HC Deb 09 March 1993 vol 220 c482W
Ms. Primarolo

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has establishing the cost-effectiveness of those general practitioner services for which practitioners receive an item of service payment.

Dr. Mawhinney

Within the general practitioner remuneration system, item of service fees are paid in a wide variety of circumstances, some to promote specific health policies—for example, for certain immunizations—and others to reflect variations in workload—for example, for providing treatment in the case of an accident involving a patient not on the practice list. There is no single way of measuring cost effectiveness in all such cases.