Kavita Oberoi, of Oberoi Consulting pointed out that practices “lose a lot of money through inappropriate coding”.
Practice managers’ ears pricked up at this statement and a number of GPs said they were surprised to hear about “quiet” changes to Read Codes that could lead to lost QOF points.
To minimise inappropriate coding, which can lead to patients not appearing on disease registers, Kavita urged delegates to always use a diagnosis code and to identify and avoid hidden codes; which are generally those starting with a “history of”.
To keep abreast of personal, local and national prescribing patterns, Kavita urged delegates to visit www.gpcontract.co.uk; a website giving published QOF achievement data for every practice in the UK.
Her lively presentation challenged many previously held assumptions.
