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01/12/2010
Other UK News In Brief
'Nudging' May Help But We Need Concrete Action, Say Doctors
In the British Medical Association’s (BMA) response to the public health White Paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People, launched in England, the BMA’s Director of Professional Activities, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said that while it is encouraging that the Government is seeking to create an environment where individuals can make healthy choices, doctors are also looking for concrete action from the Government. She said: “We agree that ‘nudging’ people to be healthy may be more effective than only telling them how to live their lives. However, if people live in an environment where they are surrounded by fast food advertising and glamorous alcohol marketing, nudging will have a limited effect. We need an environment that helps us make healthy choices and sometimes tougher action is needed to achieve this. Smoking is still the leading cause of ill-health and premature death so it is extremely important to help people quit and discourage young people and children from starting in the first place. The BMA therefore urges the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, to implement the tobacco aspects of the 2009 Health Act now as this would end tobacco displays in large supermarkets from September 2011. It is also important to stress that the issue of health inequalities is complex and focusing solely on health will not fully address the widening gap.” Dr Richard Jarvis, Chairman of the BMA’s Public Health Committee, added: “The BMA supports the Government’s commitment to improving the health of the population and we are pleased that funding for public health will be ring-fenced. It is also positive that the Government has acknowledged that while it is vital to tackle problems like obesity, smoking and alcohol misuse, it is equally important to develop and shape health services so that society can be protected against outbreaks of disease. ” The BMA will consider all the proposals in detail and respond to the consultation in due course.
Tax Credits Claimants Reminded To Report Childcare Changes
Tax credits claimants are being reminded that they must let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know within one month of their childcare costs falling or ending. As part of a wider government crackdown on error and fraud in benefits and credits, letters will start to land on doorsteps this week asking claimants to contact HMRC if their childcare costs have changed, for example, because their child has started school. Because tax credits are flexible, the amount claimants receive changes as their circumstances alter. Some 345,000 or 4.5 per cent of all tax credit awards in 2008/09 had errors relating to childcare. The potential size of this loss to the Exchequer is £380m. In October HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions launched a strategy to tackle error and fraud in benefits and credits. Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said: “There is too much error and fraud in our benefits and tax credit systems. These losses are unfair, unaffordable and unacceptable. In October the Government therefore launched radical new proposals to reduce the billions lost every year. We will now use credit reference agencies and data matching to spot patterns of fraud. We are also employing more investigators and will investigate each claim in high-fraud areas. We have to make every penny count – and that includes going after the cheats at every level.”
Joined-Up Care For People With Low Back Pain Saves Money
An integrated approach to care for people on long term sick leave because of chronic low back pain has substantially lower costs than usual care, finds a study on bmj.com today. Researchers in the Netherlands found that an integrated care approach has significant benefits for patients, society and employers. Chronic low back pain is one of the most common health problems in industrialised countries and places a huge economic burden on individuals, health care systems, and society as a whole. Most (93%) of this burden is related to costs of productivity losses. The researchers identified 134 patients aged 18 to 65 years who were on sick leave from work because of chronic low back pain. Sixty-six patients received an integrated care programme, while 68 patients received usual care according to Dutch guidelines. Integrated care consisted of workplace assessments, treatment with graded exercise, and reassurance that despite pain, moving can be safe while increasing activity levels. The main aims of the programme were to achieve lasting return to work and improved quality of life. The patients were surveyed at regular intervals over 12 months to assess their use of health care resources and absenteeism from work. Usual care patients consulted health care professionals more often than patients who received integrated care, and they used more informal care and had longer stays in hospital. Sustainable return to work and quality of life gained were also significantly more favourable in the integrated care group compared with usual care. After 12 months, total costs in the integrated care group (£13,165) were significantly lower than in the usual care group (£18,475). Cost-benefit analyses showed that every £1 invested in integrated care will return an estimated £26. For society, the net benefit of integrated care compared with usual care was £5,744. Limited health care budgets are making economic evaluations increasingly important, say the authors.
(BMcN/GK)
In the British Medical Association’s (BMA) response to the public health White Paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People, launched in England, the BMA’s Director of Professional Activities, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said that while it is encouraging that the Government is seeking to create an environment where individuals can make healthy choices, doctors are also looking for concrete action from the Government. She said: “We agree that ‘nudging’ people to be healthy may be more effective than only telling them how to live their lives. However, if people live in an environment where they are surrounded by fast food advertising and glamorous alcohol marketing, nudging will have a limited effect. We need an environment that helps us make healthy choices and sometimes tougher action is needed to achieve this. Smoking is still the leading cause of ill-health and premature death so it is extremely important to help people quit and discourage young people and children from starting in the first place. The BMA therefore urges the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, to implement the tobacco aspects of the 2009 Health Act now as this would end tobacco displays in large supermarkets from September 2011. It is also important to stress that the issue of health inequalities is complex and focusing solely on health will not fully address the widening gap.” Dr Richard Jarvis, Chairman of the BMA’s Public Health Committee, added: “The BMA supports the Government’s commitment to improving the health of the population and we are pleased that funding for public health will be ring-fenced. It is also positive that the Government has acknowledged that while it is vital to tackle problems like obesity, smoking and alcohol misuse, it is equally important to develop and shape health services so that society can be protected against outbreaks of disease. ” The BMA will consider all the proposals in detail and respond to the consultation in due course.
Tax Credits Claimants Reminded To Report Childcare Changes
Tax credits claimants are being reminded that they must let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know within one month of their childcare costs falling or ending. As part of a wider government crackdown on error and fraud in benefits and credits, letters will start to land on doorsteps this week asking claimants to contact HMRC if their childcare costs have changed, for example, because their child has started school. Because tax credits are flexible, the amount claimants receive changes as their circumstances alter. Some 345,000 or 4.5 per cent of all tax credit awards in 2008/09 had errors relating to childcare. The potential size of this loss to the Exchequer is £380m. In October HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions launched a strategy to tackle error and fraud in benefits and credits. Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said: “There is too much error and fraud in our benefits and tax credit systems. These losses are unfair, unaffordable and unacceptable. In October the Government therefore launched radical new proposals to reduce the billions lost every year. We will now use credit reference agencies and data matching to spot patterns of fraud. We are also employing more investigators and will investigate each claim in high-fraud areas. We have to make every penny count – and that includes going after the cheats at every level.”
Joined-Up Care For People With Low Back Pain Saves Money
An integrated approach to care for people on long term sick leave because of chronic low back pain has substantially lower costs than usual care, finds a study on bmj.com today. Researchers in the Netherlands found that an integrated care approach has significant benefits for patients, society and employers. Chronic low back pain is one of the most common health problems in industrialised countries and places a huge economic burden on individuals, health care systems, and society as a whole. Most (93%) of this burden is related to costs of productivity losses. The researchers identified 134 patients aged 18 to 65 years who were on sick leave from work because of chronic low back pain. Sixty-six patients received an integrated care programme, while 68 patients received usual care according to Dutch guidelines. Integrated care consisted of workplace assessments, treatment with graded exercise, and reassurance that despite pain, moving can be safe while increasing activity levels. The main aims of the programme were to achieve lasting return to work and improved quality of life. The patients were surveyed at regular intervals over 12 months to assess their use of health care resources and absenteeism from work. Usual care patients consulted health care professionals more often than patients who received integrated care, and they used more informal care and had longer stays in hospital. Sustainable return to work and quality of life gained were also significantly more favourable in the integrated care group compared with usual care. After 12 months, total costs in the integrated care group (£13,165) were significantly lower than in the usual care group (£18,475). Cost-benefit analyses showed that every £1 invested in integrated care will return an estimated £26. For society, the net benefit of integrated care compared with usual care was £5,744. Limited health care budgets are making economic evaluations increasingly important, say the authors.
(BMcN/GK)
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