The service which calculates payments for GP practices has now been updated in England.
Following four successful pilots, the Calculating Quality Reporting Service (CQRS) will replace the existing QMAS system for the 2013/14 financial year.
CQRS will assess GP practice achievement against the Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF), Directed Enhanced Services and other clinical services.
Beverley Bryant, director of strategic systems and technology at NHS England said: “I’m delighted that this critical new service is now live.
“Feedback from the pilot sites has been particularly positive and we look forward to CQRS playing an integral part of the end to end service to support commissioners and service providers across the NHS.”
QMAS will continue to operate at the beginning of July to allow for end-of-year activities for QOF 12/13.
Data from QMAS continues to be available on CQRS, giving users ongoing access to QOF reports from previous years.
CQRS training sessions for GP practices and Area Teams opened last month to prepare individuals who currently use QMAS for the switchover to CQRS.
According to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) who implemented the change, CQRS will reduce the time GP practices spend calculating achievement and payments.
The new system will also provide greater flexibility to change in line with NHS requirements as the need arises, HSCIC claims.
CQRS obtains data for Quality Services such as QOF and DESs from general practice clinical systems using General Practice Extraction Service (GPES), which has also been developed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).
Information on the online CQRS training, which is still available, can be found on the HSCIC website.
