The Intelligent Commissioning Toolkit
What kind of software functionality will PCTs need to get up and running quickly with PBC?
With the sheer volume of patient and activity data that is needed for effective PBC reporting, the starting point for any solution being considered by PCTs is easy access to and reporting from the trust’s existing data warehouse and business intelligence systems.
With easy access to the data store, the correct data sets can be delivered within the solution’s core reporting tool. Some guidelines are available on exactly how PBC data should be formatted for delivery from the PCT to practices, in the form of a data template – but these guidelines represent a basic level of data exchange, which PCTs may want to surpass.
It’s possible to add value to the PBC data by creating a ‘briefing book’. This can include extra information on treatments, admissions, referrals, prescribing and demographic data to supplement core data sets, giving a complete picture for commissioning managers and other analysts.
After all, if the PBC data supplied to practices is not unlike a bank statement, why not enrich the financial reporting with additional relevant data? This also helps in standardising reporting formats to all of the local GP practices.
In terms of presentation and user interface for the reporting tool, a range of staff from clinicians to locality managers and GPs via NHSnet will all need access to relevant clinical and financial data. To enable the widest possible access to data for checking and analysis, a web browser-based reporting tool is the obvious choice, with appropriate user authentication to ensure confidentiality.
Budget check
When establishing appropriate indicative budgets for practices, PCTs and practices should be able to compare PBC data currently being compiled against historic data sets from previous months and years. This will give a solid basis for budgetary discussions and agreement with practices within the PCT. PBC solutions that link seamlessly to the PCT’s data warehouse make this easy and intuitive through the reporting interface.
Repeat performance
The issue of payment resolution is critical both for PCTs and GPs. PCTs and practices need to know precisely what services have been commissioned, and if delivering those services involved any excursions from the planned procedures, the impact on projected tariff expenditure needs to be assessed.
So detailed data on services, down to identifable patient level, is critical to enable clinicians and analysts to report on individual cases, and identify trends which may affect budgeting. The PBC solution you deploy should enable patient-by-patient data analysis as well as broader demographic segmentation and trending.
By choosing the right PBC data solution, PCTs and GP practices can confidently move towards "intelligent commissioning" - better use of local health facts and figures, such as emergency admission data, to enhance or redesign their primary care services around their patients’ movements.
In the final article in this feature, we will look at practical examples of how PCTs can deploy PBC tools for optimum efficiency, and how to fit the tools into their existing data infrastructure.
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