Primary Care Diabetes
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 73-78, July 2010

Has pay for performance improved the management of diabetes in the United Kingdom?

  • Riyadh Alshamsan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, Reynolds Building, St Dunstan's Rd, London W6 8RP, UK. Tel.: +44 020 7594 0779; fax: +44 020 7594 0854.
    • ,
  • Christopher Millett

      Affiliations

    • Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, UK
    • ,
  • Azeem Majeed

      Affiliations

    • Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, UK
    • ,
  • Kamlesh Khunti

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, UK

Received 12 November 2009; received in revised form 28 January 2010; accepted 15 February 2010. published online 05 April 2010.

Abstract 

Over the past decade the UK government has introduced a number of major policy initiatives to improve the quality of health care. One such initiative was the introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), a pay for performance scheme launched in April 2004, which aims to improve the primary care management of common chronic conditions including diabetes. Some evidence suggest that introduction of QOF has been associated with improvements in the quality indicators for diabetes care included in the framework. However, it is difficult to disentangle the impact of QOF from other quality initiatives as few studies adjusted for underlying trends in quality. There is some evidence that QOF may have reduced inequalities in diabetes care between affluent and deprived areas but women and individuals from ethnic minority groups appear to have benefited least from this initiative. Less is known about the impact of QOF on aspects of diabetes care not reflected in the framework, including self-management and continuity of care.

Keywords: Quality and Outcomes Framework, Pay for performance

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S1751-9918(10)00010-0

doi:10.1016/j.pcd.2010.02.003

Primary Care Diabetes
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 73-78, July 2010

Article Tools