The proportional changes required for QOF payments to be cost-effective varied widely between the indicators.
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Despite its achievements, there are concerns that the QOF may offer poor value for money.
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Aim: To assess the cost-effectiveness of QOF payments.
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Method: Cost-effectiveness evidence was identified for a subset of nine QOF indicators with a direct therapeutic impact.
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The proposed amendment to the obesity register QOF could prompt improvements but has not been adopted for 2017.
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These data were then applied to an analytic framework to determine the conditions under which QOF payments would be cost-effective.
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The establishment of QOF disrupted rising trends in new prescriptions of antidepressants, which resumed following the introduction of incentivised case finding.
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Second, assess whether the combined impact of the QoF targets and guidance enhances the prescribing of higher strength statins, mirroring the situation in England.
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However, only a small subset of the indicators has been considered, and no account has been taken of the costs of administering the QOF scheme.
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Results: Maximum payments for the eight interventions examined make up 57% of the total maximum payment for all clinical interventions in the (QOF).