E Reporting Managing Re-attendance - NHS Business ......2012/10/01  · to NHS dentistry, frequent...

E ReportingManaging Re-attendance

Fact Sheet 2

For more information on E Reporting please see our website at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/dental

Why is Re-attendanceimportant?

NICE guidelines suggest thatadult patients should be recalledbetween 3 months and 2 yearsdependent on clinical needs.

Historically, dentists used a recallinterval of 6 months for themajority of patients, irrespectiveof their oral health.

There is anecdotal evidence fromPCO commissioners that manydentists have continued with this practice.

If dentists are seeing existingpatients more frequently than isnecessary, it is very likely thatincreasing these recall intervalswould free up more time to seenew patients.

Managing re-attendance istherefore seen as a veryimportant element in extendingaccess to NHS dentistry.

In addition to limiting access to NHS dentistry, frequent re-attendance could also be anindicator of poor diagnosis, poortreatment or in some casesdeliberate manipulation oftreatment patterns to enhanceUDA delivery.

Regular Reports These reports can be accessedthrough the front page of EReporting. Each PCO has accessto a quarterly re-attendancereport for its contracts givinganalysis of intervals betweencourses of treatment.

Template ReportsThree new template reportshave been introduced to helpyou to manage re-attendance.

1. New Patient template – shows the number and proportion of new patients being treated within each contract.

2. Re-attendance Band Analysis – focuses on re-attendance intervals between current and previous charge band.

3. Re-attendance report – replicates the regular report as a template

DashboardsThe access page of thedashboard contains details on a monthly basis of FP17s fornew patients being treated foreach contract.

Create your own reports(coming soon)Several re-attendancedimensions and measures will bemade available through the E Reporting Activity universe.

These are based on the numberof FP17s during the relevantinterval. They give the ability tolook at previous courses withinthe same contract, same PCO, ordifferent PCO.

In addition, a measure will beadded for new patients toenable PCOs to monitor acontract’s success in attractingnew patients.

How can E Reporting help?

Where can I go for help?

Primary Care Commissioning has published a Dental ContractManagement Handbook which can be found on the PCC websiteat www.pcc.nhs.uk

Useful definitions

Re-attendance intervalThe re-attendance interval isdefined by reference to the twomost recent courses of treatmentfor a single patient identity andmeasures the elapsed timebetween the start of the mostrecent course of treatment andthe completion of the previouscourse of treatment. If a previouscourse of treatment cannot beidentified, the patient identityattached to the FP17 is classifiedas having “no previous claim”.

New patientA new patient is defined as anindividual who has received acourse of treatment and had notpreviously been treated by anyNHS dentist within the previous24 months. This measurespecifically excludes patientswho are just moving betweencontracts or between PCTs withina 24 month period.

24 month patient listThe 24 month patient list measuresthe total number of distinctpatients for whom a course oftreatment has been processedover the previous 24 months. Inorder to make this calculation,patients are allocated to thecontract where they have receivedtheir most recent course oftreatment. Exceptions to this areurgent and orthodontic courses

of treatment. In thesecircumstances, patients will beallocated to the contract wherethey received the previous courseof treatment, provided this waswithin the 24 month period.

Courses of treatmentThere are several different typesof course of treatment set out inthe regulations.

An ordinary course of treatmentis defined in the regulations toinclude a) an examination of apatient, an assessment of his oralhealth, and the planning of anytreatment to be provided to thatpatient as a result of thatexamination and assessment andb) the provision of any plannedtreatment (including anytreatment planned at a timeother than the initialexamination) to that patient.

An urgent course of treatment isdefined as a course of treatmentthat consists of one or moretreatments listed in schedule 4of the NHS charges regulations(urgent treatment under Band 1charge) that are provided to aperson where:

a) prompt treatment is neededbecause that person’s oral healthis likely to deterioratesignificantly (or the person is insevere pain as a result of his oralcondition) and b) treatment isprovided only to the extent

necessary to prevent thatsignificant deterioration oraddress that severe pain.

Ordinary general courses oftreatment are classified into oneof three charge bands, accordingto the complexity of thetreatment provided or started.Additionally, there are charge-exempt courses of treatment andorthodontic courses of treatmentand orthodontic assessments.

Free repair / replacementWhere a patient has beenprovided with a restoration aspart of a course of treatmentfrom a dental provider and thatrestoration has to be repaired orreplaced within 12 months, nocharge may be made. There area number of exceptions to thisprovision. For further details,please consult the relevantsection of the NHS (DentalCharges) regulations 2005.

Further treatment within 2 monthsWhere a course of treatment hasbeen completed; and the sameprovider determines within 2months that the patient requiresfurther treatment which fallswithin the same or a lowercharging band as the previoustreatment; and that furthertreatment is provided by thesame provider, no charge may bemade or recovered in respect ofthat further treatment.

NHS Dental Services is a service provided by the NHS Business Services Authority

Contact detailsThe Dental Data team can becontacted on 01892 592511or email dentaldata@dpb.nhs.uk.

For general queries contact ourhelpdesk on 0845 126 8000or email nhsbsa.dentalservices@nhs.netWebsite www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/dental