Three new indicators to improve dementia care could be added to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) incentive scheme for UK practices, as NICE unveils potential indicators for 2014/15.
There are around 800,000 people with dementia in the UK, and the disease costs the economy £23 billion a year. By 2040, the number of people affected is expected to double due to an ageing population – and the costs are likely to treble. As part of the final menu of QOF indicators for 2014/15, GPs could be encouraged to record the percentage of patients with dementia who have attended a memory assessment service. A new dementia indicator will encourage practices to record the name and contact details of the carers of each patient with dementia to help improve communication between practices and other teams, such as out of hours care. Practices could also be encouraged to measure the percentage of patients with a new diagnosis of dementia, with a record of FBC, calcium, glucose, renal and liver function, thyroid function tests, serum vitamin B12 and folate levels recorded. “Our independent Committee is made up of healthcare professionals and lay members with a wide range of expertise. This depth of experience is invaluable in helping us reach robust clinical decisions on indicators that are practical for GPs to undertake, and that we expect will be essential for improving the quality of patient care.” The final decision on which indicators will be added to the QOF will be made by the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee and NHS Employers.
