Over the next year and a half, 56,000 people in England with long-term health care needs will become eligible for personal health budgets, which allow people to choose between receiving standard community care from the National Health Service (NHS) or a budget to spend on services and goods of their choice.
Since 2009, personal health budgets have been piloted in 64 primary care trusts. A study of 20 of these sites found a significant positive effect on care-related quality of life among those with personal health budgets, with no difference in measures of clinical outcomes or in total cost. The ultimate goal is to offer personal health budgets to anyone receiving NHS continuing health care by April 2014.
Source:
- http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8233?etoc (subscription required)