By David Williams
An influential think-tank has begun an inquiry into the quality of GP services in England.
An influential think-tank has begun an inquiry into the quality of GP services in England.The King’s Fund launched the 18-month study, which aims to identify standards for care and the role of family doctors, on April 16.
Chief executive Niall Dickson said the inquiry would look at care from the patient’s perspective and aim to generate a set of benchmarks for GP performance.
He said the report would follow on from the NHS review published by Lord Darzi last year, which emphasised the importance of quality services in hospitals but paid less attention to primary care.
The Quality and Outcomes Framework, introduced in 2004, has linked 10%–15% of GPs’ salaries to performance. But there are still no standard measures for evaluating performance on diagnosis, referrals, prescriptions and the management of long-term conditions.
This is despite a number of previous academic studies, cited by the King’s Fund. They have indicated substantial variations in vital areas such as drug prescriptions for heart disease and adherence to cancer referral guidelines.
Dickson said: ‘Quality has become the buzzword of the moment, driven by the Darzi review. We have moved from a world where many assumed that quality was there to a world in which people are seeking assurance… and in which we will be able more accurately to identify what quality looks like and be able to measure it.’
He added that transparency was becoming more important and ‘anyone connected to the health care system expects it to be more open about its own performance and what it’s achieving’.
Project director Nick Goodwin said it would result in a ‘quality dashboard’ that would be used by GPs, regulators and managers to improve patient care.
Joining Goodwin on the research panel are Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs, Dr Michael Dixon, chair of the NHS Alliance, and Ursula Gallagher, director of quality at Ealing Primary Care Trust.
Dr Laurence Buckman, chair of the British Medical Association’s GPs committee, welcomed the inquiry. ‘The standard of care in general practice is generally high but, like everyone, we are keen to see improvements continue, particularly if it can reduce differences in quality,’ he said.
He added that his committee was already looking at ways doctors could improve their services and would be keen to share its findings with the King’s Fund.
