nGMS Quality and Outcomes Working Group

News

Supplementary Guidance - CVD PP1
April 2009 | Quality
The link below is to supplementary guidance on the acceptable risk assessment tools for indicator CVD PP1 from April 2009. It allows for a wider range of risk assessment tools than in the original guidance notes for the indicator. http://www.pcc.nhs.uk/uploads/New%20at%20PCC%20%20Update/special_2009_05_29.html
QOF Guidance for GMS contract 2009/2010
March 2009 | Quality
QOF Guidance 2009
We have been informed that there was a typo in the QOF guidance on page 35 in the bullet 'Chronic Kidney Disease where the patient has an eGFR value below 30'. The '30' should be '60'. This has resulted in the guidance having a discrepancy with the supporting business rules as the business rules excludes patients with CKD stage 3 or eGFR 30-60 (i.e. read code 1Z12) from the cohort. For patients with CKD stage 3 or higher, they are already considered to have CKD and have a higher risk factor anyway. The QOF guidance available through the link to NHS Employers has been amended accordingly.
Winter 5 Guidance published
March 2009 | Quality
Winter 5 guidance / NHS QIS QOF EQA - Best Practice Points This gives advice to NHS Boards regarding the key changes/requirements for the QOF review process during 2009/10
UK Guidance - Guidance on Exception Coding now available
19 Dec 2007 | Quality
UK level guidance PCA2006(M)15 has now been issued - this supercedes the Scottish only guidance issued previously. It can be accessed from the following link; UK Guidance on Exception Reporting
NHS QIS Primary Medical Services :
17 Aug 2007 | Quality
QOF Quality Assurance National Overview Report June 2007 is now available. This covers NHS Board performance against the national standards during 2005/06. Results confirm that the QOF review programme was generally well delivered across NHSiS.

Key Documents (see also archive)

Meetings

Notes of Previous Meetings

To view the notes of previous meeting of the group click on the relevant date.

About

The role of the Quality Group is to identify and support the key quality elements of the new contract.

For further information on the remit and membership of the Quality Group please go to the Details page.

The National (Scottish) QOF Working Group consists of experts from a variety of disciplines across the Service working in liason with SGPC to provide clear, consistent and reliable answers to queries relating to the implementation of the QOF in Scotland. The responses to the queries are published in the Quality Definitions section of the website.

A UK QOF Review Steering Group (sub group of the nGMS Plenary Group) jointly Chaired by NHS Employers and GPC and including membership from all 4 UK Health Departments has been established to oversee the work of the Independent Review Panel (known as the Expert Team) who will conduct the actual review. This Expert Team will look objectively at all proposals for new indicators for changes to the current QOF and make recommendations to the sub-plenary group. The latter will agree final recommendations to be submitted to the Plenary Group for sign off. For further information please go to the QOF Review page.

A short-term sub-group known as the Winter Group, and chaired by Mike Winter, has been established to produce guidance for the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) and define training needs for practice visits for 2005/06 onwards. Further information and notes of meetings can be found on the nGMS Winter Group page.

In relation to the Patient Experience domains NHS Lothian have developed the Taking Forward the Results of GPAQ: Best Practice Guide which Quality Assessors and Practices may wish to refer to.

A national Quality Management and Analysis System (QMAS) has been developed to enable individual practices and PCOs to receive feedback on their quality and outcomes framework aspiration and achievement information. For more information on the implemetation in Scotland go to the QMAS website alternatively for an English perspective visit the NPfIT QMAS page or the QMAS pages at the Department of Health website.

A Scottish QMAS User Group has been formed to link into the National QMAS User Group with the aim of moving QMAS forward in the long term. Information on the work of the group and details of its remit and membership are provided in the new QMAS User Group page.

A QOF Reviewers Training Group has been established to tie in the training being provided by RCGP to support the introduction of the QOF to the work of the National Quality Group.

Further Information

If you require any further information regarding any aspect of the Quality Working Group please contact the GMS/Primary Care Programme Support Team by emailing nationalgmsprog@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk