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Table 3 Payment arrangements, 2014/15

From: Paying for the quantity and quality of hospital care: the foundations and evolution of payment policy in England

 

Admitted patients

Outpatients

A&E

Post discharge rehabilitation

Unbundled HRGs

Currency

HRG spell

Treatment function code (TFC): attendance by specialty

HRG Attendance

Bed days

Events

HRGs: for procedures

Structure

Tariffs for:

Tariffs for:

Tariffs vary by:

Tariffs for 4 types of post discharge rehabilitation:

Chemotherapy

• electives & day cases

• first attendance

• Type of investigation

• Cardiac

• a core HRG (covering the primary diagnosis or procedure) –national price

• non-electives

• follow-up attendance

• Category of treatment

• Pulmonary

• unbundled HRGs for chemotherapy drug procurement—local currencies and prices

• short-stay elective

• multi-professional/single professional appointments

• Provider type

• Hip replacement

• unbundled HRGs for chemotherapy delivery—national prices

• short-stay emergencies (>2 days)

• separate national prices for diagnostic imaging

• Knee replacement

Radiotherapy:

• Best practice tariffs

Procedures carried out in outpatient setting subject to non-mandatory tariff based on HRGs

National prices to shift responsibility for patient care following discharge to the acute provider who treated the patient. Applicable only where a single trust provides both acute and community services.

• unbundled HRGs for planning and treatment—national or local prices

• Pathway payments

Non-mandatory tariff for outpatient appointments not carried out face to face

o Maternity care

o Cystic fibrosis

Long-stay outlier payment triggered at predetermined length of stay (dependent on HRG).

Specialized service adjustments

Best practice tariffs for 17 types of care

Local prices for outpatient attendances that are not pre-booked or consultant-led.

Type 3 A&E departments are eligible for the simplest currency only

Top-up payment for specialized services for children, spinal surgery, neurosciences and orthopaedic activity

NHS Walk-in Centres are paid by local prices, not by the tariff

Rules and Flexibilities

Unbundling: see column 5

Unbundling of care pathway subject to local agreement

Local flexibilities could be applied to support service redesign

Emergency admissions: the marginal rate emergency rule

Emergency readmissions: the 30 day emergency readmission rule

  1. Sources: Monitor 2013 [12]; Department of Health, 2009 [24]
  2. Note: Teaching and research are funded entirely separately, and their costs are not included in the national tariff. ‘Currency’ is the unit of payment