Health select Committee review of commissioning

The Health Select Committee has decided to undertake an inquiry into commissioning in the NHS.

The terms of reference for the inquiry are as follows:

1. "World-Class Commissioning": what does this initiative tell us about how effective commissioning by PCTs is?
2. The rationale behind commissioning: has the purchaser/ provider split been a success and is it needed?
3. Commissioning and "system reform": how does commissioning fit with Practice based Commissioning, "contestability" and the quasi-market, and Payment by Results?
4. Specialist commissioning;
5. Commissioning for the quality and safety of services.
   

Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written evidence to the inquiry.

Opening up the primary medical care market

This BMJ feature article describes what should be happening and what is happing in relation to an “open market” in primary care.

Published March 2009

Payment by results: opportunity or threat for mental health commissioners?

Parsonage argues that payment by results represents both an opportunity and a threat for mental health commissioners. On the positive side, it offers PCTs the chance to exert more leverage in the system, for example in the planning and design of services and, where supply conditions permit, in promoting choice and contestability. On the downside, it requires them to manage more risks, particularly financial risks.

Primary Care Mental Health, 2005, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 271-273 (available via your local NHS Library)