Research suggests that the GP bonus system has had no real impact on the treatment of high blood pressure.
An international team of experts looked at high blood pressure measures, but found “no discernible” benefit, the British Medical Journal reported.
The researchers from the US and Canada as well as the UK’s Nottingham University analysed records from nearly 500,000 patients from before and after the introduction of the bonus system, known as the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
It revealed there was no improvement that could be attributed to the bonus system, though there did seem to be a little improvement in the numbers getting treated.
The incidence of problems such as strokes and heart attacks did not improve either.
Introduced in 2004, QOF financially rewards GPs (up to a third of their pay) for meeting a range of targets.
Professor Stephen Soumerai, one of the researchers, was quoted on BBC as saying: “The programme’s lack of effect may be explained in part by performance targets that were set too close to existing practice.”
Dr Laurence Buckman, of the British Medical Association, was quoted on the same website as saying: “It is still relatively new. Other studies have shown that it has improved care and treatment for people with diabetes and reduced the number of heart attacks and deaths, particularly in deprived areas. We expect the true gains will be seen in the long-term as more evidence becomes available.”
