationasl Patient Safety Agency Website
http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/
Further Information: Link to the NPSA website
20/10/2011 GPs could be given three months notice of revalidation
GPs will be given at least three months notice of their revalidation submission being due, under plans tabled by the GMC.
The proposal for doctors to receive a ‘minimum notice period of three months' of their revalidation is part of a raft of regulations featured in a new GMC consultation paper. The GMC said that the three month threshold will given them the power to ‘revalidate promptly' where it is in the wider public interest, but said that in most cases GPs will ‘know the due date much earlier.'
Under the draft regulations the GMC will also be handed the power to force early revalidation on doctors where risks to patient safety have been identified.
The GMC said the ability to ‘vary the revalidation period' could also be used to bring forward revalidation dates for GPs who wish to be revalidated before taking a break from practice. The three month notice period would still apply.
To read the full story from 'Pulse' click the link below
Further Information: Link to Pulse
19/10/2011 Practices face £28,000 service cuts
Cuts to enhanced services across England will wipe out slim uplifts to GP contract funding agreed for 2011/12, a GP investigation reveals.
Click on the link below which will take you to the news item.
You will need to register for free on GPonline to access this news item
Further Information: Gponline News items
10/10/2011 Does your Surgery need a WebSite for your Patients Participation Des?
Amongst many features the website deals with the Patients Participation Des-giving your patients access to the Patient Questionaires and collating the information for you
'...FREE with your website or Intranet
You won't find an easier way to create surveys for your patients!
No fussing with special tools - just type out your survey the way you want it to appear
Manage your patient samples and send out batches of surveys as simply as sending an email
Meet the objectives outlined in the Patient Participation DES (in England & Wales) or just find out what your patients really think about the services you provide...'
Go to MySurgeryWebsite.co.uk for further information and to view demo and live versions.
When contacting MySurgeryWebsite- please mention our name.
Or Contact us for more information on our Patients participation Des Managers pack and the website.
Info@insightsol.co.uk
Tel Number 01527 557407
Further Information: click this link for the MySurgeryWebsite
08/10/2011 HbA1c Converter
HbA1c results are currently given as a percentage. However, the way in which HbA1c results are reported in the UK is changing. From 1 October 2011, HbA1c will be given in millimoles per mol (mmol/mol) instead of as a percentage (%).
To help make this transition as easy as possible, all HbA1c results in the UK will be given in both percentage and mmol/mol from 1 June 2009 until 30 September 2011.
This new way of reporting results will just be a different way of expressing the same thing. For example, the equivalent of the HbA1c target of 6.5 per cent will be 48 mmol/mol. The fact that the number is higher does not mean there is more glucose in your blood.
More information on this change can be found under on the same page as this converter.
To help people during this period of change, Diabetes UK has developed an easy-to-use online HbA1c converter.
Further Information: HbA1c Converter
30/09/2011 CQC compliance scams
GPs are being approached and asked for hundreds of pounds in payments for Care Quality Commission ‘compliance' support in apparent scams that are being investigated by NHS counter-fraud teams.
This month Wessex LMC, Londonwide LMCs and Cambridgeshire LMC alerted GPs to CQC scams, with some practices asked for up to £300 by company representatives claiming to provide CQC compliance services.
One company attempted to bill practices for a guide they claimed was ‘essential to complete CQC registration', despite the fact CQC standards for general practice have yet to be clarified.
Further Information: Pulse Article and Full Story
29/09/2011 Influenza Schedules and Documents for 2011/12
Visit our Documents and Download area for useful Documents- including 3rd part documents on the 2011/12 influenza schedules,leaflets and child immunisations.
Go to 'client Zone' and click on 'Documents and Downloads' Click on 'Documents' to be taken to numerous folders with useful information available free of charge.
Further Information: Click here to go to Documents and Downloads
28/09/2011 INPS Vision Download area for Reports/Audits
INPS download area for reports and audits.
Including Immunisation and Health protection reporting.
Information supplied by INPS please click the link to go to go their website download ara
Further Information: INPS Download for Audits and Reports
26/09/2011 Dismantling the NHS National Programme for IT
The government has announced an acceleration of the dismantling of the National Programme for IT, following the conclusions of a new review by the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority (MPA). The programme was created in 2002 under the last government and the MPA has concluded that it is not fit to provide the modern IT services that the NHS needs.
In May 2011 the Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons that the MPA would be reviewing the NHS National Programme for IT.
The MPA found that there have been substantial achievements which are now firmly established, such as the Spine, N3 Network, NHSmail, Choose and Book, Secondary Uses Service and Picture Archiving and Communications Service. Their delivery accounts for around two thirds of the £6.4bn money spent so far and they will continue to provide vital support to the NHS. However, the review reported the National Programme for IT has not and cannot deliver to its original intent.
In a modernised NHS, which puts patients and clinicians in the driving seat for achieving health outcomes amongst the best in the world, it is no longer appropriate for a centralised authority to make decisions on behalf of local organisations. We will continue to work with our existing suppliers to determine the best way to deliver the services upon which the NHS depends in a way which allows the local NHS to exercise choice while delivering best value for money.
A new partnership with Intellect, the Technology Trade Association, will explore ways to stimulate a marketplace that will no longer exclude small and medium sized companies from participating in significant government healthcare projects.
The Department of Health said:
“The exchange of information between patients and clinicians and across the NHS is a fundamental part of how we are centring care on patients and making sure innovation and choice are fully supported. The NPfIT achieved much in terms of infrastructure and this will be maintained, along with national applications, such as the Summary Care Record and Electronic Prescriptions Service, which are crucial to improving patient safety and efficiency. But we need to move on from a top down approach and instead provide information systems driven by local decision-making. This is the only way to make sure we get value for money and that the modern NHS meets the needs of patients.”
Click the link to read more from the Dept of Health
Further Information: Link to the Dept of Health Website
22/09/2011 Government axes NPfiT
The timing of the move appears to be linked to the party conference season. The Labour Party is meeting next week, and this morning a number of Conservative-supporting papers put significant emphasis on the programme's Labour roots.
The Daily Mail opens its coverage by saying that “ministers are to axe Labour’s disastrous £12 billion NHS computer scheme” which it goes on to describe as a “monument to Whitehall folly during Labour’s 13 years in power.”
The paper does not say what will happen to NHS Connecting for Health, the agency that runs the programme, or to CSC’s local service provider contract for the North, Midlands and East of England, on which considerable sums of money are still to be spent.
However, eHealth Insider understands that in line with previous announcements, the future of CfH will be clarified in a report on the future of health informatics that is due later this autumn.
EHI also understands that the DH continues to lead on negotiations with CSC, although there will be further involvement from the Cabinet Office.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude will chair an 'oversight committee' to get best value from the contracts, with DH and Cabinet Office representation.
The DH and the US company have been locked in negotiations about a new deal since CSC missed another key deadline to install iSoft’s Lorenzo software at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The deal has been interrupted by a highly critical National Audit Office report on the detailed care records elements of the national programme.
This also criticised the deals re-signed with BT for London and parts of the South, which delivered less functionality to fewer trusts for only a small amount less money.
The CSC negotiations were also interrupted by a lively meeting of the Commons’ public accounts committee on the report, and a review of the whole national programme by the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority.
Click the link to read more from the ehi Health Insider website
Further Information: Click to read more from E Health Insider
20/09/2011 Line manager training reduces Absence rates
Employers that targeted line managers for absence management training saw improved absence rates at two-thirds (64%) of organisations, according to new research from XpertHR.
The research reveals that training line managers gave them more confidence to tackle non-attendance proactively.
Among those employers that saw improved absence rates as a result of manager training, 20% witnessed a significant reduction and 68% saw "some reduction" in their absence levels.
Only one organisation in 10 of the 178 that conducted absence management training thought that it was unsuccessful.
Charlotte Wolff, XpertHR training editor and author of the report, said: "This research echoes findings of a similar study carried out by XpertHR in 2007. It appears that giving line managers the skills they need to deal with the sometimes complex issues surrounding sickness and absence frequently pays off.
"Line managers are not always equipped to have sensitive conversations with team members and can be nervous of falling foul of employment law. Training that involves discussion, real-life examples and an opportunity to learn in a safe environment will provide them with the confidence they need."
Wolff added that it is beneficial for line managers to develop an understanding of the organisation's absence policies and procedures, learn how to seek help and guidance from HR and occupational health, and understand why absence matters to the organisation.
The report found that the topics most covered by employers in absence management training included: organisational policy (99%); return-to-work interviews (99%); recording absence (97%); and communicating with employees (92%).
Fewer employers included the promotion of good health (51%) and Health and Safety Executive management standards (25%) (a tool that helps managers be proactive about minimising workplace stress), areas that were more widely covered by the organisations that saw significant reductions in their absence rates as a result of line manager training.
To learn how to manage your Absenteeism-order our Absence Management Pack.
From our website go the 'E shop' tab and select Managers packs for an over view of the contents.
http://insightsol.co.uk/shop.php
Or call the Office on 01527 557407 or email info@insightsol.co.uk for more information
Further Information: Personnel Today and full story
20/09/2011 Who should have the seasonal flu jab?
For most people, seasonal flu is unpleasant but not serious and they recover within a week.
However, certain people are at greater risk of developing serious complications of flu, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. These conditions may require hospital treatment. A large number of elderly people die from flu every winter.
The seasonal flu vaccine is offered free of charge to at-risk groups to protect them from catching flu and developing serious complications.
At-risk groups
It is recommended you have a flu jab if you:
•are 65 years of age or over
•are pregnant
•have a serious medical condition
•are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility (not including prisons, young offender institutions or university halls of residence)
•are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
•are a frontline health or social care worker
Pregnant women
As was the case last year, this winter (2011/12) it is recommended that all pregnant women should have the seasonal flu vaccine irrespective of their stage of pregnancy.
This is because there is good evidence to suggest that pregnant women have an increased risk of developing complications if they get flu, particularly the H1N1 strain.
Studies have also shown that the inactivated flu vaccine can be safely and effectively administered during any trimester of pregnancy. The vaccine itself does not present an increased risk of complications to either the mother or baby.
If you are the parent of a child (over six months) with a long-term condition, speak to your GP about the flu vaccine. Your child's condition may get worse if they catch flu.
Frontline health or social care workers
Employers are responsible for ensuring that arrangements are in place for their frontline healthcare staff to have the seasonal flu vaccine.
Outbreaks of flu can occur in health and social care settings with staff, patients and residents at risk of being affected.
Therefore, it is very important that frontline health and social care professionals protect themselves by having the flu vaccine and in doing so prevent the spread of flu to colleagues and other members of the community.
If you care for someone who is elderly or disabled, you should also be vaccinated against seasonal flu and you should ensure that the person you are caring for has the flu jab as well.
To read more on this topic go to link below which will take you to the NHS UK website. Here there are more links in referenece to the risk groups.
Further Information: link to NHS NET and more information
16/09/2011 Electronic Prescriptions
A survey has found widespread support among GPs for the Government's Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), as the second stage of the service's rollout gathers pace
A total of 18 practices and 1,559 pharmacies are now EPS Release 2-enabled, which means GPs can send a prescription electronically and directly to a pharmacy of a patient's choosing
Some 40,400 patients have ‘nominated' which pharmacy they want their prescription to be sent to.
A survey, carried out by Doctors.net for NHS mail order pharmacy Pharmacy2U, asked 1,006 GPs about their understanding of electronic repeat dispensing, which will be a feature of EPS when it is fully launched later this year.
The service allows GPs to digitally authorise bundles of repeat prescriptions, which are then dispensed to the patient's nominated pharmacy.
Two thirds of GPs said they thought it would reduce their workload and on average, GPs in England said they would expect to use it for 39% of patients on repeat medication.
However a third of GPs were concerned they would lose control over repeat prescribing and 43% were concerned it might reduce opportunities to review patients' medication, while one in five GPs admitted they did not understand electronic repeat dispensing or were not aware that it was to be introduced under EPS.
Further Information: Pulse Article and Full Story
16/09/2011 Audit Commission probe patient list inaccuracies
The Audit Commission is to publish national data on patient registration inaccuracies by the end of the year amid mounting concerns over a new list cleansing drive
The regulator, which 'protects the public purse', told Pulse it plans to publish the latest data from The National Duplicate Registration Initiative – a project that analyses PCT data to identify inaccuracies in GP patient lists – in the coming months. The new report will detail inaccuracies in patient lists that were identified during 2009.
The last time the initiative was run, in 2004, it led to the removal of 185,000 patients from GP practice lists, saving the Department of Health £9.5m in the process.
In a statement, the Audit Commission said: ‘In line with our pre-existing timetable the Commission is collating these outcomes and plans to publish a national report later this year. The report will detail the outcomes identified in the October 2009 data extract.'
Contact us for further information about our Data Quality and Audit Service (http://www.insightsol.co.uk/email.php)
Further Information: Pulse Article and Full Story
15/09/2011 Ready Reckoner Commissioning Costs Tool
The Department of Health has launched a clinical commissioning group running costs tool, or 'Ready Reckoner' for GPs in CCGs.
The DH has written, 'The tool helps CCGs work through the financial implications of different commissioning support arrangements. It provides the flexibility to consider the potential impact that different populations have on resources and the different costs of internal staffing structures. We hope for it to support a range of local discussions between CCGs and with PCT clusters about where it makes sense to share functions and enter into more federated models in orders to generate better value for money.'
Click here to view and download support guidance for the ready reckoning tool, and click here to download the ready reckoner.
NOTE: Links above are external and provided by Pulse Today
Further Information: Pulse Article and Full Story
15/09/2011 QoF Delays leave GP's Facing loses
A GP investigation found that less than half of PCTs met the 30 June deadline for choosing areas for improved prescribing under the new quality and productivity domain, worth 96.5 points.
Despite prolonged local negotiations, almost all PCTs used the same set of 15 indicators proposed by the National Prescribing Centre (NPC.
96% of PCTs used indicators from this list and only one in three trusts have developed any of their own measures to add to these.
GP used the Freedom of Information Act to request details from PCTs and received responses from 68 trusts.
GP's investigation also found that, in agreements that have been reached, the thresholds practices must achieve vary widely between PCTs.
For one indicator on osteoporosis prescribing, practices reaching the same achievement level would gain five QOF points in one part of the UK but just one point in others.
For other indicators, payment thresholds set by PCTs for the same indicators varied by more than 20%.
Further Information: GP Article and Full Story
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