Sources of useful information
on practice-based commissioning for primary care pharmacists
Department of Health The Department
of Health has set up a separate section on its website which
contains all the resources
it has produced for PBC, including frequently asked questions
and the latest news.
Improvement Foundation The Improvement
Foundation is running the national PBC development programme,
which currently involves 70 per cent of PCTs. The main programme
consists of a collaborative, which is running in three waves.
Local pharmaceutical committees and pharmacists need to be aware
of any teams within their area and either get involved or learn
from these sites.
Details
of the centres and the programme
The local centres are in the process of setting
up PBC days for all PCTs and, again, pharmacists are encouraged
to get involved in these. Other resources include a “Practice
based commissioning assessment framework” (2005).
This framework is designed to help practices and PCTs to undertake
a diagnosis of their capacity and capability to meet the challenges
of implementing PBC and to identify development needs.
The Improvement
Foundation website also contains a great deal of information
on PBC and also “at a glance” guides, as well as examples
of service redesign.
The Improvement Foundation development programmes are also available
to community pharmacists including the leadership programme; and
quality improvement skills training can be delivered locally to
teams. Further details are also available from the foundation’s
regional centres.
National Prescribing Centre The
role of the National Prescribing Centre is to promote and support
high quality, cost-effective prescribing and medicines management
across the NHS, to help improve patient care and services. A
significant number of NPC outputs will facilitate engagement
with PBCs and support implementation of prescribing and medicines
management priorities.
The NPC has recently launched NPCi,
a new interactive
web-based educational resource to support prescribing
and medicines management.
The NPC will be launching a number of initiatives to support individuals
working on prescribing and medicines management issues within practice
based commissioning groups during 2008.
The Information Centre: prescribing support The Information
Centre for Health and Social Care has a prescribing
support unit (PSU) that produces reports and publications
that will help pharmacists see where they fit into the national
picture.
Its publications include:
•Hospital prescribing
•England (annual report)
•Prescriptions dispensed
•Prescription cost analysis
•National prescribing costs and items (monthly section level reports)
•PSU National Prescribing Reports (quarterly)
•PSU Prescribing Monitoring Documents (quarterly)
•National Quality and Outcomes Framework data
See Prescribing
Support Unit (PSU)
Also available is National Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
achievement data derived from the Quality Management Analysis System
(QMAS), a national system that uses data from general practices
to calculate individual practices’ QOF achievement.
See Quality
and Outcomes Framework Database
NHS Comparators NHS Comparators
(an NHSNet site) is a national resource, focused on supporting
practice-based commissioning. It supports comparisons at the
GP practice, PCT, strategic health authority and national levels,
enabling users to investigate aspects of local commissioning
activity, costs and outcomes.
It is designed to supplement information available
through local systems, not to replace local systems. The comparators
have been developed by the Information Centre, Connecting for
Health and a panel of users and experts from across the NHS and
can be found at www.nhscomparators.nhs.uk
The system was launched nationally in June 2007
and is continuing to be developed. The system is available to
all GP practices, in addition to SHAs, PCTs, trusts, and other
relevant organisations. Information on how to register can be
obtained by e-mailing enquiries@ic.nhs.uk or
telephoning 0845 300 6016.
Primary Care Pharmacists Association The Primary
Care Pharmacists Association was founded in
April 1999, primarily as a forum for education, training
and support for pharmacists in primary care. It offers a
service to members to provide national and local peer support
groups, to provide a series of local education events throughout
the UK, to allow members to publish research and to present
work at educational events.
NHS Alliance The NHS
Alliance has published a number of useful documents. However,
these are only available to download for alliance members.
National Association of Primary Care The National
Association of Primary Care has a number of
useful documents for member commissioners and providers,
many of which are related to PBC, including “Prescribing
support and pharmaceutical advice for practice-based commissioners”.
Primary Care Contracting Primary
Care Contracting has provided a wealth of information
on PBC and has developed a bulletin on “Pharmacy
and PBC”. It also has regional advisers
who may be a useful resource locally.
Health Policy Forum The Health
Policy Forum is made up of representatives from the Company Chemists
Association, that National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmaceutical
Services Negotiating Committee and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
In December 2006 the forum published “Making
commissioning effective in the reformed NHS in England”,
which sought to determine what makes for good or effective commissioning.
Commissioning Toolkit for Long Term Conditions The
Commissioning
Toolkit for Long Term Conditions brings together
information and resources to help commission effective patient-centred
services.
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