Evaluation of the impact of changes to incentive schemes for general practices

The aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of running a quality incentive scheme in general practice and a further pilot scheme for networks of general practices, as opposed to the current one available for individual practices, and the impact of running a Quality Improvement (QI) domain as part of QOF, considering the impact of the new QI component in both practices who are part of the network evaluation and those who are not. We will also undertake an evaluation of the impact of changes to the exception reporting scheme.

Following commitments made in the GMS contract negotiations in 2016, and reiterated in the General Practice Forward View; NHS England has conducted a review of the current incentives scheme for general practices, Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF). The advisory group which conducted the QOF review included stakeholders and professional representatives from NHS England, General Practitioner Committee, Royal College of General Practitioners, Public Health England, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Care Quality Commission, patient representatives and Department of Health.

Two key recommendations emerged from the review: firstly, to develop a national incentives scheme – alternative to QOF and set to launch in April 2019 – that would be made available to networks of practices and secondly, to incorporate a set of incentives on quality improvement as part of QOF for all practices. Changes are also been made to the exception reporting scheme to provide more nuanced data.

Output

Bramwell D, Hotham S, Peckham S, et al. Evaluation of the introduction of QOF quality improvement modules in English general practice: early findings from a rapid, qualitative exploration of implementation. BMJ Open Quality 2022;11:e001960.