Implementing GP Fundholding: wild card or winning hand?

GP fundholding was one of the most contentious elements in the British Government's controversial reforms to the NHS. It gave GPs the power to buy services direct from hospitals on behalf of their patients, the most radical change in the funding of the service since 1946. Did this give more choice and power to patients or did it give fundholders' patients an unfair advantage? Is it destabilizing the NHS? Are GPs or district health authorities the best purchasers of health care? Professor Glennerster of the LSE has been monitoring the scheme since 1990 as part of a King's Fund-supported research project. This book reports on his research. It traces the origins of the idea and looks at the way it was implemented in three regions. It goes on to study in detail the impact on ten first wave and sixteen second wave practices and examines the financial issues. Finally, the book weighs up the pros and cons of UP fundholding and suggests a way forward. Implementing GP Fundholding will be of interest to a wide range of health professionals, health authority members and managers. It will also be useful for students of social policy, public administration and health studies.