NHS Digital must be quoted as the source of these figures
Regional data are available within this report
27 October 2016: Figures released today by NHS Digital1 provide information on the prevalence of 21 conditions2, including heart disease, hypertension, dementia, diabetes, and depression.
The annual report, Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) - Prevalence, Achievements and Exceptions Report, England 2015-16 also identifies how the prevalence of these conditions has changed since the previous year.
Prevalence data on these conditions can be broken down sub-nationally to regional and general practice level.
This robust dataset is made up of information voluntarily provided by 97 per cent of general practices in England. It is collected through the QOF, which is primarily used to improve the care patients receive by rewarding practices for the quality of care they provide.3
Conditions are grouped into categories known as indicator groups, with each group focussing on a particular disease or set of conditions. These are:
- Cardiovascular4
- Respiratory5
- Lifestyle6
- High dependency and other long term conditions7
- Mental health and neurology8
- Musculoskeletal9
- Fertility, obstetrics and gynaecology10
Prevalence of some conditions is measured as a proportion of the total number of people registered at a surgery, whereas others are age-specific.
In addition to prevalence, QOF also provides information on the activity of GPs in relation to 25 measures overall - this is expressed as achievement.
Achievement scores are used to calculate what payment a general practice should receive according to the services it delivered.
QOF also provides information on exception reporting. Patients can be 'excepted' for a number of reasons, but usually as a result of a patient or a GP decision at a personal level. This ensures that practices are not inappropriately financially penalised.
Read the full report.
ENDS