DSfC - Southampton CCG IV RS Comm

Invoice Validation

Invoice validation is part of a process by which providers of care or services get paid for the work they do.

Invoices are submitted to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) so the CCG are able to ensure that the activity claimed for each patient is their responsibility. This is done by processing and analysing Secondary User Services (SUS+) data, which is received into a secure Controlled Environment for Finance (CEfF). The SUS+ data is identifiable at the level of NHS number. The NHS number is only used to confirm the accuracy of backing-data sets (data from providers) and will not be used further.

The CCG are advised by the appointed CEfF whether payment for invoices can be made or not.

Invoice Validation will be conducted by South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit

Liaison Financial Services conduct a secondary independent ad-hoc review on retrospective payments made. Investing resource, skills and experience into deeper reconciliation, this identifies overcharges already paid and recovers savings for the CCG that would otherwise be lost.

Risk Stratification

Risk stratification is a tool for identifying and predicting which patients are at high risk or are likely to be at high risk and prioritising the management of their care in order to prevent worse outcomes.

To conduct risk stratification Secondary User Services (SUS) data, identifiable at the level of NHS number is linked with Primary Care data (from GPs) and an algorithm is applied to produce risk scores. Risk Stratification provides a forecast of future demand by identifying high risk patients. Commissioners can then prepare plans for patients who may require high levels of care. Risk Stratification also enables General Practitioners (GPs) to better target intervention in Primary Care.

Risk Stratification will be conducted by South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit and The Sollis Partnership Ltd

Commissioning

To use pseudonymised data to provide intelligence to support the commissioning of health services. The data (containing both clinical and financial information) is analysed so that health care provision can be planned to support the needs of the population within the CCG area.

The CCGs commission services from a range of providers covering a wide array of services. Each of the data flow categories requested supports the commissioned activity of one or more providers.

The following pseudonymised datasets are required to provide intelligence to support commissioning of health services:

- Secondary Uses Service (SUS)

- Local Provider Flows

o Acute

o Ambulance

o Community

o Demand for Service

o Diagnostic Service

o Emergency Care

o Experience, Quality and Outcomes

o Mental Health

o Other Not Elsewhere Classified

o Population Data

o Primary Care Services

o Public Health Screening

The pseudonymised data is required to for the following purposes:

* Population health management:

• Understanding the interdependency of care services

• Targeting care more effectively

• Using value as the redesign principle

* Data Quality and Validation – allowing data quality checks on the submitted data

* Thoroughly investigating the needs of the population, to ensure the right services are available for individuals when and where they need them

* Understanding cohorts of residents who are at risk of becoming users of some of the more expensive services, to better understand and manage those needs

* Monitoring population health and care interactions to understand where people may slip through the net, or where services/interactions may be being duplicated

* Modelling activity across all data sets to understand how services interact with each other, and to understand how changes in one service may affect flows through another

* Service redesign

* Health Needs Assessment – identification of underlying disease prevalence within the local population

* Patient stratification and predictive modelling - to identify specific patients at risk of requiring hospital admission and other avoidable factors such as risk of falls, computed using algorithms executed against linked de-identified data, and identification of future service delivery models

The pseudonymised data is required to ensure that analysis of health care provision can be completed to support the needs of the health profile of the population within the CCG area based on the full analysis of multiple pseudonymised datasets.

Processing for commissioning will be conducted by Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd

Data must only be used for the purposes stipulated within this Data Sharing Agreement. Any additional disclosure / publication will require further approval from NHS Digital.

Data Processors must only act upon specific instructions from the Data Controller.

Data can only be stored at the addresses listed under storage addresses.

All access to data is managed under Role-Based Access Controls. Users can only access data authorised by their role and the tasks that they are required to undertake.

Patient level data will not be linked other than as specifically detailed within this agreement. And for the purposes of invoice validation. Data released will only be shared with those parties listed and will only be used for the purposes laid out in the application/agreement. The data released by NHS Digital will not be national data and will be restricted to that data relating to the specific locality and that data required by the applicant.

NHS Digital reminds all organisations party to this agreement of the need to comply with the Data Sharing Framework Contract requirements, including those regarding the use (and purposes of that use) by “Personnel” (as defined within the Data Sharing Framework Contract ie: employees, agents and contractors of the Data Recipient who may have access to that data).

The DSCRO (part of NHS Digital) will apply National Opt-outs before any identifiable data leaves the DSCRO only for the purpose of Risk Stratification.

CCGs should work with general practices within their CCG to help them fulfil data controller responsibilities regarding flow of identifiable data into risk stratification tools.

(RS) The only identifier available in the data set is the NHS numbers. Any further identification of the patients will only be completed by the patient’s clinician on their own systems for the purpose of direct care with a legitimate relationship.

Onward Sharing

Patient level data will not be shared outside of the CCG unless it is for the purpose of Direct Care, where it may be shared only with those health professionals who have a legitimate relationship with the patient and a legitimate reason to access the data.

Aggregated reports only with small number suppression can be shared externally as set out within NHS Digital guidance applicable to each data set.

Segregation

Where the Data Processor and/or the Data Controller hold both identifiable and pseudonymised data, the data will be held separately so data cannot be linked.

Where the Data Processor and/or the Data Controller hold identifiable data with opt outs applied and identifiable data with opt outs not applied, the data will be held separately so data cannot be linked.

All access to data is auditable by NHS Digital.

Data for the purpose of Invoice Validation is kept within the CEfF, and only used by staff properly trained and authorised for the activity. Only CEfF staff are able to access data in the CEfF and only CEfF staff operate the invoice validation process within the CEfF. Data flows directly in to the CEfF from the DSCRO and from the providers – it does not flow through any other processors.

Data Minimisation

Data Minimisation in relation to the data sets listed within the application are listed below. This also includes the purpose on which they would be applied -

For the purpose of Commissioning:

• Patients who are normally registered and/or resident within the NHS Southampton City CCG (including historical activity where the patient was previously registered or resident in another commissioner).

and/or

• Patients treated by a provider where NHS Southampton City CCG is the host/co-ordinating commissioner and/or has the primary responsibility for the provider services in the local health economy – this is only for commissioning and relates to both national and local flows.

and/or

• Activity identified by the provider and recorded as such within national systems (such as SUS+) as for the attention of NHS Southampton City CCG - this is only for commissioning and relates to both national and local flows.

For the purpose of Risk Stratification:

• Patients who are normally registered and/or resident within NHS Southampton City CCG (including historical activity where the patient was previously registered or resident in another commissioner

For the purpose of Invoice Validation:

• CCG of residence and/or registration.

Microsoft Limited supply provide Cloud Services for Liaison Financial Services Ltd and North and East London Commissioning Support Unit and are therefore listed as a data processor. They supply support to the system, but do not access data. Therefore, any access to the data held under this agreement would be considered a breach of the agreement. This includes granting of access to the database[s] containing the data.

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust do not access data held under this agreement as they only supply the building. Therefore, any access to the data held under this agreement would be considered a breach of the agreement. This includes granting of access to the database[s] containing the data.

Interxion and Ark Data Centres do not access data held under this agreement as they only supply the building. Therefore, any access to the data held under this agreement would be considered a breach of the agreement. This includes granting of access to the database[s] containing the data.

Invoice Validation - South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit

1. Identifiable SUS+ Data is obtained from the SUS+ Repository to the Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO).

2. The DSCRO pushes a one-way data flow of SUS+ data into the Controlled Environment for Finance (CEfF) in the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit.

3. The CEfF also receive backing data from the provider.

4. South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit carry out the following processing activities within the CEfF for invoice validation purposes:

a. Validating that the Clinical Commissioning Group are responsible for payment for the care of the individual by using SUS+ and/or provider backing flow data.

b. Once the provider backing information is received, this will be checked against national NHS and local commissioning policies as well as being checked against system access and reports provided by NHS Digital to confirm the payments are:

i. In line with Payment by Results tariffs

ii. are in relation to a patient registered with a CCG GP or resident within the CCG area.

iii. The health care provided should be paid by the CCG in line with CCG guidance.

5. The CCG are notified that the invoice has been validated and can be paid. Any discrepancies or non-validated invoices are investigated and resolved between South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit CEfF team and the provider, meaning that no identifiable data needs to be sent to the CCG. The CCG only receives notification to pay and management reporting detailing the total quantum of invoices received pending, processed etc.

INVOICE VALIDATION - Liaison Financial Services Ltd

1. Identifiable SUS+ Data is obtained from the SUS+ Repository to the Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO).

2. The DSCRO pushes a one-way data flow of SUS+ data into the Controlled Environment for Finance (CEfF) in the Liaison Financial Services Ltd.

3. The CEfF also receive backing data from the provider.

4. Liaison Financial Services Ltd carry out the following processing activities within the CEfF for invoice validation purposes:

a. Validating that the Clinical Commissioning Group are responsible for payment for the care of the individual by using SUS+ and/or provider backing flow data.

b. Once the provider backing information is received, this will be checked against national NHS and local commissioning policies as well as being checked against system access and reports provided by NHS Digital to confirm the payments are:

i. In line with Payment by Results tariffs

ii. are in relation to a patient registered with a CCG GP or resident within the CCG area.

iii. The health care provided should be paid by the CCG in line with CCG guidance.

5. The CCG are notified that the invoice has been validated and can be paid. Any discrepancies or non-validated invoices are investigated and resolved between Liaison Financial Services Ltd CEfF team and the provider, meaning that no identifiable data needs to be sent to the CCG. The CCG only receives notification to pay and management reporting detailing the total quantum of invoices received pending, processed etc.

Risk Stratification

1. Identifiable SUS+ data is obtained from the SUS Repository to the Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO).

2. Data quality management and standardisation of data is completed by the DSCRO and the data identifiable at the level of NHS number is transferred securely to the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, who hold the SUS+ data within the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit secure Data Centre.

3. Identifiable GP Data is securely sent from the GP system to the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, who hold the data within the South, Central and West Commissioning Support unit secure Data Centre.

4. SUS+ data is linked to GP data in The Sollis Partnership Ltd risk stratification tool by the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit.

5. As part of the risk stratification processing activity, GPs have access to the risk stratification tool within the data processor, which highlights patients with whom the GP has a legitimate relationship and have been classed as at risk. The only identifier available to GPs is the NHS numbers of their own patients. Any further identification of the patients will be completed by the GP on their own systems.

6. The Sollis Partnership Ltd access to the risk stratification system that South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit hosts is limited to those substantive employees with authorized user accounts used for identification and authentication.*

7. Once The Sollis Partnership Ltd / South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit has completed the processing, the CCG can access the online system via a secure connection to access the data pseudonymised at patient level.

* The Sollis Partnership Ltd provide processing and technical support to their software that is hosted by South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit. Access will be either on site or remotely through secure link from The Sollis Partnership Ltd offices or via secure VPN link only using Sollis issued and secured devices. Access is limited to those substantive employees with authorized user accounts used for identification and authentication.

Processing by The Sollis Partnership Ltd for the Risk Stratification tool is mainly automated and will be done on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on CCG requirements. SUS data is usually provided monthly.

Data is SUS and GP data, but as stated, processing is mainly automated.

Sollis will access a secure area on the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit servers to run the risk stratification processes. All data accessed by The Sollis Partnership Ltd remains on the secure SCW server.

Sollis will not download or remove any data from the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit secure server.

Sollis manage the processing of data through a risk stratification algorithm on a secure SCW server.

Commissioning

The Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO) obtains the following data sets:

1. SUS+

2. Local Provider Flows (received directly from providers)

a. Acute

b. Ambulance

c. Community

d. Demand for Service

e. Diagnostic Service

f. Emergency Care

g. Experience, Quality and Outcomes

h. Mental Health

i. Other Not Elsewhere Classified

j. Population Data

k. Primary Care Services

l. Public Health Screening

Data quality management and pseudonymisation is completed within the DSCRO and is then disseminated as follows:

Data Processor – Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd

1) Pseudonymised SUS data is securely transferred from SCW DSCRO to Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd.

2) North and East London DSCRO will receive and process Local Provider data for the London providers and disseminate the pseudonymised data to Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd via the NHS North and East London Commissioning Support Unit SFTP process.

3) Data will be pseudonymised in such a way as to allow linkage between data in points (1) and (2) above.

4) Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd add derived fields, link SUS fields and provide analysis to:

o See patient journeys for pathways or service design, re-design and de-commissioning (CCG).

o Check recorded activity against contracts or invoices and facilitate discussions with providers (CCG).

o Undertake population health management

o Undertake data quality and validation checks

o Thoroughly investigate the needs of the population

o Understand cohorts of residents who are at risk

o Conduct Health Needs Assessments

5) Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd then pass the processed, pseudonymised and linked data to the CCG.

6) Aggregation of required data for CCG management use will be completed by Optum Health Solutions (UK) Ltd or the CCG as instructed by the CCG.

7) Patient level data will not be shared outside of the CCG and will only be shared within the CCG on a need to know basis, as per the purposes stipulated within the Data Sharing Agreement. External aggregated reports only with small number suppression can be shared as set out within NHS Digital guidance applicable to each data set.

Invoice Validation - South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit

1. The Controlled Environment for Finance (CEfF) will enable the CCG to challenge invoices and raise discrepancies and disputes.

2. Outputs from the CEfF will enable accurate production of budget reports, which will:

a. Assist in addressing poor quality data issues

b. Assist in business intelligence

3. Validation of invoices for non-contracted events where a service delivered to a patient by a provider that does not have a written contract with the patient’s responsible commissioner, but does have a written contract with another NHS commissioner/s.

4. Budget control of the CCG.

INVOICE VALIDATION – Liaison Financial Services Ltd

1.Validation of Continuing Healthcare related invoices and payments

2.Independent Identification of potential overpayments made by the CCG through invoice validation

3.Liaising with providers with a view to recouping these monies

4.Review is completed for the retrospective period from date of contract with Liaison Financial Services back to 01/04/2013.

5.Reviews take 3-9 months depending on number of claims to investigate and resolve

6.Liaison Financial Services would repeat the exercise 2-3 years later

7.CCGs could request reviews to be done more frequently

8.SUS+ would only be requested each time a review was completed, and could be requested at different times as independent reviews

Risk Stratification

1. As part of the risk stratification processing activity detailed above, GPs have access to the risk stratification tool which highlights patients for whom the GP is responsible and have been classed as at risk. The only identifier available to GPs is the NHS numbers of their own patients. Any further identification of the patients will be completed by the GP on their own systems.

2. GP Practices will be able to view the risk scores for individual patients with the ability to display the underlying SUS+ data for the individual patients when it is required for direct care purposes by someone who has a legitimate relationship with the patient.

CCGs will be able to:

3. Target specific vulnerable patient groups and enable clinicians with the duty of care for the patient to offer appropriate interventions.

4. Reduce hospital readmissions and targeting clinical interventions to high risk patients.

5. Identify patients at risk of deterioration and providing effective care.

6. Reduce in the difference in the quality of care between those with the best and worst outcomes.

7. Re-design care to reduce admissions.

8. Set up capitated budgets – budgets based on care provided to the specific population.

9. Identify health determinants of risk of admission to hospital, or other adverse care outcomes.

10. Monitor vulnerable groups of patients including but not limited to frailty, COPD, Diabetes, elderly.

11. Health needs assessments – identifying numbers of patients with specific health conditions or combination of conditions.

12. Classify vulnerable groups based on: disease profiles; conditions currently being treated; current service use; pharmacy use and risk of future overall cost.

13. Production of Theographs – a visual timeline of a patients encounters with hospital providers.

14. Analyse based on specific diseases

In addition:

- The risk stratification tool will provide aggregate reporting of number and percentage of population found to be at risk.

- Record level output (pseudonymised) will be available for commissioners (of the CCG), pseudonymised at patient level. Onward sharing of this data is not permitted.

Commissioning

1. Commissioner reporting:

a. Summary by provider view - plan & actuals year to date (YTD).

b. Summary by Patient Outcome Data (POD) view - plan & actuals YTD.

c. Summary by provider view - activity & finance variance by POD.

d. Planned care by provider view - activity & finance plan & actuals YTD.

e. Planned care by POD view - activity plan & actuals YTD.

f. Provider reporting.

g. Statutory returns.

h. Statutory returns - monthly activity return.

i. Statutory returns - quarterly activity return.

j. Delayed discharges.

k. Quality & performance referral to treatment reporting.

2. Readmissions analysis.

3. Production of aggregate reports for CCG Business Intelligence.

4. Production of project / programme level dashboards.

5. Monitoring of acute / community / mental health quality matrix.

6. Clinical coding reviews / audits.

7. Budget reporting down to individual GP Practice level.

8. GP Practice level dashboard reports.

9. Comparators of CCG performance with similar CCGs as set out by a specific range of care quality and performance measures detailed activity and cost reports

10. Data Quality and Validation measures allowing data quality checks on the submitted data

11. Contract Management and Modelling

12. Patient Stratification, such as:

o Patients at highest risk of admission

o Users of high cost activity (top 15%)

o Frail and elderly

o Patients that are currently in hospital

o Patients with most referrals to secondary care

o Patients with most emergency activity

o Patients with most expensive prescriptions

o Patients recently moving from one care setting to another

i. Discharged from hospital

ii. Discharged from community

13. Validation for payment approval, ability to validate that claims are not being made after an individual has died, like Oxygen services.

14. Validation of programs implemented to improve patient pathway e.g. High users unable to validate if the process to help patients find the best support are working or did the patient die.

15. Clinical - understand reasons why patients are dying, what additional support services can be put in to support.

16. Understanding where patient are dying e.g. are patients dying at hospitals due to hospices closing due to Local authorities withdrawing support, or is there a problem at a particular trust.

17. Removal of patients from Risk Stratification reports.

18. Re births provide a one stop shop of information, Births are recorded in multiple sources covering hospital and home births, a chance to overlook activity.

INVOICE VALIDATION

The invoice validation process supports the ongoing delivery of patient care across the NHS and the CCG region by:

1. Ensuring that activity is fully financially validated.

2. Ensuring that service providers are accurately paid for the patients treatment.

3. Enabling services to be planned, commissioned, managed, and subjected to financial control.

4. Enabling commissioners to confirm that they are paying appropriately for treatment of patients for whom they are responsible.

5. Fulfilling commissioners duties to fiscal probity and scrutiny.

6. Ensuring full financial accountability for relevant organisations.

7. Ensuring robust commissioning and performance management.

8. Ensuring commissioning objectives do not compromise patient confidentiality.

9. Ensuring the avoidance of misappropriation of public funds.

INVOICE VALIDATION – Liaison Financial Services Ltd

1.Financial validation of activity

2.CCG Budget control

3.Assurances over the robustness of internal control mechanisms relating to the payment of invoices and/or suggested improvements

4.Identification and recovery of monies which would otherwise be lost

5.Meeting commissioning objectives without compromising patient confidentiality

6.The avoidance of misappropriation of public funds to ensure the ongoing delivery of patient care

7.Benefit delivered 3-9 months from receiving data, depending on number of claims to investigate and resolve

RISK STRATIFICATION

Risk stratification promotes improved case management in primary care and will lead to the following benefits being realised:

1. Improved planning by better understanding patient flows through the healthcare system, thus allowing commissioners to design appropriate pathways to improve patient flow and allowing commissioners to identify priorities and identify plans to address these.

2. Improved quality of services through reduced emergency readmissions, especially avoidable emergency admissions. This is achieved through mapping of frequent users of emergency services thus allowing early intervention.

3. Improved access to services by identifying which services may be in demand but have poor access, and from this identify areas where improvement is required.

4. Supports the commissioner to meets its requirement to reduce premature mortality in line with the CCG Outcome Framework by allowing for more targeted intervention in primary care.

5. Better understanding of local population characteristics through analysis of their health and healthcare outcomes

All of the above lead to improved patient experience through more effective commissioning of services.

COMMISSIONING

1. Supporting Quality Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) to review demand management, integrated care and pathways.

a. Analysis to support full business cases.

b. Develop business models.

c. Monitor In year projects.

2. Supporting Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for specific disease types.

3. Health economic modelling using:

a. Analysis on provider performance against 18 weeks wait targets.

b. Learning from and predicting likely patient pathways for certain conditions, in order to influence early interventions and other treatments for patients.

c. Analysis of outcome measures for differential treatments, accounting for the full patient pathway.

d. Analysis to understand emergency care and linking A&E and Emergency Urgent Care Flows (EUCC).

4. Commissioning cycle support for grouping and re-costing previous activity.

5. Enables monitoring of:

a. CCG outcome indicators.

b. Financial and Non-financial validation of activity.

c. Successful delivery of integrated care within the CCG.

d. Checking frequent or multiple attendances to improve early intervention and avoid admissions.

e. Case management.

f. Care service planning.

g. Commissioning and performance management.

h. List size verification by GP practices.

i. Understanding the care of patients in nursing homes.

6. Feedback to NHS service providers on data quality at an aggregate and individual record level – only on data initially provided by the service providers.

7. Improved planning by better understanding patient flows through the healthcare system, thus allowing commissioners to design appropriate pathways to improve patient flow and allowing commissioners to identify priorities and identify plans to address these.

8. Improved quality of services through reduced emergency readmissions, especially avoidable emergency admissions. This is achieved through mapping of frequent users of emergency services and early intervention of appropriate care.

9. Improved access to services by identifying which services may be in demand but have poor access, and from this identify areas where improvement is required.

10. Potentially reduced premature mortality by more targeted intervention in primary care, which supports the commissioner to meets its requirement to reduce premature mortality in line with the CCG Outcome Framework.

11. Better understanding of the health of and the variations in health outcomes within the population to help understand local population characteristics.

12. Better understanding of contract requirements, contract execution, and required services for management of existing contracts, and to assist with identification and planning of future contracts

13. Insights into patient outcomes, and identification of the possible efficacy of outcomes-based contracting opportunities.

14. Providing greater understanding of the underlying courses and look to commission improved supportive networks, this would be ongoing work which would be continually assessed.

15. Insight to understand the numerous factors that play a role in the outcome for both datasets. The linkage will allow the reporting both prior to, during and after the activity, to provide greater assurance on predictive outcomes and delivery of best practice.

16. Provision of indicators of health problems, and patterns of risk within the commissioning region.

17. Support of benchmarking for evaluating progress in future years.

Not stated in the register.