This site is intended for health professionals only


Prevalence of QOF-recorded depression increases to 10%

Prevalence of QOF-recorded depression increases to 10%

The number of patients coded as having depression has increased to almost 10%, according to new data from NHS Digital.

Related Article: Second world nursing report to be launched on International Nurses Day

In their summary of general practice QOF activity, they revealed that depression was the condition that saw the greatest year-on-year increase in QOF-recorded prevalence out of all QOF indicators – from 9.1% in 2016/17 to 9.9% in 2017/18.

The increase means depression is now second overall for all QOF conditions, overtaking obesity, which had a prevalence of 9.8%.

Related Article: New report offers practice nurses with tips and advice on negotiating pay

Hypertension remains the indicator with the highest overall prevalence at 13.9%.

Osteoporosis saw the biggest change in exception rate, up by 2.2 percentage points to 19.4%. Cardiovascular disease experienced the biggest fall in exception rate, at 0.9 percentage points, but still remains the indicator group with the highest exception rate at 31.4%.

Related Article: New qualification aims to help care leaders harness cutting-edge technology

The number of practices achieving the maximum 559 also increased for 2017/18 to 12.5%, up from 11.9% the previous year.

See how our symptom tool can help you make better sense of patient presentations
Click here to search a symptom

The number of patients coded as having depression has increased to almost 10%, according to new data from NHS Digital.