GP contract changes focus on IT

Four new enhanced services for GP practices include investment in risk stratification, telehealth and online patient access.

NHS England has developed four new enhanced services as part of the 2013-14 General Medical Services contract changes, with funding of £120m from the retirement of some Quality and Outcome Framework indicators.

The first is for risk stratification and will attract funding of £0.74 per registered patient, which represents a payment of £5,175 for an average-sized practice.

Practices are also being encouraged to identify a priority area to sign patients up for remote care monitoring and will be paid £0.21 per registered patient, which for an average-sized practice would total £1,478.

Practices will be incentivised to enable patients to book appointments and order repeat prescriptions online, with each service worth £0.14 per registered patient.

A flat rate annual payment of £985 will also be available for practices that can show they have at least 5% of their patient list issued with passwords for accessing online services by 31 March 2014.

The fourth new enhanced service is around the timely assessment of patients who may be at risk of dementia.

NHS England has asked clinical commissioning groups to lead responsibility for designing and managing a scheme for risk profiling and stratification of registered patients.

Practices must carry out risk profiling on at least a quarterly basis and where possible, use a risk profiling tool procured by a CCG, or a commissioning support service acting on behalf of a CCG.

The remote monitoring enhanced service requires practices to identify and agree a long-term condition to focus on and register patients for monitoring required results such as weight, blood pressure or glucose levels.

How remote monitoring is achieved should be agreed with the patient and could be via video call, telephone, text, email or letter. Information governance will also need to be put in place.

The fourth new enhanced service is around online patient access and is worth nearly £3,000 to an average-sized practice – £985 each for online appointing booking, ordering repeat prescriptions and registering patients with passwords for online services.

Practices must pro-actively offer patients access to the online services and issue passwords and verify their identities using recommended guidance from the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The service is designed to help practices prepare for delivering the government’s pledge that all patients will have online access to their GP records, if they want it, by March 2015.

Practices are invited to sign up and participate in the new schemes by 30 June 2013.