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Population Manager Common Questions and Answers

For FAQs about QOF and Pandemic Searches, click here.

Why have my Population Manager searches not run?

Your system has three separate search types to run overnight:

• How Am I Driving searches (Population Manager)
• Look Ahead searches (Population Manager)
• QMAS reports

Your system will try to run the Look Ahead and How Am I Driving searches in the same evening, but if there is not enough time for both to run, they will run on alternate nights; therefore, you may find that the results for one type are a day behind the results for the other type.

Population Manager searches never run on the first of the month, because QMAS reports run instead.

If your system has just collected the new Population Manager ruleset for the new season, searches will not run immediately, because QMAS needs to run first; check Population Manager again on the following day.

What can I do if I do not agree with the formula used in one of the searches?

Raise the matter with your PCT, who have an escalation procedure in place to query the logic within the ruleset.

Only PCTs should contact their PCC contracting advisors if further explanation of the business rules is required.

I have a patient who should appear in a search but they are missing

The first thing to do is use the Check Patient function:

1. Select the required search and then click Check Patient or press C.
2. Select the required patient, and then click OK.

A full breakdown of why the patient is not included is displayed.

Bear in mind that in some instances, you may need to go back and check the denominator population, to see if the patient is in that search.

Why are the figures in QMAS very different to my Population Manager figures?

While the QMAS searches use the same criteria, the reference dates are very different: Population Manager references today’s date, whilst QMAS references 1st April. This affects the following areas:

Medication searches that check to see if a patient is on a particular drug, count back six months to see if the drug was issued in that period. On QMAS, the system will count back three months from 1st April, but Population Manager will count back three months from today’s date.

Population Manager gives a three-month grace period; for example, when a patient is diagnosed with a condition, you have three months to give a certain treatment, without losing points. You also have a three-month grace period from the date that a patient registers.

What is the purpose of the Look Ahead view?

By setting your Look Ahead view forward three months, you can be alerted to patients currently in their grace period. The How Am I Driving view will only alert you to patients who need work carrying out after they are out of the grace period, and in many instances this is too late.

By setting the Look Ahead date to 1st April, you can see how many points your practice would have at year end if no more work was carried out between now and then.
 
Specify your own relative Look Ahead date or select the end of the financial year.
 

 

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