02.08.12
NICE releases COF indicators
NICE has published a menu of 44 indicators for assessing the suitability of health measures to go to the Commissioning Outcomes Framework (COF) for 2013/14.
COF is designed to drive up quality in the coming years by giving Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) clearly defined targets and measures to improve local services and patient outcomes.
The indicators were recommended by the COF Advisory Committee, and put together by NICE and the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care at the behest of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority. Further indicators will be produced for COF based on the quality standards laid out by NICE to reflect a wider range of topics than are presently covered by the first 44 indicators.
Professor Danny Keenan, COF Advisory Committee chair, said: “The broad range of clinical expertise within the independent committee, including GPs, hospital doctors, patients and commissioners, ensures that the menu of COF indicators recommended are workable, and can help improve the quality of commissioning to benefit patient care.”
The indicators cover many topics, including care given to stroke victims and further treatment once they have been discharged, as well as patients being treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and standards for maternal care.
Dr Michael Dixon of the NHS Alliance, the interim NHSCC president, said the indicators provided a “useful framework” for CCGs to assess and improve services.
He said: “We can not stress enough how important it is that CCGs are given the time and space to develop bold and innovative ways of improving the quality of care that patients receive and the health of their local populations.”
Dr Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive at NICE also commented: “These potential indicators will support high quality commissioning of NHS services in England, to deliver the best health outcomes for patients. Each indicator has been through public consultation and feasibility testing (conducted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre), so commissioners can be reassured that they will work in practice.”
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