It is important that you check that QOF disease registers are accurate (in terms of patient population) before 31st March, and we would recommend completing this work before 1st January so that you have time to maximise QOF point achievement.
QOF income is list-size and prevalence weighted. This means that QOF income not only depends on QOF points achieved, but also the number of patients on each QOF register. In fact it is possible to work out the exact amount of income you can generate per patient for each QOF domain and we have attached a document to this support article which contains this information.
Ardens Resources to Improve Prevalence
The search folder "5.0 Ardens Case Finders" can be used to identify coding errors affecting reported chronic disease prevalence in individual GP practices. We have produced detailed instructions (5.00 Case Finders Searches) that explain how to use these searches and we recommend that you read these before undertaking any re-coding work.
Ardens Manager - National Contract Dashboards
Case Finder data can be uploaded to Ardens Manager in areas subscribing to the National Contract Dashboards to help monitor and track improvement in data quality.
Technical Explanation (for those that are interested)
How is prevalence linked to QOF income?
QOF income in any financial year is calculated using 3 variables:
- QOF points achieved - The value of a QOF point for 2024/25 is £220.62.
- Contractor Population Index (CPI) - this is your practice list size divided by the "national average list-size" which changes annually (for 2024/25 it is 9,964 patients).
For example if your list size is 16,000 patients then your CPI is 16,000 / 9,964 = 1.61. - Adjusted Practice Disease Factor (APDF) - this is your practice disease prevalence for a particular chronic disease divided by the national average disease prevalence. You can view your practice data from last year using NHS Digital's online database (although I find www.gpcontract.co.uk easier to use).
For example the national average prevalence of AF for 2023 is 2.1%. If your practice prevalence is 3.05% then your APDF for AF will be 3.05/2.1 = 1.45.
All 3 of the above variables influence what payment is made for each QOF domain:
QOF income = Points Achieved x £220.62 x CPI x APDF
So, using the above AF example in a 16,000 patient practice with all 29 points achieved:
QOF income for AF = 29 x £220.62 x 1.61 x 1.45 = £14,936.08
Please note that no-one has access to 2024/25 prevalence data as it is not extracted until March 31st 2025. The above calculations will therefore only be approximate as we have to use 2023/24 national prevalence data.
If you require any further assistance on the above, please contact Ardens support on: