Specialist clinical services count for around one tenth of total primary care trust (PCT) expenditure. Primary care organisations (PCOs) share financial risk of specialised services, and group together to commission and share high cost, low volume specialist clinical services.
Not provided by every hospital, the level of which services are commissioned depends on the rarity of the condition or treatment.
The Wellards commissioning specialised clinical services course covers, comprehensively, topics such as:
· how they are commissioned and managed
· extremely rare conditions
· the benefits of specialised commissioning
· what the actual services are
· the history behind specialised commissioning
· who is in charge of commissioning the services
· the designation and de-designation of services
· what happens in Scotland and Wales
· the next steps for specialised commissioning
· a specialised commissioning group contact list
There is a ten question exam designed to test knowledge and give greater understanding of the processes that specialised commissioning follows.
01 August 2008
25 July 2008
Site down on Thursday 31 July
Wellards Academy website is currently being reprogrammed to cope with the overwhelming demand it has been facing over the last few months, generated by the increased popularity and usage of the site.
As a result of this reprogramming, the Wellards website will be running slowly on Wednesday 30 July between 15.00 and 17.00, and will be inaccessible on Thursday 31 July from 09.00 for a maximum of 24 hours.
We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but hope that all users will experience the benefits of the developments.
As a result of this reprogramming, the Wellards website will be running slowly on Wednesday 30 July between 15.00 and 17.00, and will be inaccessible on Thursday 31 July from 09.00 for a maximum of 24 hours.
We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but hope that all users will experience the benefits of the developments.
08 July 2008
Wellards Diploma exam unblocking
Following feedback, we have reduced the blocking period of Wellards Diploma exams. If a user fails a diploma exam, they will now be blocked from retaking for seven (not 30) days.
Content removal
After reviewing our material we have decided to remove the following pieces of content:
Courses:
- National influencing centres
(much of this course is available in other areas of the site, such as Wellards Diploma) - NHS commissioning for Wales
(this course focused on specific douments from a few years back, and usage of the course has dropped) - Our health, our care, our say
(demand for this 2006 White Paper has also fallen)
Clinical Diplomas:
- Cancer
- Coronary heart disease
(we are working extensively with the University of Northampton to create a re-packaged Clinical Diploma section, with a strong emphasis on nurse prescribing)
27 May 2008
Pharmaceutical industry gets to grip with revised Code of practice
PRESS RELEASE: 27 May 2008
For more information contact:
John Heath, Wellards managing director, tel 01892 752 407
Steven Gray, Steven Gray Consulting, tel 07984 598 585
Pharmaceutical industry gets to grip with revised Code of practice
Interpretation, a positive attitude to transparency and a new approach to record keeping were key themes of a Wellards workshop this week on the 2008 ABPI Code of practice, which comes into force on 1 July.
The first of two similar events aimed at pharmaceutical industry sales and marketing professionals, the workshop was held at the King's Fund and organised by Wellards, the leading provider of NHS knowledge and e-learning. The workshop was led by compliance specialist Steven Gray. Key requirements of the new code are transparency and contracting.
On transparency, for example, the code encourages companies to declare what they donate to the NHS. Steven Gray believes companies should be pro-active. 'Some companies will be cautious about this, but we should be proud of what we do, and it would look a little suspicious if we donated money and then hid the fact that we had done so.'
'The code's use of subtle language is another of the key issues that companies have to get to grips with,' he said. 'Careful interpretation is required until we have some Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority cases to help us know what certain phrases mean.'
'For example, it says companies should take "reasonable steps" to ensure licensees and partners also comply with the code. What would be reasonable in this case? Presumably companies won't be expected to send in inspectors, but they might ask for regular evidence to show compliance.'
'Another example is the stipulation that sponsors of patient groups must "ensure" sponsorship is declared on all literature and websites, and that the wording must reflect the nature of the involvement. What does "ensure" mean here? Will it be enough for the sponsor to write this requirement into their contract, or will companies have to examine all the material that patient groups publish?'
Steven Gray also predicts big administrative changes with the requirement for companies to require signed contracts with all service providers, including speakers, advisory boards, authors and consultants, and to keep records available for inspection for three years.
'Explaining to speakers why they need to sign detailed contracts where none were needed before will be a key issue for some companies, but an even bigger one is record keeping.'
Companies will come to different solutions, but they will all need to think seriously about this issue, says Gray. 'These contracts will probably have to be held centrally – if you rely on hundreds of company representatives to keep them, they may be incomplete, and there will be certainly be delays in retrieving the documents when requested by an inspector.'
A further workshop on this topic will be held in Oxford on 5 June. See www.wellards.co.uk for more information about Wellards programme of workshops, forums and conferences, or contact Emily Walsgrove at em.walsgrove@wellards.co.uk.
Further information:
Steven Gray
Telephone: 07984 598 585
Website: www.stevengrayconsulting.co.uk
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
Website: www.abpi.org.uk
Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority
Website: www.pmcpa.org.uk
For more information contact:
John Heath, Wellards managing director, tel 01892 752 407
Steven Gray, Steven Gray Consulting, tel 07984 598 585
Pharmaceutical industry gets to grip with revised Code of practice
Interpretation, a positive attitude to transparency and a new approach to record keeping were key themes of a Wellards workshop this week on the 2008 ABPI Code of practice, which comes into force on 1 July.
The first of two similar events aimed at pharmaceutical industry sales and marketing professionals, the workshop was held at the King's Fund and organised by Wellards, the leading provider of NHS knowledge and e-learning. The workshop was led by compliance specialist Steven Gray. Key requirements of the new code are transparency and contracting.
On transparency, for example, the code encourages companies to declare what they donate to the NHS. Steven Gray believes companies should be pro-active. 'Some companies will be cautious about this, but we should be proud of what we do, and it would look a little suspicious if we donated money and then hid the fact that we had done so.'
'The code's use of subtle language is another of the key issues that companies have to get to grips with,' he said. 'Careful interpretation is required until we have some Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority cases to help us know what certain phrases mean.'
'For example, it says companies should take "reasonable steps" to ensure licensees and partners also comply with the code. What would be reasonable in this case? Presumably companies won't be expected to send in inspectors, but they might ask for regular evidence to show compliance.'
'Another example is the stipulation that sponsors of patient groups must "ensure" sponsorship is declared on all literature and websites, and that the wording must reflect the nature of the involvement. What does "ensure" mean here? Will it be enough for the sponsor to write this requirement into their contract, or will companies have to examine all the material that patient groups publish?'
Steven Gray also predicts big administrative changes with the requirement for companies to require signed contracts with all service providers, including speakers, advisory boards, authors and consultants, and to keep records available for inspection for three years.
'Explaining to speakers why they need to sign detailed contracts where none were needed before will be a key issue for some companies, but an even bigger one is record keeping.'
Companies will come to different solutions, but they will all need to think seriously about this issue, says Gray. 'These contracts will probably have to be held centrally – if you rely on hundreds of company representatives to keep them, they may be incomplete, and there will be certainly be delays in retrieving the documents when requested by an inspector.'
A further workshop on this topic will be held in Oxford on 5 June. See www.wellards.co.uk for more information about Wellards programme of workshops, forums and conferences, or contact Emily Walsgrove at em.walsgrove@wellards.co.uk.
Further information:
Steven Gray
Telephone: 07984 598 585
Website: www.stevengrayconsulting.co.uk
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
Website: www.abpi.org.uk
Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority
Website: www.pmcpa.org.uk
08 April 2008
Nutrition products in the NHS
The latest Wellards course and exam looks at nutrition products in the NHS, covering the following areas:
- Nutrition products in the NHS
- Types of nutrition products
- Uses of nutrition products
- Malnutrition
- Purchase and supply arrangements
- Market overview
- Who receives nutritional support?
- Nutrition services in the NHS
- Practice-based commissioning
- Nursing homes
- National policy and guidelines
To access the course and exam, log on to wellards.co.uk and visit the Courses section.
-- Ed Birch
07 January 2008
New Year, new design
For the last few months, we have been working on a fresh new design for the Wellard's Academy website. Since going live in the summer of 2003, the site has gone through a number of transformations (as new content areas are added) and we hope the latest look will make using Wellard's a lot easier.
Although the changes are predominantly visual, the design includes a RSS newsfeed of our weekly news service and a clearer distinction between any company training (eg, product exams) and Wellard's training (eg, Wellard's Diploma).
The new design will be launched on Thursday 17 January, which means the site will be unavailable on Wednesday 16 January.
Although the changes are predominantly visual, the design includes a RSS newsfeed of our weekly news service and a clearer distinction between any company training (eg, product exams) and Wellard's training (eg, Wellard's Diploma).
The new design will be launched on Thursday 17 January, which means the site will be unavailable on Wednesday 16 January.
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