Measuring the success of primary care organizations: is it possible?

Primary care in the UK has been the subject of numerous changes and reorganizations since 1990. Each innovation in organization, with the exception of fundholding, has been the subject of evaluation. However, the complexities of some innovations make the evaluation process problematic and this is further complicated by the trend towards central policy decision making being subject to local interpretation and implementation, by means of simultaneous devolution and centralization. This paper discusses the challenges and problems posed by attempting to evaluate these new organizations, particularly with regard to whether or not they can be considered to be "successful". It draws specifically on the national evaluation of the total purchasing pilots and indicates how the findings can be applied to primary care groups.