Commissioning Still Dogged By Poor Information, UK

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 14 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The latest Department of Health survey into Practice Based Commissioning demonstrates that Practices continue to experience poor information and data.

Around four out of ten say the quality, format and frequency of information is "very poor" or "fairly poor". About three in ten say it is "very good" or "fairly good", while one in five say it is neither good nor poor.

There has been no significant change since the first PBC survey last year.

NHS Alliance chairman Dr Michael Dixon said:

"Despite small but significant improvements in the numbers of Practices who are commissioning new services and those who have agreed a commissioning plan with their primary care trust, PBC cannot properly get off the ground until commissioners have access to accurate, meaningful, real-time information. That is absolutely basic.

"Practice based commissioning is effectively being sabotaged by this fundamental problem. Whatever the difficulty is, firm action must now be taken to put it right."

Notes

1. The NHS Alliance is a collaboration of clinicians, managers and board members who put patients first. It is the independent body that represents NHS primary care. Values based, it is the only organisation that brings together PCTs with GP practices, clinicians with managers and Board members, and NHS primary care with its patients. The Alliance membership and its hard working national executive is fully multi-professional. It has twelve professional networks, including the Practice Based Commissioning Federation.

2. The Practice Based Commissioning GP Practice survey Wave 3 results are expected to be published by the Department of Health.

NHS Alliance