QOF Plus Year 1 - Imperial College London

Degree of perceived professional consensusThe importance of taking account of patient experience as a marker of quality is highlighted by awide range of professional associations including the RCGP and the BMA. There is debatesurrounding the value of providing incentives for the results of patient surveys. The PCT’sapproach has been adopted following consultation with local stakeholders and national experts inpatient experience.Degree of perceived support from patients and carersThere is strong support from patients and carers for the inclusion of indicators relating to patientexperience.Impact on health inequalitiesThe introduction of the proposed QOF indicators for patient experience could potentially result ina reduction in the barriers accessing primary health care services for vulnerable anddisadvantaged groups, and improvements in the quality of clinical care provided to these groups,as well as raising the standards of care for all patients.Health impactIn view of the association between patient experience and health outcomes (Coulter et al., 2006),it is anticipated that the introduction of the proposed QOF+ patient indicators will contribute toimproved health outcomesWorkload and training implicationsFurther training in Learning disabilities awareness, carers awareness, cultural awareness,customer care and communication skills will further support delivery of these indicators. Therewill be some administrative workload implications associated with these indicators. For details of the proposed training package see section 14.3.9 (p98).82