New Read codes for hospital choice

Tags: BMA Choice Choose and Book DH GP GPs

14 Aug 2007

GP practices have been advised to start using new Read codes to record choice of hospital as soon as possible in order to qualify for incentive scheme payments this year.

The British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee has written to local medical committees to highlight the new Read codes which are expected to be used to identify patients suitable to be questioned for the choice element of the choice and booking directed enhanced service (DES) as part of the GP Patient survey.

The BMA says the Read codes, 9kK.., XaMJa and 222711000000102, are designed to record patients who have been referred for a first consultant outpatient appointment to a service where choice is offered.

The GPC says if GPs choose not to use the new choice Read codes they will be ineligible for the choice payment.

The association says most GP practices will not be using the new codes yet but should start doing so as soon as possible. The Department of Health is due to write to practices about the codes in the next few days.

The GPC says it has expressed concern that in a small number of cases technological problems in the use of Read codes may cause problems in the administration of the GP patient survey and associated choice payments. It says the DH is seeking to address these issues to minimise potential problems. Further GPC guidance will be available in due course

Details of the choice and booking DES and amendments to the Statement of Financial Entitlements have now been released and make it clear that practices can opt for the choice element of the DES alone, the Choose and Book element or both.

Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the BMA’s General Practitioner Committee, told EHI Primary Care: “There is no change to the DES, it has just been rolled forward for another year.”

Reader's Comments

Read / Snomed

14 Aug 07 12:08

It should be noted that the third code (222711000000102) is of course a SnomedCT code and not a Read code.

How do you get patient consent?

mary.hawking@nhs.net

14 Aug 07 22:08

"The arrangements for measuring the Choice component of the 2007/08 Choice and Booking DES have yet to be finalised but achievement is likely to be measured using the GP patient survey, with sampling based partly on data extracted using the new Choice Read codes."

I suppose as we are *only* five and a half months into the year, DH might consider it is very reasonable not to have finalised the arrangements for DESs yet - although I am disappointed if the GPC also regards this sort of behavior so complacently - , but there is another, greater problem here.

**IF** the recipients of the Patient Choice survey are to be identified by Read Codes showing they have had a qualifying referral in the first place, how does the practice get consent for release of information from the individual patients involved?

Consent

Neil.Bhatia@nhs.net

15 Aug 07 11:08

Mary is absolutely right - our patients have not consented to the use of their data in this way.

So we, as GP practices, will either have to write to patients asking them if it's OK for the DoH to send them a survey.

Or, as is more likely, it will be up to the practice to write to the patient and enclose the survey....

Consent storm in a teacup?

21 Aug 07 13:08

This SNOMED code represents this meaning..

Choice and booking - enhanced services administration (procedure)

There are questions around both the political and the technical reasons why entering this code 'manually' should be necessary. However I can't see why this raises specific consent issues when set against (say) the detailed problem and medication lists that will be uploaded in the GP summary onto the 'spine'.

"Data should never be collected purely for audit purposes"

robert.davenport@walsall.nhs.uk

22 Aug 07 10:08

I am incensed by the waste of public money in ridiculous, artificial targets that this government is using and the thinking that targets are a great thing. Targets equate with artifice, cheating and dumbing down of a profession(Medicine,Teaching). The BMA should have some balls and not allow the Medical Profession to by dragged down by the politicians. It goes totally against the Principle 3 of the QOF which stated "Data should never be collected purely for audit purposes" in new GMS contract 2003.

DoH Guidance

Neil.Bhatia@nhs.net

23 Aug 07 21:08

now available

http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=147185&Rendition=Web

http://tinyurl.com/ytmknn