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MPs call for autism indicators in the QOF

A cross-party commission of MPs has called for the introduction of a ’anonymous register’ of people with autism to be included in the QOF.

The Westminster Commission on Autism said a GP indicator for autism would end the statistical ‘invisibility’ of autism in the healthcare system.

Their inquiry into access to healthcare for people with autism called ‘A Spectrum of Obstacles’ recommended a number of changes to close ’the health gap suffered by autistic people’.

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These include annual health checks for people with autism, new checks by the CQC in inspections and a Autism and Health Innovation Fund to develop new aids to help people with autism access healthcare.

‘We are calling for the NICE Indicator Advisory Committee to develop a GP indicator and anonymous National Primary Care register for autistic patients as part of the QOF,’ said the report. ‘ Furthermore, the development of an indicator for the CCG Outcome Indicator Set should be considered.’

But it warned that autistic individuals and family advocates must be fully involved in the data collection process as ‘concerns have been expressed by a significant number of autistic people about “registers” or any information collection which potentially allows the identification of individual patients’