Health written question – answered at on 3 November 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what a unit of dental activity refers to in the context of dental services contracts; and how this differs from the previous fee per item way of working for general dental practitioners.
holding answer
'Units of dental activity' refers to courses of treatment weighted into three bands to reflect their relative average complexity. Units of dental activity will make up the overall activity level required by an individual dental contractor in return for an agreed annual contract value, to be agreed between the dentist and the primary care trust.
The proposed new banded dental charges system will provide the basis for monitoring activity under general dental service (GDS) contracts and personal dental service (PDS) agreements in terms of banded courses of treatment. Where a banded course of treatment is provided, the contractor will provide the number of units of dental activity set out in table 1. In the case of a charge exempt course of treatment, the contractor will provide the number of units of dental activity specified in table 2.
Type of course of treatment | Units of dental activity provided |
---|---|
Band 1 course of treatment (excluding urgent treatment) | 1.0 |
Band 1 course of treatment (urgent treatment only) | 1.2 |
Band 2 course of treatment | 3.0 |
Band 3 course of treatment | 12.0 |
Type of charge exempt course of treatment | Units of dental activity provided |
---|---|
Issue of a prescription | 0.75 |
Repair of a dental appliance (denture) | 1.0 |
Repair of a dental appliance (bridge) | 1.2 |
Removal of sutures | 1.0 |
Arrest of bleeding | 1.2 |
The new system will differ from the current fee per item system, where dentists' remuneration is based on each individual treatment—a filling, a crown, etc. The evidence of PDS pilots, where remuneration is not based on fee per item, is that dentists provide fewer and simpler interventions within each course of treatment. This allows dentists to spend more time with patients, adopt a more preventive approach to patient care and better manage their work load.
Yes1 person thinks so
No2 people think not
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