Choice Of GP Practice-Out of the Area Registrations
NHS England released guidance on the new out of area patient registration (choice of GP practice) arrangements during November 2014, click here to access this.
What does this actually mean?
Within the guidance that has been issued it identifies 2 elements to this scheme which are:
Out of area registrations – changes to the GMS contract enables you to have patients with a registration status of ‘out of area registration’. Practices do not need to opt in to provide this it will be the choice of the practice as to whether you offer this option to patients when registering
In hours urgent primary medical care enhanced service – Where patients choose to register out of area, when they have an urgent care need NHS England working with CCGs need to ensure they can access urgent primary medical services from the 5th January 2015. You can choose to opt in or out of providing this; there is no requirement to undertake this service.
The following provides guidance in relation to out of area registrations:
1. Process for registering a patient as out of area:
Completion of GMS1 or equivalent registration form
Registration on GP system as normal with a note on the registration page of out of area, the following provides the agreed text
- OUT OF AREA REG
- OUT OF AREA SCHEME
- OOA REG
- PC-OOA
- PCS-OOA
- OOAR
Information on how to access urgent care arrangements in the event the patient becomes unwell at home to be given to patient, however in the first instance they should contact their registered practice
2. Funding mechanism for out of area registrations
You will receive the same funding (GMS/PMS) as you would normally receive for any other NHS registered patient. This is being reviewed and consideration is being given on a small reduction in capitation payments for these patients to assist with funding the urgent care needs when home. Further detail to follow on this.
3. Existing patients
- Patients that are currently registered with the practice and are living outside of the practice boundary cannot be re-registered as out of area with no home visiting obligation. This would be unreasonable grounds for removing such patients from the practice list (NHS England interpretation of regulations)
- Where patients currently registered within the practice area and then move out of the area (outer boundary) you can either:
- Choose to continue to register the patient in the normal way where home visiting would still be required.
- Choose to register them as an out of ‘area registration’. This would need to be agreed with the patient and you would be required to de-register them from the practice on the grounds they are out of area and then re-register them as this scheme is only available to new patient registrations.
4. Registration Status
- If in an area there are a mixture of out of area registrations and normal NHS registered patients, you will not be required to undertake home visits for patients that are out of area registrations
- Where a patient falls ill (who has an out of area registration with another practice), and needs to register with a practice near their home, if the patient is within your boundary you will need to register them in the normal way as an NHS registered patient
- You will need to ensure that when refusing an out of area registration that this is justified on clinical & practical grounds. Each registration will need to be completed on an individual basis and be accepted where clinically appropriate.
- If an out of area patient develops a condition that you feel makes it inappropriate for them to continue being registered in this way, you need to discuss this with the patient and recommend they register with a practice closer to their home
5. Students:
- Students will need to continue to be registered as an NHS registered patient
- If a student wishes to be registered with their ‘home’ practice this is possible. It is reliant on the choice of the patient and whether it is clinically appropriate and practical to be registered. They would need to be able to attend for routine appointments which are unlikely to be practical.
6. Assigning patients
- The area team cannot assign patients to practices as an out of area registration and the same applies to violent patients as this would not be appropriate
- This scheme only applies to practices within England and will not be able to register patients who live in other countries of the UK.
7. Registering patients
When patients who live outside your practice’s area requests to register with you, you will need to decide the following:
- Register as an out of area registered patient with no obligation on the practice to provide home visits etc., assuming it is satisfied it is clinically appropriate and practical to register the patient in this way; (GP practices should ensure that where registering new patients under these arrangements, the patient fully understands the terms of their registration – that is that the practice will not provide a home visit or any other form of urgent care unless the patient is able to attend to the practice, and the arrangements to access urgent care when they are not)
- Register as any other registered NHS patient. This will continue to provide access to the full range of services and will involve no change in the obligations on the practice to provide home visits etc. *This will continue to be appropriate, for example, for patients who live just outside the practice area.
*We have sought clarification around this sentence and this means practices may wish to register patients in the normal way (as you have always been able to do with patients outside of your boundary) or you can choose to register the patient under the out of area scheme.
Not register the patient. The ability for GP practices to refuse registration on the grounds the patient lives outside the practice area remains unchanged and thus ensures the new arrangements for out of area registration apply on a voluntary basis.
Click here to see a flow diagram that takes you through the steps of what needs to be considered if a patient is outside your boundary and requests to register
The following provides guidance to the in hours urgent primary medical care enhanced service:
The In Hours Urgent Primary Medical Care Enhanced Service is the second element of this and is technically separate from the out of area registration element. This will be needed when an out of area patient is unwell when at home and requires urgent care. NHS England working with CCGs need to ensure they can access urgent in hours primary medical services from the 5th January 2015.
As this is an enhanced service you can choose to opt in or out of providing this, there is no requirement to undertake this service.
To view the service specification please click here:
1. What will you have to do if you choose to sign up to this?
If you wish to sign up to this enhanced service you will need to provide the following:
- Information on how to access your service is sent to NHS 111. This will enable the Directory of Services to be updated so that patients can be directed to you as and when required
- Make sure you have processes in place to provide services to patients who are resident in your area but who are registered with an out of area practice that enables:
- Access for people who are unwell at home during 8.00 – 6.30 pm Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays) or who are recovering at home after a period of hospitalisation
- Offer of a consultation for the purposes of identifying any need for treatment or further investigations and making available any such treatment or further investigation as is necessary and appropriate
- Home visits where it is deemed necessary
- You will need to ensure that you have a system in place to transfer information securely with no more than 24 hours after the consultation
2. How will this be monitored?
- You will need to submit on a quarterly basis the number of out of area registered patients accessing services
- This will need to be broken down into the number of consultations and home visits for each patient and a template will be provided for returns
- Clinical details to be kept for each attendance and sent onto the registered practice within 24 hours of the consultation
3. What is the payment for this?
- £15.87 per GP consultation (can include telephone/skype consultations, excluding home visits)
- Where a patient is consulted 4 times in any 12 month period, they will need to be reviewed for their appropriateness on this scheme
- £60 per home visit
- Where a patient receives a home visit on 2 or more occasions they will need to be reviewed for their appropriateness on this scheme
NB: We are seeking clarification around the implications for dispensing practices and also if this will increase MDU/MPS premiums. We will provide an update on this as soon as possible
4. When can a patient access the in hours urgent primary medical services?
Click here to see 3 different scenarios and whether a patient can access the in hours urgent primary medical service
