The commissioning tool

Use the patient education programme in diabetes commissioning tool to determine the level of service that might be needed locally and to calculate the cost of commissioning the service.

Identify indicative local service requirements

The indicative benchmark based on the national average for new referrals to a structured patient education programme is 0.23% or 230 per 100,000 population, aged 15 years and older per year.

The commissioning tool helps you to assess local service requirements using the indicative benchmark as a starting point. With knowledge of your local population and its demographic, you can amend the benchmark to better reflect your local circumstances. For example, if your population is significantly younger or older than the average population, or has an ethnic composition different from the national average, or has a significantly higher or lower rate of type 2 diabetes, you may need to provide services for relatively fewer or more people.

Review current commissioned activity

You may already commission a patient education programme in diabetes for your population. When commissioning outpatient appointments or activity outside of secondary care the tool provides you with tables that you can populate to help you calculate your total current commissioned activity and costs.

Identify future change in capacity required

Using the indicative benchmark provided, or your own local benchmark, you can use the commissioning tool to compare the activity that you might need to commission against your current commissioned activity. This will help you to identify the future change in capacity required. Depending on your assessment, your future provision may need to be increased or decreased.

Model future commissioning intentions and associated costs

You can use the commissioning tool to calculate the capacity and resources needed to move towards the benchmark level. You may wish to model the required changes in capacity over a period of more than 1 year.

You can also use the commissioning tool to calculate the level and cost of activity you intend to commission and to consider the settings in which a patient education programme for people with type 2 diabetes may be provided, comparing the costs of commissioning the service across the various settings.

Commissioning decisions should consider both the clinical and economic viability of the service, and take into account the views of local people. Commissioning plans should also take into account the costs of monitoring the quality of the services commissioned.

Calculate the potential set-up and recurrent costs for a patient education programme in diabetes

The commissioning tool is pre-populated with data on the potential recurrent and non-recurrent cost elements that may need to be considered in future service planning, which can be reviewed and amended to better reflect your local circumstances.

This tool is for commissioners in primary care organisations in England only. The data are provided for, and based on, organisations in England.

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