Torbay CCG buys Contract+ for practices

Twenty GP practices in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham are using Contract+ to monitor their performance in achieving QOF targets and improve the management of patients with long term conditions.

The system from Informatica Systems, part of the BMJ Group, has been purchased for the Torbay and Southern Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, facilitated by the Torbay Care Trust.

Mark Thomas, practice manager at Chelston Hall Surgery, said: “Contract+ analyses the QOF indicators for a patient in real time.

"This is displayed in a prompt window within the patient’s electronic record so that each GP can quickly assess which indicators are outstanding and what needs to be done.”

He added: “The adoption of Contract+ ensures that we will standardise practices across the Torbay region without changing clinical IT systems and the associated costs which this would incur."

The current version of Contract+ includes support for the latest V20 QOF rule sets and also supports the new QP Prescribing and QP Referrals areas.

Once Contract+ is installed in all its local GP practices, the CCG plans to introduce Informatica’s Health Checks software, which helps GP practices implement the NHS Health Check programme.

The software identifies the eligible cohort of patients and enables GP practices to send them text messages for the call and recall process.

Vanessa Edmonds, managing director of Informatica Systems said: “We shall also be undertaking a series of pilot projects with Torbay.

"[These will] integrate other on-line, evidence-based services provided by the BMJ Group into their IT systems, in order to improve clinical decisions and patient outcomes."