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The ‘added value’ GPs bring to commissioning: A qualitative study in primary care

Perkins, Ne., Coleman, A., Wright, M., Gadsby, Erica W., Petsoulas, C., McDermott, I., Checkland, K. (2014) The ‘added value’ GPs bring to commissioning: A qualitative study in primary care. British Journal of General Practice, 64 (628). pp. 728-734. ISSN 0960-1643. E-ISSN 1478-5242. (doi:10.3399/bjgp14X682321) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:41930)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3399/bjgp14X682321

Abstract

Background

The 2012 Health and Social Care Act in England replaced primary care trusts with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) as the main purchasing organisations. These new organisations are GP-led, and it was claimed that this increased clinical input would significantly improve commissioning practice.

Aim

To explore some of the key assumptions underpinning CCGs, and to examine the claim that GPs bring ‘added value’ to commissioning.

Design and setting

In-depth interviews with clinicians and managers across seven CCGs in England between April and September 2013.

Method

A total of 40 clinicians and managers were interviewed. Interviews focused on the perceived ‘added value’ that GPs bring to commissioning.

Results

Claims to GP ‘added value’ centred on their intimate knowledge of their patients. It was argued that this detailed and concrete knowledge improves service design and that a close working relationship between GPs and managers strengthens the ability of managers to negotiate. However, responders also expressed concerns about the large workload that they face and about the difficulty in engaging with the wider body of GPs.

Conclusion

GPs have been involved in commissioning in many ways since fundholding in the 1990s, and claims such as these are not new. The key question is whether these new organisations better support and enable the effective use of this knowledge. Furthermore, emphasis on experiential knowledge brings with it concerns about representativeness and the extent to which other voices are heard. Finally, the implicit privileging of GPs’ personal knowledge ahead of systematic public health intelligence also requires exploration.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3399/bjgp14X682321
Additional information: BJGP-2014-0272R
Uncontrolled keywords: clinical commissioning groups; commissioning; general practitioners; NHS; service development
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance
R Medicine > R Medicine (General) > R729 Types of medical practice > R729.5.G4 General practice
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Erica Gadsby
Date Deposited: 22 Jul 2014 14:33 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:57 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/41930 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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