The National Health Service (Functions of Health Authorities) (Prescribing Incentive Schemes) Regulations 1998

These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Functions of Health Authorities) (Prescribing Incentive Schemes) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 31st March 1998.

In regulation 2—

• “the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977;

• “directions” means directions given by the Secretary of State under section 17 of the Act;

• “practice” means—

  1. a

     one with respect to which section 18(1) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 19902 applies, or

  2. b

     one which consists of—

     1. i

        a single medical practitioner who is on the medical list of a Health Authority and who practises otherwise than in partnership, or

     2. ii

        in the case of two or more medical practitioners who practise in partnership with each other, each medical practitioner who is on the medical list of a Health Authority,

     and who (in a paragraph (b)(i) case) is a member, or who (in a paragraph (b)(ii) case) are all members, of a fund-holding practice which has been granted recognition as a GP commissioning group in accordance with regulation 5 of the National Health Service (Fund-holding Practices) Regulations 19963; and

• “prescribing incentive scheme” means a scheme under which a Health Authority is required to make a payment to a practice which, in a financial year, has contained its prescribing costs as specified in directions.