The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7237 p257
22 February 2003

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DoH: Directorate of Counter Fraud Services (more)

Computers to predict NHS fraud

Computers are to be used to find out what parts of the National Health Service are most susceptible to fraud.

The business intelligence company SAS and the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) will develop software that examines data on pharmaceutical, dental and optical fraud in order to predict where fraud is most likely.

The NHS CFS was created in 1998 and is estimated to have produced a 14:1 return on its budget by cutting fraud by £200m. Pharmaceutical patient fraud is estimated to have been cut by 41 per cent, dental patient fraud by 25 per cent and optical patient fraud by 23 per cent. In some key areas, fraud by NHS professionals is estimated to have fallen by 18–30 per cent.

Health Minister Lord Hunt said: "Major achievements have already been made in reducing fraud against the NHS, with estimated reductions in patient fraud of £61m, but there is still work to be done. ... We aim to learn from every example of fraud so that we continuously improve our capacity to detect and stop it."

The CFS is now managed by a special health authority, the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, which is chaired by Bill Darling, a Past-President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.