Financial risk in practice based commissioning

The financial risk associated with healthcare budgets is high. To operate within a financial tolerance of less than three per cent a PBC [practice based commissioning] group will need a population of greater than 50,000 (budget £15 million). The point of minimum financial risk is reached by placing all admissions costing more than £3,000 into a larger risk pool. A core of 47 HRGs [health resource groups] accounting for 30 per cent of the budget, are the only HRGs with sufficient volume for a PBC group to discern whether a statistically significant reduction in costs has been made.

British Journal of Health Care Management 2008; 14 (5): 199-204

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