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Formerly known as the Commissioning Outcomes Framework, the CCG OIS aims to support clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and improve the quality of patient care across England.

Patients, the public and anyone with an interest in health have until 1 March 2013 to comment on the potential indicators for the 2014/15 CCG OIS.

Indicators on enhancing the quality of life for people with dementia are among the indicators proposed. Dementia is placing an increasing burden on the NHS, with more than 800,000 people currently thought to have it in the UK at a cost of £23 billion to the economy. Yet diagnosis remains low.

The proposed indicator for dementia includes a measure that people presenting with suspected dementia are referred and seen by memory assessment services within 3 months.

The indicator is derived from the NICE quality standard for dementia, and has been identified as a key component of high quality care for those with the condition.

Further indicators aim to reduce premature mortality from cancer through measuring the timeliness of diagnosis, since detecting cancer at an early stage can improve outcomes.

The proposed indicators for cancer measure the number of cancers diagnosed via emergency routes, the stage of cancer at diagnosis and the number of cancers detected at stage 1 or 2.

Another proposed indicator aims to ensure people have a positive experience of care at the end of their lives, by measuring the proportion of people who have died in their preferred place of death.

A further indicator measures the proportion of people closely affected by a death who report satisfactory experiences of factors such as communication, care around the time of death and bereavement care.

The CCG OIS forms part of the NHS Commissioning Board's approach to promoting quality improvement. It will provide information on the quality of health services and outcomes provided by each CCG, which can then be accessed by patients and the public.

The set will include indicators from the NHS Outcomes Framework that can be broken down at CCG level, as well as additional indicators that can help to deliver improvements in quality.

NICE will support the NHS Commissioning Board by developing the additional indicators for the CCG OIS, in particular those based on NICE quality standards.

Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive and Health and Social Care Director at NICE, said: "We are delighted to open this public consultation on potential new indicators for the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set.

"Our experience and expertise in developing indicators will ensure that we provide the NHS Commissioning Board with a suite of indicators based on the best available evidence."

She added: "The consultation is an integral part of NICE's process for the CCG OIS and demonstrates our commitment to being open and transparent in all areas of the work we do.

"It provides the opportunity for anyone with an interest to contribute to the development of indicators for the 2014/15 Clinical Commissioning Outcomes Indicator Set. We invite individuals and stakeholders to take part and help shape the future of this work."

In addition to the public consultation, NICE, together with the Health and Social Care Information Centre, will test and further refine the indicators.

Results of this process will be presented to the CCG OIS Committee in May 2013, which will then recommend a set of indicators for consideration by the NHS Commissioning Board, and for publication on the NICE website.

The NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for deciding the final set of indicators in the autumn.