>to provide a structure for this recording so that we are all doing things
>the same way. This conformity is essential when we start using and
>amalgamating the data to influence contracting

aarrgghh!!

Chance would be a fine thing, even within a practice! Ve vant conformity at
all costs, apply ze santionz to ze non-conformers, withold their fees,
reduce their reimbursements, refuse their improvement grants. Apply ze peer
pressure, they are letting down the whole PCG with their profligate use of
ze non-approved formulary. We would like to give you a pay rise from the
single pool of money but ze bloody non-conformists spent it on
Costloadastatin!!

>Likely PCG morbidity data requirements: With the dissemination of "Audit"
>all UK GP's are familiar with the data collection stage, and the value of
>"disease registers" for asthma etc. It is a small step from being able to
>identify groups of patients with a few conditions to being able to identify
>groups of patients with ANY medical condition.

A disease register at pratice level, certainly. At PCG or regional level,
yet to be conviced of benefits out weighing risks.

As for it being a small step !!! you are joking aren't you ? Even amongst
the switched on practices a lot only code for a handful of items that they
think might be the most useful, mostly chronic disease monitoring driven
stuff.

>variation). We need to be urging as many GP's as possible to collect and
>record "morbidity data" from all consultations - and this needs to begin
>ASAP!


So apart from "urging",  what renumeration and incentives do you offer for
this laborious data collection exercise, as I have not seen the requirement
to do it within the TOS? yet? :-(

Does your health authority give 100% reimbursement of the staff time, and
computer expenses of the practices?

> Most recently
>is the CHDGP project, but unfortunately this has felt unable to insist on
>the discipline of recording information at EVERY consultation, and has not
>insisted on validation. The one thing I know a lot about is "busy GP
>surgeries" and  unless these disciplines are forced upon them, data on
>Monday mornings, Friday afternoons and visits is likely to be very
>incomplete!

Too right! Thanks for considering forcing it on me though, after all it's
for my own good! ;-)

>"Paperless practices" have an advantage here, but need to code
>each morbidity presenting, ie Diabetes, AF, CCF and hypertension, which is
>tiresome and perhaps impractical?
>

Very true, and hence an unlikely plan to work.

I spoke to a very nice chap from Agora Health (you know the guys who are
bankrolling the "free" MDIntranet service, no strings attached honest guv).
They have a second piece of software up their sleeves designed to do just
the sort of things you want to do.

However, I remain unconvinced that GP's are particularly keen to act as
unpaid data entry clerks for the wannabe Public Health Physicians of PCG's.
There may be a few who don't want their data "extracted" :-)

Paul Galloway
MedWeb UK Ltd. http://www.medweb.co.uk/





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