From ‘new style’ CQC inspections through to yet more red tape and regulations, 2019 has been another challenging year for practice managers. That means we’ve had plenty of information and advice to share – along with the odd anecdote and humorous story too – here on the Practice Index Blog.

But which topics were the most read on Practice Index over the last 12 months? Here’s a round-up of the most popular.

An inspector calls

CQC inspections remain the hottest talking point it seems, with our top three articles from 2019 all addressing the new inspection procedures that came into force on 1st April. The new CQC phone call – with all 22 answers! topped the charts, closely followed by 23 ways to survive the CQC inspection call and Recent CQC inspection and upcoming changes.

A good news story

2019 was certainly another highly-pressured year for practice managers, so any articles that shared some time-saving tips or a resource template proved extremely popular. In at number four on our Top of the Blogs chart is The Employee Handbook: A good-news story, an article about a new employee handbook produced by Practice Index for PLUS members.

PM Polly

While time was in short supply, it was good to see PMs taking some time to enjoy the more humorous posts we published. One thing I forgot to do before becoming a practice manager – PM Polly shared some tongue-in-cheek thoughts (perhaps closer to the truth than we care to think?) about the people management side of practice management.

The rise of KO14b

Red tape – especially when there’s more of it to worry about – always gets PMs going – so it’s no surprise to see KO14b return – My complaints! Make it into our top blog chart. An 84-column spreadsheet anyone?

Pay time

A perennially popular topic on Practice Index is always staff pay and 2019 was no exception. 2% – To pay or not to pay? discussed the funding that was made available earlier this year to increase the pay of practice staff by at least 2%. Meanwhile, also in our top 10 most read article list is

The practice manager’s guide to holiday overtime pay, which shared the nitty gritty of overtime regulation.

The latest bright idea!

The slightest mention of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) got plenty of PMs hot under the collar, so it’s no surprise to see two articles on this topic making it into our chart for this year. The latest attempt by the NHS to bring general practices together to work at scale was discussed in detail in PCNs: Opportunity or threat for Practice Managers? and PCN – Mandatory network agreement.

Cash is king

As we wrote in The ‘new-look’ QOF – good or bad for your practice? for cash-strapped practices feeling greater financial pressures than ever before, QOF points matter. The welcome additional income is, in an increasing number of cases, often the difference between success and failure – which is no doubt why this article and its series of income-maximising tips made the hit parade this time around.

You’re an HR manager too

Another HR-related blog to hit the spot with PMs this year was this one from September, when The thorny issue of start times was investigated. It clearly made for thought-provoking reading.

Forget Brexit…

The will we, won’t we, when will we saga that is Brexit meant nothing to PMs compared to the latest general practice abbreviation to come our way – FMD. The Falsified Medicines Directive proved a big talking point especially in this article – Never mind Brexit, what about FMD?

Who can resist a freebie?

Practice Index has worked hard to deliver a multitude of free resources and downloads for readers this year – and it seems that PMs can’t resist a freebie! The free poster Reminding your patients how much the NHS saves them was extremely popular – and continues to top our list of most-read articles, despite being published in June.

And finally…

Rounding our list of the most popular blog articles for 2019 are the ones that focused on the new Practice Index online courses. Receptionists in General Practice Masterclass – Four modules in more detail, GP Practice Management Masterclass and CQC Masterclass: The Perfect Practice all proved enduringly interesting and prompted many practices to take the next step in the new way of learning.

The above list provides an interesting look back at the past year. Wishing you all a fantastic year ahead!

Topics trending in the forum:
“Ghost” workers
Untenable position
Bank holidays again!
Staff pay scales
Average salary for a PM?