Friday 30 December 2011

Value based clinical commissioning of elective surgical care

"The aim of this report has been to make recommendations for consideration by the NHS Operations Board with regard to effective commissioning of elective surgical procedures."

Right Care Elective Surgery Project: Phase 1 report: Value based clinical commissioning of elective surgical care: emerging views of commissioners and surgeons and production of high value care pathways
M Gray, S Swift, M Suleman, N Beasley, D Hakes, M Qualie, A Mitchell, S Dutch
Right Care
November 2011

Read more here.

Saturday 24 December 2011

Predicting primary health care costs with measures of morbidity and multimorbidity

"In this paper we investigate the relationship between patients’ primary care costs (consultations, tests, drugs) and their age, gender, deprivation and alternative measures of their morbidity and
multimorbidity."

Keep it simple? Predicting primary health care costs with measures of morbidity and multimorbidity
CHE Research Paper 72
SL Brilleman, H Gravelle, S Hollinghurst, S Purdy, C Salisbury, F Windmeijer
University of York Centre for Health Economics
December 2011

Read more here.

Social Impact Bonds: a new way to invest in better healthcare

"Prevention is not only better healthcare but better economics. Can social impact bonds fund a shift to prevention?"

Social Impact Bonds: a new way to invest in better healthcare
P Corrigan
Social Finance
September 2011

Read more here.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Maturity of hospitals’ quality improvement systems is associated with measures of quality and patient safety

"From this data it seems that having a more developed quality improvement system is associated with lower rates of adjusted hospital complications."


Is the maturity of hospitals’ quality improvement systems associated with measures of quality and patient safety?
O Groene, N Mora, A Thompson, M Saez, M Casas, R Sunol
BMC Health Services Research, 2011, 11:344

Read more here.

Research in ambulatory patient safety

"This report comprises a review of publicly available research and other efforts to address ambulatory patient safety between 2000 and 2010."

Research in ambulatory patient safety 2000-2010: A 10-year review
CY Lorincz, E Drazen, PE Sokol, KV Neerukonda, J Metzger, MC Toepp, L Maul, DC Classen, MK Wynia
American Medical Association
December 2011

Read more here.

Monday 19 December 2011

An evaluation of the use of performance measures in health care

The study addressed the following four overarching questions, with subtopics listed below each
question:
  1. How are performance measures being used in practice?
  2. What factors are influencing measure use?
  3. What types of system changes have occurred as a result of measure use?
  4. What improvement areas could facilitate the use of standardized endorsed performance measures by various end users? 
An evaluation of the use of performance measures in health care
CL Damberg, ME Sorbero, SL Lovejoy, K Lauderdale, S Wertheimer, A Smith, D Waxman, C Schnyer
National Quality Forum, RAND Corporation
December 2011
 
Read more here.

Good governance for clinical commissioning groups

"This guide is intended to help the newly formed Clinical Commissioning Groups understand the principles and function of good governance, particularly as these relate to their new statutory role, accountable to parliament combined with their role as a membership organisation, accountable to and for their practices."

Good governance for Clinical Commissioning Groups: an introductory guide
C Imison, B Ashton, K Steward, A Willis
The King's Fund
December 2011

Read more here.

The search for low-cost integrated healthcare

"This report identifies one particular model,originating from the region of Valencia, Spain, which purports to be a pioneering approach to the provision of integrated healthcare through public-private partnership."

The search for low-cost integrated healthcare: the Alzira model - from the region of Valencia
NHS European Office
NHS Confederation
December 2011

Read more here.

Barriers and facilitators in implementation and diffusion of healthcare service innovations

"The purpose of the present study was to explore how healthcare innovators of process-based initiatives perceived and made sense of factors that either facilitated or obstructed the innovation implementation and diffusion."

Understanding innovators' experiences of barriers and facilitators in implementation and diffusion of healthcare service innovations: a qualitative study
J Barnett, K Vasileiou, F Djemil, L Brooks, T Young
BMC Health Services Research, 2011, 11:342

Read more here.

Person-based resource allocation

This research summary describes what lies behind the Department of Health's new approach to setting target allocations for hospital care to commissioning general practices.

Person-based resource allocation: new approaches to estimating commissioning budgets for GP practices
M Bardsley, J Dixon
December 2011

Read more here.

The quest for efficiency in the English NHS

"A competitive, flexible approach to health care delivery will promote innovation, making it possible to learn from health care providers that adopt diferent approaches to delivery."

Competition, integration and incentives: the quest for efficiency in the English NHS
AM Garber
The Nuffield Trust
December 2011

Read more here.

Thursday 15 December 2011

Taking the pulse: attitudes to the health service

"Satisfaction with the NHS overall is at its highest ever level, though the picture in relation to specific services is more mixed." These are the findings of the NatCen Social Research survey into British Social Attitudes.

British Social Attitudes Survey 28
Elizabeth Clery
NatCen Social Research
2011

Read more here(Choose 9. NHS from the left-hand menu).

The relationship between hospital admission rates and rehospitalizations

"We found a substantial association between regional rates of rehospitalization and overall admission rates."

The relationship between hospital admission rates and rehospitalizations
AM Epstein, AK Jha, EJ Orav
New England Journal of Medicine, 2011, 365:2287-2295

Read more here.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Improving health and health care in London

"This paper reviews the progress made in improving health and health care in London in recent years and analyses the financial and service challenges facing the National Health Service (NHS) now and in the future."

Improving health and health care in London: who will take the lead?
J Appleby, C Ham, C Imison, T Harrison, S Boyle, B Ashton, J Thompson
The King's Fund
November 2011

Read more here.

Monday 12 December 2011

Show me the evidence

Show Me The Evidence  is a new publication showcasing some of the innovative research supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The first issue presents three stories about initiatives that have the potential to improve the delivery of health services to Canadians, but perhaps these lessons can also be shared further afield.

Read more here.

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare

The second issue of the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare has just been published, and aims to increase value and improve quality by reducing unwarranted variation.

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare
NHS RightCare
November 2011

Read more here.

Sunday 11 December 2011

The four habits of high-value health care organizations

"Although high-value health care organizations vary in structure, resources, and culture, they often have remarkably similar approaches to care management."

The four habits of high-value health care organizations
RMJ Bohmer
New England Journal of Medicine, 2011, 365:2045-2047

Read more here.

Friday 9 December 2011

Involvement, shared decision-making and medicines

"The paper is designed to map and clarify the various purposes and agendas at stake in patient involvement policies in relation to medicines, and the practical and ethical challenges of translating these purposes into practice."

Involvement, shared decision-making and medicines
A Cribb
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
November 2011

Read more here.

The NHS Outcomes Framework 2012/13

"This document sets out the changes that have been made to the indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework. It builds on  The NHS Outcomes Framework 2011/12 and The NHS Outcomes 2011/12: Technical details of indicators, and is designed to help NHS organisations to  start to think through what a focus on outcomes means in practical terms."

The NHS Outcomes Framework 2012/13
Department of Health
December 2012

Read more here.

Thursday 8 December 2011

Governing public hospitals

"For hospital governance to be effective, it must incorporate two powerful and well-developed lines of health sector logic: on the one hand, national health policy and objectives; on the other, operational hospital management."

Governing public hospitals: reform strategies and the movement towards institutional autonomy
Edited by RB Saltman, A Duran, HFW Dubois
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
November 2011

Read more here.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Preventing suicide through community and emergency healthcare

This briefing looks at the new suicide prevention toolkits for the NHS, developed by the National Patient Safety Agency.

Preventing suicide through community and emergency healthcare
NHS Confederation - Mental Health Network
December 2011

Read more here.

Delivering efficiency savings in the NHS

"This memorandum has been prepared for the Health Committee to support its review of public expenditure. It sets out how the NHS, supported by the Department of Health, plans to deliver efficiency savings of up to £20 billion by 2014-15."

NAO briefing for the House of Commons Health Committee: Delivering efficiency savings in the NHS
National Audit Office
September 2011 (published December 2011)

Read more here.

Improving hand-washing practices by changing practice

This newspaper article highlights the findings of a forthcoming study into hand-washing practices in America, and shows how a simple change in signage can improve practice.

Getting doctors to wash their hands
A O'Connor
New York Times
1st September 2011

Read more here.


Original study:
It's not all about me: motivating hand hygiene among health care professionals by focusing on patients
AM Grant, DA Hofmann
Psychological Science, 2011, November 10th


Read the abstract here.

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Innovation health and wealth

"This report sets out the actions we must now take to make innovation and its spread central to what we do."

Innovation health and wealth: accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS
Department of Health
December 2011

Read more here.

Monday 5 December 2011

Finding a balance between "value added" and feeling valued

"The ability to reach an identified target and deliver on objectives relies on the successful engagement and empowerment of front-line staff, clients and families."

Finding a balance between "value added" and feeling valued: revising models of care. The human factor or implementing a quality improvement initiative using Lean methodology within the healthcare sector
R Deans, S Wade
Healthcare Quarterly, 2011, 14(3):58-61

Read more here.

Strengthening health systems through innovation

"The purpose of this white paper is to examine the progress made within the health systems of seven comparator countries so we may learn how they have been able to help meet population health needs more effectively and make progress in health system redesign and transformation."

Strengthening health systems through innovation: lessons learned
A Snowden, J Cohen
International Centre for Health Innovation

Read more here.

Joining up health and social care

"Improving joint working across the boundary between health and social care has the potential to make significant savings and has been a priority for many years."

Joining up health and social care: improving value for money across the interface
Audit Commission
December 2011

Read more here.

Can changing clinician-patient interactions improve healthcare quality?

"The quality of care is a factor of the quality of the interactions between people who use services and people who provide them. Thus, transforming this dynamic is a [lever] for improving quality."

Can changing clinician-patient interactions improve healthcare quality?
The Health Foundation
December 2011

Read more here.

Eliminating central line infections

"This report synthesizes lessons from four hospitals that reported they did not experience any central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in their intensive care units in 2009."

Eliminating central line infections and spreading success at high-performing hospitals
S Silow-Carroll, JN Edwards
The Commonwealth Fund
December 2011

Read more here.

Making clinical commissioning work

This is the transcript of a conference, which took place in October 2011, bringing together 150 delegates from policy, business and the NHS, to listen to and debate presentations on clinical commissioning.

An NHS for patients: making clinical commissioning work
Reform
October 2011

Read more here.

Thursday 1 December 2011

Sharps safety

"RCN guidance to support implementation of the EU Directive 2010/32/EU on the prevention of sharps injuries in the health care sector."

Sharps safety
Royal College of Nursing
November 2011

Read more here.