TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Case Finders searches are designed to support practices to improve data quality and maximise income by accurately capturing prevalence for QOF Payments.


The case finder reports will identify patients who are potentially missing from chronic disease registers or incorrect coding affecting your chronic disease prevalence and therefore payment.


Ardens Manager can be used to monitor those patients at GP practice, PCN and ICB level. The case finder reports are available on the QOF dashboard and can be accessed providing you are a National Contract Subscriber.


These case finder reports are also available in your clinical system as part of the Ardens Clinical Resources. Please see the support articles below for how to access and use the reports in your clinical system if you prefer. 


EMIS Web - Case Finder Searches 

SystmOne - Case Finder Reports 


How to Access the Case Finders

You can access the Case Finders via the Ardens Manager QOF Dashboard.


Select the Contracts icon, followed by the QOF 2024/25 contract.



Case finders can be found on the Overview tab, as well as individually under the relevant disease register.


Within the Overview tab and the Data Tab selected, scroll down to the Case Finders section. Select Show all to display all patients identified in the Case Finders Searches/Reports.



Selecting the Payment Tab will display the potential missed income in financial terms of those patients identified in the case finders. The potential missed income identified relates to the register payments only and not subsequent income from indicator related work.




How to review Case Finders

To view the list of patients the case finder report has identified, click on the View option. Here you can copy the patient’s NHS number to put back in your clinical system to review the record and either add the patient to a disease register or to correct the data quality issues that caused the patient to appear on the report.




Common data quality issues:

  • H/O codes – ‘History of’ codes do not form part of the QOF Ruleset and thus will not place a patient on a register. If you have identified that the patient has a history of the specified chronic disease, code this to add them to the register, however where you are not able to identify a history of, it may be that historically someone has mistakenly entered the code in error while recording a ‘Family history of’. Once identified, replaced the H/O code with Family H/O code to remove them from this case finder.
  • On Medication or receiving care elements but not on the register –This often happens when you are giving medication or providing partial care to a patient who is not on the register. There are two main issues: first, the patient is not on your register, so you do not get reimbursed for any work you do. Secondly, your prevalence is not accurately reflected, which can lower the value of your QOF points. If the patient is missing from the register, they may not be recalled for their annual review, which ultimately means your patient could miss critical care.


If you require any further assistance on the process above, please contact the Ardens Manager Support Team on: support-manager@ardens.org.uk