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UDAs - Units of Dental Activity
A 'unit of dental activity' (UDA) is the standard measure of a
piece of dental work in
the NHS. A check-up and clean is one UDA, while a course of work
which involves
fillings might be three UDAs. A very complex course of treatment
involving work on a crown or bridge could be up to 12 UDAs.
Since April 2006, UK NHS dentists have been paid according to
how many "Units of Dental Activity" they do in a year. The actual
cash value of a UDA is set by the local NHS Primary Care Trust, in
discussion with the Dental Practice.
The PCT sets a limit on how many UDAs a praCTICE are allowed to
do in a year. They may set the "contract" at say 6,000 UDAs a year.
They will pay the practice for 500 UDAs each month
(equivalent to around £8,000 a month). All the practice expenses
must be met out of this amount. The PCT will check regularly that
you are in fact doing enough UDAs to meet your target.
If you accept the contract, you must complete 6,000 UDAs by the
year end. If you don't, the practice must pay back a proportion
of the money. If you do more than 6,000 UDAs in a year, that
is your lookout - the PCT won't pay you any extra for exceeding
your contract. As you can imagine, it takes quite a bit of
skill and juggling to exactly the right number of treatments, as
you don't know what your patients will need until they are sitting
in your chair.