Summary

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) allows practices to exception-report (exclude) specific patients from data collected to calculate achievement scores.

Patients can be exception-reported from individual indicators for various reasons, for example if they are newly diagnosed or newly registered with a practice, if they do not attend appointments or where the treatment is judged to be inappropriate by the GP (such as medication cannot be prescribed due to side-effects).

The General Medical Services contract sets out the criteria which allow practices to participate in QOF but not to be penalised where exception reporting occurs.

Patient exception reporting applies to QOF indicators where the level of achievement is determined by the percentage of patients receiving the designated level of care. The information presented here refers to exception reporting for indicators with the 'clinical domain' of the QOF, and two indicator sets in the 'additional services domain' (cervical screening and contraceptive services).

For background information on QOF exception reporting, and for notes on the way exception reporting rates are calculated, see the detailed notes in the statistical bulletin in QOF exception reporting.

Key facts

Exception reporting rates show the percentage of patients who are not included when determining Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) achievement. The overall effective exception rate across all clinical domain indicators for England was 5.4 per cent, though there is variation between indicators.