Hospitals have more negotiating power than commissioning groups, Monitor says

Poor quality data and weak contracting skills are undermining the effective commissioning of healthcare services in England, new research from the regulator Monitor has found.

The study1 found that healthcare providers hold too much negotiating power, with commissioners sometimes lacking strong contracting skills, and are often unwilling to impose financial sanctions on providers.

The paper, “Local price setting and contracting practices for NHS services without a nationally mandated price”, has been published ahead of Monitor …