Research team to examine GP performance indicators
Press release: 19 May 2009
Researchers at The University of Manchester have been awarded £1.2 million to extend a pilot scheme looking at the performance of GP practices across England.
A team led by Professor Helen Lester at the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC), which is based at the University, won the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) bid with colleagues at the University of York Health Economics Consortium and The Society for Academic Primary Care.
The project, termed the ‘Quality and Outcomes Framework’, rewards GP practices on the basis of the quality of the care they provide to their patients. Points are awarded for each area covered and practices are then rewarded financially depending on how many points they achieve.
“Some points are given for specific diseases, such as asthma or heart disease, and others for how well a GP practice is organised,” said Professor Lester, who is based in the University’s School of Community Based Medicine. “Points are also given in line with patient feedback about practice access.”
The NPCRDC has been developing, implementing and evaluating quality indicators for GP practices since the mid-1990s but this latest research project will build on a pilot study that looked at a number of new clinical indicators.
“During the past 12 months, we have examined 34 representative practices across England to discover the problems associated with performance indicators,” said Professor Lester.
“We will now extend that study to develop and pilot potential new evidence-based clinical indicators in primary care settings across the UK and explore intended and unintended consequences of the indicators from the perspective of both practices and patients.”
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Notes for editors
Further details about the NPCRDC project can be found on the National Primary Care Research & Development Centre website
For further information contact:
Laura Blake, MCIPR
Director of Communications
National Primary Care Research and Development Centre
The University of Manchester
Tel: +44 (0) 161 275 7647
Mob: +44 (0) 7881 707 177
Email: laura.blake@manchester.ac.uk
Or Aeron Haworth
Media Officer
Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
The University of Manchester
Tel: +44 (0) 161 275 8383
Mob: +44 (0) 7717 881 563
Email: aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk