Process of onboarding for Commissioners
Commissioners will be fully supported from the outset with a series of training sessions to teach you how to use the Calculating Quality Reporting Service (CQRS) Local system and with setting up your schemes and payments. You will be supported for as long as you need this training.
All CQRS training is delivered by eLearning and written material. We provide a range of communication material and engagement events so that you can fully engage with your local service providers and to ensure they are confident in their use of the system.
Please email: cqrsfeedback@nhs.net to arrange an initial discussion and plan your deployment.
Accessing the CQRS system
Smartcard access is not required for the CQRS Local system. You will login using a username and password instead of a smartcard. Read more about how to access CQRS Local.
Commissioning services
There is no limit to the number of services that you can commission on CQRS Local.
CQRS Local allows you to define the services based on your needs, so different services can have different tariffs and be offered to different providers. You can also offer participation only services. Read more about how to create a service.
You can configure the CQRS Local system for any provider, subject to normal procurement regulations. However, the system is intended for use by Primary Care Providers.
As a commissioner, you have the ability to configure providers in the system. This flexibility will accommodate future changes to the Local Health Economy. For example, you can configure the system to have a single GP practice as a provider, a Federation, or a Primary Care Network, or extend to new providers.
You do not need to use the same schemes as other commissioners. The introduction of CQRS Local should not have any impact on local commissioning decisions. If your schemes are independent of other commissioners, they can continue to be.
However, the system will allow you to choose to share a scheme with other commissioners.
Processing payments
CQRS Local uses the same payment mechanism as the previous CQRS system. This means that once a claim has been ‘approved for payment’ on the system, is no manual intervention or manipulation required for payments to be made to GP practices in line with contractual requirements.
Providers can upload evidence of their achievements alongside their claims. This evidence is the same as submitted through the previous claim process.
You do not need to use national tariffs for payments. The commissioning decisions that you make are unaffected by the introduction of this new CQRS Local system. The nature, configuration and tariff for Local Incentive Schemes remains the decision of the commissioner and can be fully configured to meet your local needs.
We have worked with a number of organisations to develop a variety of payment types. The system can process a simple item of service payment but can also take account of population weighting and threshold payments.
The system also supports Commissioners who want to process Bulk Claims on behalf of multiple providers. Read more about Bulk Claims.
If you are unsure as to whether the system will meet the needs of your payment types, please email: cqrsfeedback@nhs.net.
