CQRS hits technical problems

Technical problems with a new service for calculating payments for GP practices mean practices have to manually enter data for some enhanced services until next April.

The Calculating Quality Reporting Service replaced the Quality Management and Analysis system in June this year.

It assesses GP practice achievement against the Quality & Outcomes Framework, directed enhanced services and other clinical services.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre says the delay to some enhanced services becoming automatic in CQRS, which uses the GP Extraction Service, is because more time is needed to ensure the QOF extractions for this financial year are successful.

GPs must therefore manually enter data into CQRS for some payments to be calculated until April 2014.

The quality services affected are the learning disabilities health check scheme, rotavirus and measles mumps and rubella catch up.

Also, newly added enhanced services including shingles catch up and routine pneumococcal.

An email sent to all GPs by the HSCIC says their area teams will, “communicate payment timescales in due course”.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience the continued need for manual data entry may cause to GP practices. This decision has been made to provide more time to successfully deliver the QOF 2013/14 extractions,” the information leaflet says.

“To help support GP practices, CQRS has provided additional guides available on the CQRS website on how to manually enter data. We will also increase the CQRS service desk provision to help with any queries practices may have.”

GPs will receive guidance for other enhanced services as they become available.

GP practices will not need to manually enter data for QOF 2013-2014, as CQRS and GPES will support this process.

EHI reported in January 2012 that Vangent had won the six-year, £30m contract to develop CQRS.