General Practice Delivers Holistic Care Says GP Leader Response To Article In BMJ, UK

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 23 Nov 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GPs Committee, commenting on the BMJ article by Dr Iona Heath on the Quality and Outcomes Framework in the GP contract said:

"The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is only part of the way GPs care for their patients. General practice is about looking after the whole person and includes many aspects of personal care which are not measurable and therefore not part of the QOF. That is why basic funding for practices - known as the Global Sum - must be sufficient to recognise the needs of all types of patients including those in the most needy areas.

"High quality health outcomes are dependent on high quality processes of care which the QOF funds. The one leads to the other. Health improvements are taking place all the time as a direct result of QOF and will be measurable over a number of years. No one should, however, mistakenly believe that everything delivered in general practice is delivered through the QOF â€" it's a valuable component but not the whole patient story."

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