Technical Review - October 2018

With NHS charities just completing their annual reports and accounts for 2017/18, the HFMA last month published an updated example annual report and accounts. The example set of accounts will also cover 2018/19, with there being no new guidance applicable to either of the two years. The example report and accounts were first published in January 2016 to help members with the preparation of their first accounts prepared in accordance with the SORP FRS102. While this guidance has not been amended, the revised example takes account of the Charity Commission’s Information note 1, issued in April 2017, intended to add clarification on some of the requirements. (See NHS charities: still room for improvement blog at www.hfma.org.uk/news/blogs.)

NHS Digital has called for trusts to be involved in field trials of ICD-11, the latest revision of the international disease classification list. It has run two rounds of trials and the third round is open until 30 November. Though it has around 250 participants who have volunteered to take part, NHS Digital called for more. Participants are provided with ICD-11 familiarisation and training prior to starting the trial cases, it said. The latest version of the classification was released by the World Health Organisation in June as an ‘advanced preview’ to enable countries to start transition plans. Current plans are for it to come into effect in 2022 – although actual implementation dates for different countries will vary.

NHS England has issued a call for applications for the innovation and technology payment (ITP) for 2019/20. It said in 2019/20 the payment would build on the 2018/19 ITP and innovation and technology tariff, which incentivise the uptake of 12 innovations. ITP 2019/20 will be a competitive process, designed to scale up adoption of clinically proven innovations and technologies. As well as financial and procurement support, successful applicants will have access to support from academic health science networks. 

Health Education England has proposed a new currency based on education resource groups to replace three transitional tariffs used to fund clinical placements and training posts. Proposed changes to currencies for education and training placements recommends the creation of 48 different education resource groups (ERGs) for the non-salaried placements (16 of which are currently covered by national tariffs) and 81 ERGs for salaried medical and dental trainee programmes. It has also proposed a further 48 groupings for other salaried training programmes for professions not currently paid under national tariffs. There is a gap between the quantum of costs reported in education and training cost returns and HEE’s (lower) expenditure. However, there are no current plans to rebase funding between education and training and service, partly because of continuing concerns around the accuracy of cost data. The consultation runs until early October.

A new case study from the HFMA Healthcare Costing for Value Institute aims to give trusts in all sectors practical ideas on how to meet the challenges of implementing patient-level costing. PLICS – the Leeds way is based on Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s implementation of the IQVIA PLICS system. Within three years the trust had successfully installed the system, was running routine monthly PLICS reports and had achieved significant success in engaging clinicians in the use of costing and informatics data. The trust’s efforts were recognised last year, when it was named the HFMA Costing Team of the Year for 2017.