hscicInformation about patients eligible to be cared for under a new commissioning system for mental health has been released as part of the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s (HSCIC) monthly Mental Health Minimum Data Set (MHMDS).

The information will support commissioners introducing the new mental health currencies and payment system, which is due to be rolled out across England in 2014/15.

The new system involves assigning patients to 1 of 21 ‘care clusters’ so that payments for their care can be appropriately managed. Care clusters are groupings of people in contact with secondary mental health services based on their needs.

Further reading: Clinical commissioning groups’ ‘postcode lottery’ spending on mental health criticised

The report features 75 new measures, including the ten national quality and outcome measures recommended by NHS England and Monitor. It includes information on:
- The number of patients using mental health services who were in scope for mental health currencies and payment and assigned a care cluster
- The number of people who were within the review period of their care cluster at the end of April
- The number of patients newly assigned to a care cluster in April
- How many of these newly assigned patients met the ‘red rules’, or essential criteria for their care cluster.

The measures are presented at national, CCG and provider levels for April 2014 and show where patients are receiving services and the volumes of activity. The data will continue to be produced on a monthly basis.

The report is available in full at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/mhmdsapr14