11.01.13
Outcomes-based commissioning in Oxfordshire
A new approach to commissioning is being launched in Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) is to manage services for maternity, mental health and frail and elderly patients on the basis of patient outcomes, rather than the volume of work carried out.
Services will be planned and managed to optimise patient outcomes, such as the health and wellbeing of new mothers and babies.
Dr Mary Keenan, medical director for OCCG, said: “At the moment we plan and pay for health services according to a national system. This is largely based on paying organisations for how many patients are diagnosed and treated. While we have never ignored issues such as the patient experience and the quality and safety of those services, these factors have never really been built into contracts with local organisations. Our starting point for this radical new way of thinking is to explore with patients and carers what matters most to them and to start planning our services based on this.
“For example, at the moment if an elderly person breaks a hip, we pay for the hospital operation and for support and rehabilitation. In future we might say to one organisation ‘what matters most is not the numbers you see, but how many of these patients can walk to the shops two weeks after their fall’. We would then expect that organisation to work with others to ensure this outcome was achieved, whatever this takes. While this approach might seem like common sense to many people, it is revolutionary inside the NHS.”
Dr Stephen Richards, chief clinical officer for OCCG said: “The health reforms and our new role as clinical commissioners allow us to do things very differently. Our vision is to develop health services across Oxfordshire which are truly focused on patients and their carers. This means breaking down organisational barriers and challenging ‘silo thinking’.
“I was immensely encouraged by the number of senior people from health services who attended the conference, and their eagerness to explore this new approach and to discuss it openly with patients and their representatives. This is the start of a journey but I believe that there is a huge willingness for us all to work together to achieve something truly remarkable for our patients.”
For an interview with Dr Keenan on the new outcomes-based commissioning system, see the Jan/Feb edition of NHE. www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Subscribe
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