QOF Plus Year 1 - Imperial College London

QOF+ report on newpatient screeningProposed indicatorIndicator+ PATIENT REGISTRATION 1. The practice is trained in and implements thePCT TB Early Referral Protocol to identify and refer patients who are newlyregistered at the Practice and who are new entrants to the UK fromcountries with a high TB prevalenceQOF+points5The proposed indicator is designed to help implement a TB early referral and screening scheme inHammersmith and Fulham. Early referral for TB new entrant screening has been successfullypiloted in four local practices and it is planned to roll this scheme out in all GP practices in theborough.The PCT Protocol for TB Early Referral states that “New entrants to the UK from countries with ahigh TB prevalence should be identified at the point of registration with their GP practice”. Theterm ‘New entrants’ refers to people who entered the UK within the last 5 years from a foreigncountry with a TB prevalence of >40/100,000; i.e. most countries outside of the European Union,North America, Australia or New Zealand (a detailed list is included in Section R8 of the ResourcePack). The protocol also states that patients who are new entrants who came from one of thesecountries within the last 5 years via a third country should also be referred.A minimum of one key person from each participating practice should have attended a brieftraining session organised through the TB Service, and this person would be responsible forcascading this information to the relevant personnel in the practice.BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among treatable infectious diseases globally,causing an estimated 9 million new infections and 2 million deaths per year globally. Rates havedecreased in Britain throughout the 20th century mainly due to improved living standards,vaccination and the introduction of antibiotics. However TB rates started to increase again fromthe 1980s. 40% of all the new cases in the UK occur in London and the rates are highest amongstparticular risk groups, such as those living in overcrowding and socioeconomic deprivation, aswell as those who recently entered the UK from other countries, where TB is much moreprevalent.65