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NHS articles & NHS Intelligence

Health Direction - enhancements
(Published April 2007)

As well as looking at the provider/commissioner relationship from secondary care, Health Direction are also mapping the very complex contracting arrangements from the commissioner/provider aspect. Again this a disease specific initiative which will initially show which NHS Trusts are providing care to the PCO population, but will develop to include private providers and ultimately will embrace the commissioner/provider relationships at PBC level.

More NHS articles below.

NHS articles & NHS Intelligence - 2007

NHS Environment & engaging with the NHS in 2007
(Published March 2007)

In England probably the key news is around money, practice based commissioning and the pressure on medicines management and the pharmaceutical industry, and perhaps these are all interrelated. The financial picture is confused, on one hand the NHS is heading for a massive overspend in a number of local health economies, but on the other, the centre now predicts a small surplus for the NHS as a whole. This can be accounted for by recognising that reserves, top slices and other accounting “tricks” will be used to balance the books. Whilst the Secretary of State seems to indicate that growth after 2007/8 will be in excess of 3% (Patricia Hewitt was taking part in a question and answer session on the 10 Downing Street website) this is not as good as it looks as NHS inflation is running at around 3.9% currently – leaving a significant deficit at this level of funding.

Practice Based Commissioning Cluster Sophistication Index
(Published February 2007)

The Practice Based Commissioning Cluster Sophistication Index, designed and scored by Health Direction Consultants is an exciting new development which complements the fully revised, industry standard PCO Sophistication Index. Currently a key change in the NHS is the move to Practice Based Commissioning of services. This is generally happening by groups or clusters of practices joining together to start the commissioning process and redesign services. A key first focus is the stopping of unplanned/emergency admissions to hospitals which cost the NHS an enormous amount of money.

Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) Cluster Update
(Published January 2007)

Health Direction have identified 1105 PBC Clusters in England. This consists of 618 Clusters (containing more than one practice), 463 Individual Commissioning Practices and 24 PCO Commissioning Clusters. There are currently 68 Clusters still finalising their membership. This is a very fluid situation and requires constant dialogue with PCTs, PBC Clusters and Practices. Health Direction, in partnership with the NHS Alliance, is at the forefront of mapping these changes, so crucial to understanding how commissioning is developing in the England NHS.

NHS articles & NHS Intelligence - 2006

NHS - Life After Restructuring
(Published November 2006)

The NHS has moved on again, the customer environment now has 10 instead of 28 Strategic Health Authorities and 152 instead of 303 Primary Care Trusts. Life will now settle down again once the jobs merry go round comes to a halt, and we can all get back to normal, right? WRONG… wrong, wrong and wrong again. For a number of reasons.

Practice Based Commissioning- where are we now?
(Published October 2006)

The Department of Health have taken the unusual step of publishing information it collects from Strategic Health Authorities to monitor the progress made in implementing policy on practice based commissioning. This makes interesting reading, but sometimes seems a little divorced from the real world. What does it tell us?

PBC Clusters are already reorganising!
(Published September 2006)

The latest PBC summary information produced for this newsletter by Cathy Alexander, our Director of NHS Information shows that around 10% of clusters have reorganised since May! Please be very careful about buying any practice based commissioning information from alternative suppliers. A large pharmaceutical company recently bought PBC information from another supplier but have just had to purchase our information as they found the alternatively sourced data unusable when looked at carefully due to inaccuracies and ommissions.

NHS reorganisation is changing the way Diabetes is managed
(Published July 2006)

Since the launch of the Diabetes NSF in December 2001 and the Delivery Strategy published in November 2002 there has been real progress in the earlier identification of those with diabetes and at risk of diabetes and the implementation of management plans that include achieving much tighter glycaemic control on type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Switched on and ready to go & New payments, new computers?
(Published June 2006)

Is your GP worth £250,000? was the question posed by the Guardian on 19 April following widespread press coverage over the new contract and the rewards that the Quality & Outcomes Framework can bring. Who are these high fliers? Does it matter? Let's get the facts right first – the original information was attributed to the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants - a network of 70 firms of accountants throughout the UK who are all specialists in working for about 7,000 doctors in 2,000 Practices in the UK- so about a quarter of all GPs in the UK.

Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) - Opportunities for marketers and sales teams
(Published May 2006)

NHS policy is changing the way pharmaceutical companies need to think about GPs and Practices. One indicator of this change is that the nGMS contract is with the practice rather than with each GP. PBC should see the practice or PBC locality group taking the lead in influencing prescribing by its GPs. After all improving the consistency and quality of care has always been at the front of every GPs mind, however they now have a strong incentive to do that at the lowest cost to the practice. Peer pressure from the PBC group may well come to bear on any GPs who are not seen to be utilising the most cost effective treatment option.

Changes to NHS Structure & England and Scotland
(Published April 2006)

The first announcement from the consultations on NHS reorganisation has been made regarding the configuration of England's Strategic Health Authorities. The number of SHAs will be reduced from 28 to 10 from July 1st, subject to parliamentary approval. Information regarding the planned reorganisation of PCTs is not yet available, but will be announced soon.

Understanding Practice Based Commissioning
(Published March 2006)

Although Practice Based Commissioning PBC should be fully implemented by the end of 2006, Primary Care Trust (PCT) progress has been very variable. For example North Manchester PCT has only just arranged its first PBC event in February 2006 and has not made any progress towards creating their locality groups to date. On the other hand there are other PCTs like East Devon that are fully engaged with PBC and have already set indicative budgets for 9 out of 13 practices.

Summary and comment on Our Health, Our Care, Our Say White Paper
(Published February 2006)

The White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, published on Monday 30th January covers a range of initiatives designed to shift the balance of services from secondary to primary care.

NHS articles & NHS Intelligence - 2005

The real priorities in the current NHS
(Published 15 December 2005)

It is easy to take a surf on the internet and look at the priorities stated in NHS policy and strategy documents. However, does this really reflect the true picture on the ground? What are the big issues for NHS customers at the moment? We raised this question with over 70 customers during the last three months. They were from a variety of roles in primary and secondary care.

Formularies not always the key
(Published 15 December 2005)

Marketers need to understand the complexities of prescribing to make an impact. Nearly one third of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the UK do not have a drug formulary, according to new research from NHS information specialists, Health Direction.

Pharmaceutical companies need to focus on prescribing structures
(Published 14 December 05)

New research from Health Direction, the NHS business intelligence specialists, has prompted a warning to pharmaceutical companies that prescribing decision-making within the NHS may be even more complex than many currently believe. Health Direction’s market-leading ‘Sophistication Index’, which uses interrupted live NHS data to measure the extent to which PCOs have progressed across a broad range of areas, today reveals that 30% of PCTs do not have a formulary, while the ratio of generics to branded drugs prescribed by different PCTs also varies widely.

The New Providers
(Published December 2005)

The decision of the then Conservative Government in the early 1990s to separate commissioning from service provision met with widespread opposition at the time, from those who felt it was dismantling the NHS, to those who wanted to see a much more radical free market in healthcare in the UK. Who would have thought then, that fifteen or more years on, it would be the Labour Party in power that would redefine the NHS and open up provision in such a way that even the most right wing Tory of the last generation to taste power might have hesitated at?

Pharmacy contract take up is strong
(Published 13 December 05)

New research from Health Direction, the NHS business intelligence specialists, has revealed that PCOs have made significant inroads in delivering on the new Pharmacy Contract. However, 14% of PCOs are still not ready to implement the Contract. The roll-out of national pharmacy pilots is also relatively immature, with just 14% of PCOs involved in two or more national pharmacy pilots.

Commissioning a Patient Led NHS
(Published October 2005)

Another NHS Reorganisation was launched by the publication of the Departmental guidance issued on 28 July 2005 entitled ?Commissioning a Patient Led NHS?. The expected reconfiguration of Primary Care Trusts is now under way, with proposals to be submitted by Strategic Health Authorities by 15 October, but there were also a few surprises in the notably the separation of commissioning and providing at PCT level (see below). But what are we to make of this, and what are the implications for the pharmaceutical industry?

NHS / Pharmaceutical Industry Partnerships
(Published May 05)

I couldn't help but notice recently that Nottingham City PCT had advertised in the HSJ classified ads for a Pharmaceutical Industry Liaison Manager. Now what was all this about one wondered? Blurb from the advertisement included, "Nottingham City PCT has adopted a strategic approach to working in partnership with the pharmaceutical Industry.

NHS Review - Payment by Results
(Published May 05)

In this issue of NHS Review we have a look at the new financial flows system being introduced into the NHS with some implications for sales teams - but we also continue to keep you up-to-date on recent developments elsewhere in the NHS. Also the final report of the House of Commons Health Select Committee's Inquiry into the pharmaceutical industry was published last month and we definitely have something to say about that in this specially extended addition!

NHS Review - The new Community Pharmacy Contract
(Published April 05)

April 1st marked the beginning of the new financial year for the NHS, 2005/6. On this date many new initiatives kicked in, including GP practice-based commissioning and the new community pharmacist contract. In this issue of NHS Review we will have a look this new contract and some implications for sales teams but we also continue to keep you up-to-date on recent developments around managing long term conditions (LTC) as well as the latest plans for the NHS. Next month's issue of NHS Review will have payment by results (PbR) as its main focus.

Understanding and mapping NHS Networks - the solution to PCO access problems?
(Published April 05)

Primary Care Groups have been in existence since 1999 and have gradually evolved into the Primary Care Trusts (PCT) that we know today. During this time, influence in terms of budget and decision-making has been slowly devolved from the old Health Authorities so that PCTs now have to commission, plan and develop services in conjunction with their local acute and mental health trusts. In addition, as part of a general move towards getting more treatment moved from the acute sector into the primary sector, more PCOs are providing their own services in a number of areas.

Targeting and Marketing to Community Pharmacists – a new opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry
(Published March 05)

Everyone knows that community pharmacists are the newest additions to the NHS family! The new pharmacy contract, which will go live from April 2005, provides the legal framework to allow the skills, experience and expertise of pharmacists and their staff to be fully utilised in a modern NHS. It makes clear the role of community pharmacy and how it will contribute to the achievement of targets for the health sector on improving access and choice and helping people with long-term conditions. Additionally, the new pharmacy contract will allow PCTs to develop community pharmacy services that can support GP practices in fulfilling the new GMS contract.

NHS Review - NHS Foundation Trusts
(Published March 05)

In the last issue of NHS Review we had a look in detail at some of the recent developments around managing long term conditions (LTC) - this of course of great interest to primary care teams involved with asthma, COPD, diabetes, CHD, depression, etc. This month we take a look at NHS Foundation Trust (FT) Hospitals - this clearly more likely to be of interest to secondary care teams - but again we will pick up the latest developments around LTC. FTs and LTC are but just two major NHS initiatives 'on the boil' at the moment and next month we will have a look in a bit of detail at the new community pharmacist contract, which kicks in then. This is also briefly mentioned below.

NHS Review - Managing Long Term Conditions
(Published February 05)

Chronic disease management (along with public health) has recently leapt up the NHS charts and has begun to dominate the whole healthcare landscape. In fact the new approach to CDM will be one of the hottest topics in the NHS going forward and ongoing developments here need to be factored into 2005 business plans. In this first issue of NHS Review we briefly review the recent history on health policy around CDM (increasingly being referred to as long-term conditions) as well as the very latest news on this important area.

NHS Performance Management - How Ready Are You?
(OnTarget Mag. Vol 4, issue 5 2005)

Are you confident that your staff, products and services are up to the mark, and what are you doing to ensure that in terms of risk management your company have prepared not only for today but also for a very competitive future? As the NHS (National Health Service) and health care in general has become more sophisticated, business systems to measure and evaluate performance have become part of everyday life. But how far will the health service go with the performance management process in order to improve practice and outcomes?

Influencing the Influencers
(Published 21 January 2005)

As we come to the end of 2004 and start to move into 2005, companies continue to work out the best ways of dealing with PCTs, SHAs and Health Boards in the never ending story of healthcare reform musical chairs. But in any serious attempt at trying to proactively managing the external environment there are many other 'national influencing centres' to be borne in mind. Companies will of course be prioritising NICE, the Scottish Medicines Consortium and the All-Wales Medicines Strategy Group and will have put resources aside for this next year. But there are many many more! So how do we know which of these other National Influencing Centres we should be deploying resources on? [read article]

NHS articles & NHS Intelligence - 2004

Partners caring for patients
(Published 19 September 2004)

It is interesting to watch the hesitance of pharmaceutical and equipment companies now, as they are pursued by PCO and SHA leadership for partnership ventures. The trend used to be the other way around just six months ago. Equally suddenly, the partnership concepts have grown from what was essentially sponsorship of training, audits etc, to involvement in service delivery. [read article]

The changing role of Nurses in the NHS
(Published 01 June 2004)

Of the 1.3m folk now employed within the NHS over 400K are nurses. Nurses are literally everywhere spread right across primary, community and secondary care. Nurses deliver the majority of clinical care and the 'tribes' of district nurses, health visitors, school nurses, midwifes, GP practice nurses and hospital nurses have recently been added to with the appearance of 'modern matrons', nurse consultants and growing numbers of clinical nurse specialists and nurses with special interests. But the NHS Plan proposed even more new roles for nurses. [read article]

Will Sir Ian be able to fix it? (NICE guidence / guidelines)
(Published May 2004)

As we go to press, the count on NICE technology appraisals reaches the high seventies and the guidelines explosion has begun. Over 20 clinical practice guidelines have now been published, 20 more will be produced over the next 12 months and there are also about another 40 other guidelines in simultaneous development. NICE says that this is the 'largest guideline development programme of any healthcare system in the world'. It is not surprising therefore that the output of NICE this year is expected to be almost double that of 2003! But this mountain of guidance will surely place a huge and significant burden on the NHS..... [read article]

The New Community Pharmacy Contract
(Published 26 March 2004)

The new Community Pharmacy Contract along with the new GMS contract will fundamentally and significantly change the roles and responsibilities of GPs, Community Pharmacists and other healthcare professions in Primary Care Organisations (PCOs) throughout the UK. This article deals with the Community Pharmacy contract. [read article]

An overview of the NHS for Medical Sales Professionals
(Published 26 January 2004)

The Department of Health supports the government in improving the health and well being of the population. Most healthcare is delivered through the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS plan was published in July 2000, setting out the action plan for the coming 10 years. [read article]

How are your NHS customers directed to work with you?
(Published 08 December 2003)

Don’t take it personally if NHS customers seem more paranoid in your presence these days. There have been a number of directives governing their interaction with the medical and pharmaceutical industries. This has made many of them uneasy and indeed uncertain about what they can do and say in the presence of a medical sales person. [read article]

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