Incorrect data returns from an IT supplier will mean that all GP practices in England will have their Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) payments recalculated by as much as 2 per cent, although it is not known at the moment whether this will be more or less than GPs’ own estimates.

The error occurred when EMIS, the IT system used by most GP practices, failed to report updated QOF data for the last day of the financial year. A similar thing happened last year when an error underpaid year-end payments by 1.9 per cent. However, this repayment, if there is one, is unlikely to be as high, as the number of QOF points was reduced by 40 per cent in the 2014/15 contract.

EMIS has apologised for the error and said that everything was being done to minimise inconvenience to practices and a new data collection will now take place in the third week of April. However, the firm that manages the Calculating Quality Reporting System (CQRS), which extracts QOF data, has not specified when the final payment will be made, as practices and NHS England area teams will have to approve the new figure.

Once the new data has been collected, CQRS will recalculate QOF achievement and the payments will be automatically adjusted once NHS England teams have approved the figures for payment. They will also have to be referred back to GPs to ensure that they are near their initial estimates.

Commenting on the fact that GPs have not been too up in arms about the error, a spokesman for the General Practitioners’ Council (GPC) IT subcommittee said it is a shame that practice managers have become so blasé about IT errors. He added that people would only be upset if the payment was delayed and would no doubt seek interest on the delay.

This may happen, as area teams in Essex have already told practices that there could be a delay, which has caused alarm, although under the terms of the contract, payments can be delayed until June, even though they are more generally paid sooner.