Clinicians as commissioners and providers – can they really manage the conflicts of interest?

08 February 2012 08:00 - 10:00

Nuffield Trust, 59 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7LP

^{Ross Clark, Partner at Hempsons, on the potential for conflicts of interest between the commissioner and provider roles of GPs}

The potential for conflicts of interest between the commissioner and provider roles of GPs has been highlighted since plans for universal clinical commissioning were first announced in July 2010.

A number of clinical commissioners have already experienced these conflicts, choosing to step down from one official position in order to avoid conflicts with other roles. Other GPs are finding ways to manage conflicts of interest through explicit governance processes, but do these really mitigate risks?

This seminar:

Identified potential sources of conflict of interest within clinical commissioning and principles for addressing them;
Examined how clinical commissioning groups can mitigate the risk of conflicts of interest;
Highlighted case studies of conflicts of interest and how these have been managed;
Considered the interface between GPs' commissioner and provider roles in order to identify whole system responses.

Speakers included:

Ross Clark, Partner, Hempsons;
Elizabeth Wade, Head of Commissioning Policy and Membership, NHS Confederation.

The event was chaired by Dr Rebecca Rosen, Senior Fellow, Nuffield Trust.

This seminar forms part of our series to support the strategic development of clinical commissioning groups. It provided an opportunity to explore the challenges facing clinical commissioners and to examine options for addressing these.

You can also access further information about the Nuffield Trust’s work on commissioning on our area of work page.