CQC Registration Guidance
The BMA have published revised guidance on CQC registration together with these policies and protocols. The purpose of the guidance is to provide a straightforward explanation of the registration process, to help providers determine whether they are compliant with the CQC’s essential standards, and to explain what will happen once providers are registered. Cleveland LMC will be holding a CQC event early July for all practices in Tees to assist you with your registration questions. We recommend all practices have 1 representative attend this event and will publish full details on the website ASAP.

Smoking Indicators in QOF Business Rules
Further to our bulletin on 1 May, where we explained that the two code clusters PHARM_COD and REFERSSSA_COD would be merged, it has now been decided that the business rules for indicators Smoking 6 and Smoking 8 will look for a record of support or treatment, i.e. a suitable code from either the REFERSSA_COD OR the PHARM_COD clusters. The reason for this is in order to get this changed for the April READ code release, rather than having to wait until October. The intent of the indicator is for patients to be offered ‘support and treatment’ whether this means a referral to a smoking cessation service, drug treatment or follow up appointments with the practice (GP/nurse etc.) and not for a patient to accept ‘support and treatment’. If a patient declines support and/or treatment, then suitable codes have been included in the relevant clusters to accommodate this. This query will be added to the QOF FAQs currently being updated, due to be re-published this summer.