Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2019 to Question 239205 on Ophthalmology, if his Department will publish the (a) data and (b) analysis on which NHS Improvement based the assessment that indicates that Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) is cheaper than other glaucoma procedures; and what the difference is in reference costs for MIGS and cataract operation since the last tariff prices were set.

The current codes do not allow differentiation between minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and non-MIGS activity.

In the development of each national tariff, NHS England and NHS Improvement undertakes an overall assessment of the impact of proposals. This includes consideration of change in expenditure on different types of care in ‘2019/20 National Tariff Payment System – A consultation notice: Impact assessment’. While this provides an overall assessment of impact, detailed feedback on proposed prices for individual Healthcare Resource Groups (units of healthcare) is sought from clinical Expert Working Groups (EWGs). EWGs are managed by the NHS Digital National Casemix Office and comprise clinicians representing specific specialities. This is to ensure that the published tariff supports clinical practice.