Practice-based commissioning: reinvigorate, replace or abandon?

Practice-based commissioning (PBC) is one of the cornerstones of health policy reform, but has it delivered its intended benefits? Its objectives were to encourage clinical engagement in service redesign and development, improve services for patients and make better use of resources. Through in-depth interviews with GPs, hospital and primary care trust staff in four sites, this Kings Fund report assesses the progress of PBC and identifies the barriers that are limiting success. Using the evidence from the four case studies and from previous research, it suggests ways forward for policy-makers.

(Published November 2008, 80 pages)