Checking the portal when it is almost too late
An NHS orthodontic practice has a contract for units of orthodontic activity. Activity is claimed as assessments are completed and treatment starts. The practice owner tracks it in a spreadsheet, updated from the NHS portal every so often, and by the middle of the contract year is often unsure whether the practice is ahead or behind.
The information needed to answer that exists: claims submitted, starts booked in the diary, assessments booked, and the waiting list of patients ready to start. It is just in different places.
Assessments that find a patient is not eligible for NHS treatment still take a clinical slot, and they affect how the year looks in ways a simple count of starts does not show.
Why the picture is never clear
- Claims are credited later than the activity happens.
- Starts booked in the diary are not counted until they happen.
- The waiting list is separate from contract tracking.
- Clinicians' shares of activity are not visible.
- Nobody owns the weekly picture.
What late visibility costs
The owner finds out late, when options are fewer. Starts cannot always be moved or added in time. Discussions with clinicians about activity happen without shared figures. We do not advise on contract management or its consequences; that sits with you, your adviser and your commissioner. What we address is the lack of a current picture.
The waiting list and the contract are two sides of the same question. A practice with a long list of patients ready to start and a contract that is behind has a diary problem. A practice that is ahead with a short list has a different decision to make. Neither is visible from a spreadsheet updated every few months.
The UOA view we build
- Submitted claims are read from your practice management system, with the type of activity, clinician and date.
- Where you export figures from the NHS portal, they are imported so credited and submitted activity sit side by side.
- Booked assessments and starts for the rest of the contract year are read from the diary.
- The waiting list of patients ready to start is counted, so potential activity is visible.
- Your contract target is entered and spread across the year as you choose.
- A weekly summary shows delivered, booked and potential activity against the target, overall and by clinician.
| Figure | Source |
|---|---|
| Credited activity | Portal export |
| Submitted, not credited | Practice system |
| Booked assessments and starts | Diary |
| Ready to start | Waiting list |
Decisions about your contract, and what the figures mean for it, are yours and your adviser's.
A contract year you can see
The owner opens one page each week and knows where the practice stands. Booked and potential activity show whether the year can be met. Clinicians see the same figures. And differences between submitted and credited activity are visible early.
Assessments that do not lead to treatment, and starts delayed by records or paperwork, show up in the same view, so the practice can see where activity is being held up.
The same figures support conversations with the team about sessions and priorities, because everyone is looking at the same current picture rather than last quarter's spreadsheet.
Is this your practice?
- UOA tracking is a spreadsheet updated occasionally.
- You are unsure mid-year whether you are on track.
- The waiting list is not connected to contract tracking.
- Clinicians do not see activity figures.