The Quality And Outcomes Framework Must Be The Same Across The UK For The Benefit Of Patients, Says British Medical Association

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 31 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT


Any changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)1 must build on the significant improvements in quality and consistency of care that its introduction has already achieved, and must not lead to a postcode lottery in patient care, the BMA said today (Thursday 30 October 2008).

Commenting on the launch of a Department of Health consultation document on the QOF, Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA's GP Committee (GPC), said:

"The introduction of the QOF into the new GP contract marked a huge step forward in the government's promise to address health inequalities across the UK. It is doing exactly what it was supposed to do by ensuring that patients get consistent, evidence-based care wherever they live. It has introduced a systematic process of care for the diseases responsible for the majority of the deaths in this country - in short QOF saves lives. We would be concerned if this review undermined this vital national approach to quality standards. There is the possibility of a postcode lottery in patient care developing if Primary Care Organisations can choose which bits of QOF they want to provide. Patients should expect the same high quality of care wherever they live in the UK.

"It was always intended that QOF should evolve as the evidence improves and since its inception approximately a quarter of it has changed. Its evolution under NICE must continue to be based on evidence that interventions in primary care make a difference to patients, to ensure that the improvements we have seen in clinical care continue. Any changes as a result of the review will still require contractual negotiation and as such the GPC expects to continue to have a full role in QOF development in the future."

The BMA will be responding formally to the Department of Health consultation.

Note

1) The Quality and Outcomes Framework was introduced in April 2004 as part of the new national GP contract. It offers practices up to 1000 points if they deliver on a range of services. These points attract financial resources into the practice. Most of the points relate to evidence-based clinical interventions proved to benefit patients with illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and other long-term conditions: others are linked to the organisation and to patients' experience of the practice.

For more information on the QOF and the improvements in the health outcomes for patients since the changes to the GP contract, including a case study on how the QOF works in a practice, please go to: http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/QOFbrief0908

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