DoH figures indicate PBC progress
Primary care trusts and GP practices continue to make progress towards
adopting practice-based commissioning (PBC), according to figures released
by the Department of Health last week. However, whether PCTs are truly
engaging in practice-based commissioning has been questioned.
Figures from September show that 82 per cent of PCTs have arrangements
in place to support PBC and 81 per cent of practices have started to
engage in PBC. The Government’s target of universal coverage will
be achieved when all PCTs are providing practices with indicative budgets,
incentive payments, information on clinical and financial activity, and
governance arrangements. The latest figure shows a 13 percentage point
increase on the previous month in the number of PCTs with arrangements
in place.
Practices are thought to have started to engage in PBC if they are taking
up an incentive payment, either the nationally negotiated directed enhanced
service payment or a local alternative. However, at a Pharmacy Management seminar on
PBC last month, Sandy Briddon, project director for what was
the Thames Valley PCTs, claimed that the jury is
still out on whether PCTs are really making progress towards achieving
universal coverage.
While the latest DoH report shows a high level of engagement this is
not what has been reported from the frontline, said Ms Briddon. “The
reality check on PBC is that there are national variations. The level
of engagement by PCTs and GPs, and the relationship between PCTs and
GPs, varies enormously,” she said. Ms Briddon warned that if stakeholders
do not start to gel together then the Government’s aims for PBC
will not be met.
PBC is voluntary for practices but the Government’s target is that
by the end of 2006 all PCTs will have plans in place to support it. |
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