Patient Level Information and Costing Systems (PLICS) Early Implementers Collection for Further Services for FY 2021/22 data

Overview

NHS Digital's PLICS data collections support the NHS Improvement Costing Transformation programme. 

We, NHS Digital (formally known as HSCIC) have received a mandatory request from Monitor (known as NHS Improvement ) under sections 255(1) and 256(2)(a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, to establish and operate such systems for the collection and analysis of information described in the “Requirements Specification for Patient Level Information and Costing Systems (PLICS) Early Implementers Collection for Further Services for FY 2021/22 data."

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, we must consult:  

• Representatives of persons from whom any information will be collected  
• Representatives of other persons who we consider are likely to use the information to which the Mandatory Request relates. 

This document sets out that consultation.  

Why your views matter

This is a voluntary collection including new PLICS data being collected.

Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, renal dialysis, specialist rehabilitation, specialist palliative care and community midwifery services have been collected at average cost per unit in the National Cost Collection (NCC) Workbook.  This is in line with the development plan for the CTP; this pilot collection aims to test the collection of these services at a patient-level.  

Some services have been collected in the Workbook at average cost per unit level because they are unable to be collected at patient-level, such as legally restricted/sensitive data.  There are also some services for which there is no national requirement for patient level data.  This pilot collection will test the submission of these items at an ‘aggregated level’ in an XML format, rather than a workbook submission via this collection. 

This voluntary collection of financial year 2021/2022 data is planned to test the collection process and analysis of PLICS information from Early Implementers that have agreed to participate as set out in the Requirements Specification (see link below under ‘Related’). 

The intention is this collection will inform future mandatory collections of PLICS data planned to take place from 2023 onwards.

The data set planned for collection by NHS Digital in Autumn 2022 is contained within Annex A Section 1 of the Requirements Specification (see link below under 'Related'). 

NHS England and NHS Improvement have also published an Extract Specification “NHS-D-Extract-Spec-PLICS-Early-Implementers-for-further-services-21.22” and associated Cost Collection Guidance for this collection via the  Open Learning Platform (OLP). Please use this link to gain direct access to the relevant documentation. Should you require support accessing the OLP please contact costing@england.nhs.uk.

This collection of financial year 2021/2022 data is planned to take place between 03 October 2022 and 28 October 2022.

As this is an Early Implementer collection the data set is subject to potential change ahead of any future mandatory collection.  This consultation is aimed primarily at the providers taking part in the voluntary collection and PLICS software suppliers.

Users are invited to complete the below survey to provide feedback in the context of the above information. 

Your feedback to this consultation will be used as part of the NHS Digital governance process of these planned changes.

Please note that you do not need to complete all the questions in one go; it is possible to save your responses for completion and submission later.