Table 4.
Introduction and development of best practice tariffs
| 2010/11 | Cataracts | Aims to reduce the number of times patients are assessed before and after surgery by setting a price for the whole pathway rather than pricing each spell of activity; the pathway should be in line with recommendations provided by Royal College of Ophthalmologists |
| Cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) | Encourages keyhole surgery in a day case setting where clinically appropriate | |
| Fragility hip fracture | Makes an additional payment for providing rapid surgery and orthogeriatric care | |
| Stroke | Makes additional payments for urgent brain imaging and care in an acute stroke unit. | |
| 2011/12 | Adult renal dialysis | Aims to improve care for patients undergoing haemodialysis |
| Day case procedures | Encourages providers to increase their day case rates in a number of surgical procedures including hernia repair and prostate resection; by 2014/15 fifteen high volume procedures are included in the tariff. | |
| Interventional radiology | Incentivises use of minimally invasive techniques rather than open surgery where clinically appropriate; in 2014/15 seven procedures are included in the Best Practice Tariff programme | |
| Paediatric diabetes | Aims to improve quality of diabetes care; from 2014 includes also inpatient stays for young people with diabetes | |
| Primary total hip and knee replacements | Encourages best clinical management of patients and reductions in length of stay | |
| Transient ischaemic attack (or mini-stroke) | Paid for timely and effective outpatient systems for treating patients with TIA | |
| 2012/13 | Major trauma | Encourages best practice treatment and management of trauma patients within a regional trauma network; in 2014/15 there was a change in best practice criteria |
| Same day emergency care | Promotes management of 12 clinical scenarios on a same day basis in an ambulatory emergency care manner | |
| Procedures in outpatients | Encourages three procedures (diagnostic cystoscopy, diagnostic hysteroscopy and hysteroscopic sterilisation ) to be performed in an outpatient setting | |
| Paediatric diabetes | Applies to providers who provide services in accordance with the best practice specification | |
| 2013/14 | Early inflammatory arthritis | Services must meet four criteria, dealing with early referral and treatment start as well as regular subsequent appointments |
| Endoscopy procedures | Encourages providers to meet quality standards in line with the |Joint Advisory Group accreditation scheme for endoscopy services. | |
| Paediatric epilepsy | Intended for follow up appointments | |
| Parkinson’s disease | Aims to reduce waiting time for treatment | |
| Pleural effusions | Applies to unilateral effusions and increasing use of thoracic ultrasound. | |
| 2014/15 | Hip and knee replacement | Payments linked to patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) |