2024/06/27 by Chris Penfold, Jialan Hong, Peter J Edwards +5 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Health Professions · Business, Management and Accounting · #Primary Care and Health Outcomes #Interprofessional Education and Collaboration #Healthcare Systems and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.3399/bjgp.2024.0083
openalex publication_date 2024/06/27 · openalex created_date 2024/06/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
BACKGROUND: The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was introduced by NHS England in 2019 alongside primary care networks (PCNs), with the aims of increasing the workforce and improving patient outcomes. AIM: To describe the uptake of direct patient care (DPC)-ARRS roles and its impact on patients' experiences. DESIGN AND SETTING: An ecological study using 2020-2023 PCN and practice workforce data, registered patient characteristics, the General Practice Patient Survey, and the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). METHOD: Descriptive statistics with associations were examined using quantile and linear regression. RESULTS: = 0.005). DPC-ARRS commissioning did not vary with age, sex, or deprivation characteristics of practice populations. DPC-ARRS roles were associated with small increases in patient satisfaction (0.8 percentage points increase in patients satisfied per one DPC-ARRS FTE) and perceptions of access (0.7 percentage points increase in patients reporting 'good' experience of making an appointment per one DPC-ARRS FTE), but not with overall QOF achievement. CONCLUSION: The commissioning of DPC-ARRS roles was associated with small increases in patient satisfaction and perceptions of access, but not with QOF achievement. DPC-ARRS roles were employed in areas with more GPs rather than compensating for a shortage of doctors. Single-practice PCNs commissioned more roles per registered population, which may be advantageous to single-practice PCNs. Further evaluation of the scheme is warranted.