It follows a letter from the Department of Health, asking SHAs to work with primary care trusts (PCTs) and LMCs to provide historical data on practices that receive the highest proportion of income protection payment under MPIG, to establish the reasons for this. The work will be used to inform future discussions on the General Medical Services Contract.
The work is being done in the context of the 2009/10 agreement that applies differential uplifts to different parts of the contract, reducing GP reliance on correction factor payments. In particular, it is considering the implications for those practices where high correction factor payments may be the result of providing extra or local essential services and applying the differential uplift may be unfair.
The following letters outline the work:
- DH letter - issued to the GPC and LMCs
- A joint letter - from the GPC and NHS Employers, issued to SHAs and LMCs
Detailed guidance outlining the information required has been sent to each SHA, who in turn will liaise with the relevant PCTs and LMCs. SHAs are being asked to provide the information by 25 February.
