Wednesday 26 January 2011

Commissioning for health improvement

"Using programme budgeting and marginal analysis to deliver quality, innovation productivity and prevention."

Third annual population review: commissioning for health improvement
P Brambleby, A Jackson, I Stewart
Department of Health
2010

Read more here.

Clinical responses to the downturn

"Seven medical specialties address how they can help tackle the NHS financial challenge."

Clinical responses to the downturn
NHS Confederation
20101
Read more here.

Increasing value - improving quality

"RightCare is: doing the right things and doing things right."

RightCare - increasing value - improving quality
P DaSilva, M Gray
Department of Health
November 2010

Read more here.

Friday 21 January 2011

Improving NHS productivity

John Appleby, Chief Economist at the King's Fund, looks at why we need to improve NHS productivity and by how much.

Improving NHS productivity: making it happen
The King's Fund
2010

Slides and audio available here.

Mental health and the productivity challenge

The report suggests that there are real opportunities to change the way mental health services are delivered in order to achieve more within existing budgets.

Mental health and the productivity challenge: improving quality and value for money
C Naylor, A Bell
The King's Fund
2010

Read more here.

More with the same not more of the same

"The inescapable conclusion from The King's Fund/IFS analysis was that closing the gap would inevitably involve major improvements in NHS productivity, with year-on-year gains of up to 6 per cent for six years."

Improving NHS productivity: more with the same not more of the same
J. Appleby, C. Ham, C. Imison, M. Jennings
The King's Fund
July 2010

Read more here.

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare

This is an interactive version of the atlas from the Department of Health Right Care QIPP workstream, which shows 34 maps of variation across a range of disease areas to help commissioners reduce unwarranted variation in healthcare.

Access the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare here.

Improving the productivity of the English NHS

"Even though the budget is ring-fenced the NHS has to make substantial efficiency improvements over the next five years."

Improving the productivity of the English NHS
University of York Centre for Health Economics Research Bulletin
January 2011

Read more here.

Friday 14 January 2011

NHS Networks Commissioning Zone

"The resource centre for clinical commissioning."

The Commissioning Zone is a portal for clinicians, managers and anyone else involved in commissioning. It brings together in one place the best sources and resources, to save time and promote sharing of useful information. Content includes news, policy and guidance, reports and analysis, data and tools, and resources.

Access the Commissioning Zone here.

When and how provider competition can improve health care delivery

"The extent to which competition among providers can increase health care quality and control costs may depend on the clinical setting. The strongest impact may be in out-of-hospital care."

When and how provider competition can improve health care delivery
P Dash, D Meredith
McKinsey Quarterly
Source: Healthcare Payor and Provider Practice
November 2010

Read more here. (This paper is free, but registration is required to read the full text.)

Thursday 6 January 2011

How do quality accounts measure up?

"Quality accounts are a key mechanism through which health care organisations can demonstrate their focus on improving the quality of their service."

How do quality accounts measure up? Findings from the first year
C Foot, V Raleigh, S Ross
The King's Fund
January 2011

Read more here.

Provider economics impact assessment model

The Department in partnership with the NHS Confederation have produced the Provider economics commissioning impact assessment model. with associated guidance and summary to better understand provider economics.

The purpose of the model is to enable commissioners and providers:
  • to analyse the potential impact of commissioning decisions on service continuity and provider sustainability
  • to understand how the financial system risks of decommissioning and reconfiguring services will materialise in differing economic scenarios and whether services provide value for money.

Provider economics impact assessment model
Department of Health and NHS Confederation
21st December 2010

Read  more here.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Evaluation of the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines

"Previous estimates have suggested that each year between £100-£800 million worth of dispensed NHS medicines go unused and are ultimately discarded......This Report concludes that primary and community care medicines waste in the English NHS should not be regarded as a serious systemic problem. It is better seen as a normal challenge to be tackled via the continued development of existing strategies and care quality improvement initiatives."
Evaluation of the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines: final report
York Health Economics Consortium and The School of Pharmacy (University of London)
November 2010

Read more here.

Department of Health consultation on value-based system of pricing medicines

"The Department of Health is consulting on proposals for a new value-based system of pricing medicines which aims to give NHS patients better access to effective and innovative branded medicines. The consultation document sets out the principles that would underpin the move to value-based pricing, outlines how the new system could work across the UK and seeks views on a number of key issues."


A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines - a consultation
Department of Health
December 2010

Read more here.

All responses to this public consultation must be received by 17 March 2011.

More for less 2009/10

"This briefing reviews primary care trust (PCT) spending in 2009/10, how trust income changed and whether the NHS made progress in becoming more efficient by providing as good or better care more cheaply. It updates More for Less, published in November 2009, which reviewed spending in 2008/09."

More for less 2009/10
Audit Commission
December 2010

Read more here.

Management of NHS hospital productivity

"This report examines how productivity in hospitals in England has changed over the last ten years, and the effectiveness of the Department's initiatives in driving productivity in hospitals."

Management of NHS hospital productivity
National Audit Office
December 2010

Read more here.

Getting better value from the NHS drug budget

"The NHS wastes billions on “me too” drugs that confer little or no added therapeutic benefit. James Moon and colleagues propose a way to restructure healthcare prescribing to get better value for money and persuade drug companies to invest in developing innovative drugs."

Getting better value from the NHS drug budget
JC Moon, AS Flett, BB Godman, AM Grosso, AS Wierzbicki
British Medical Journal, 2010; 341:c6449

Read more here.

An accompanying commentary, by David Phizackerley, is available here.