New Vision For Practice Based Commissioning, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 05 Mar 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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A renewed vision for Practice Based Commissioning (PBC), and how it relates to World Class Commissioning, was unveiled today at a special event hosted by the King's Fund and the Department of Health.

'Clinical commissioning: our vision for practice-based commissioning' describes how clinicians and health service managers can combine their expertise to bring about improvements in local health by investing in better quality, better value, and better-designed health services. It outlines the principles to achieve this and introduces a greater level of rigour into the system through a series of clear entitlements underlining the support practice-based commissioners can expect to receive.

The NHS Next Stage Review published last summer committed to reinvigorating PBC. The new vision confirms the direction of practice-based commissioning as providing a pivotal role in empowering healthcare professionals to drive world class commissioning by having a stronger say in shaping the health and healthcare of local populations in partnership with Primary Care Trusts.

The vision has been developed in collaboration with a broad range of clinicians, Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.

PBC provides a framework which local clinicians can use to develop a greater range of integrated health and care services in the community, achieve better value for money and in turn, drive continuous improvements in quality and innovation.

Health Minister Lord Darzi said:

"Thriving practice based commissioners can act as a driving force for clinical and service innovation, identifying and spreading new ideas that improve quality of care.

"This new vision goes a long way to set out the roles of practice based commissioners and what they should expect in return. Successful Practice Based Commissioning will be characterised by clinicians, including GPs, community nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists and secondary care clinicians engaging in the continuous cycle of reviewing the needs of their community, how resources are used and the services delivered for patients."

Notes

1. The vision can be found at: http://www.dh.gsi.gov.uk/pbc
2. All practice based commissioners are entitled to:

- management and financial information;
- a management and financial support package;
- swift budget-setting and decision-making from Primary Care Trusts, and;
- local incentive schemes agreed with every Primary Care Trust that promote better health, better care and better value in specific areas.

3. PCTs are held to account for the strength of their clinical involvement through the world class commissioning assurance system. PCTs will not be able to reach a level 2 rating unless the above PBC entitlements are delivered.

4. Results from the last quarterly PBC GP survey in December 2008 shows support for PBC amongst GPs remains high at 62%, with a further 20% neutral. The number of practices commissioning services through PBC has risen from 46% to 56%.

5. The latest PBC GP survey results can be viewed here.

Department of Health, UK

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