Thursday 27 June 2013

Evaluating integrated and community-based care

"In this paper we outline the main community-based interventions we have evaluated and their impact, and identify nine points that may help those designing, implementing and evaluating such interventions in future."

Evaluating integrated and community-based care: how do we know what works?
M Bardsley, A Steventon, J Smith, J Dixon
Nuffield Trust
June 2013

Read more here.

Evidence base of the public health contribution of nurses and midwives

This guide provides evidence sources for nurses and midwives working in public health. It lists sources of good practice, innovation, evidence, and key public health domains:

  1. Improving the wider determinants of ill health
  2. Health improvement
  3. Health protection
  4. Healthcare public health and preventing premature mortality
Read more here.

Professional guidance: Domestic violence and abuse

"The guidance aims to increase knowledge within the field and support improved integration and partnership working with others who have an interest in preventing, working in and identifying domestic violence and abuse, and supporting those affected."

Health visiting and school nursing programmes: supporting implementation of the new service model: no.5: domestic violence and abuse – professional guidance
Department of Health
June 2013

Read more here.

SAFER communication guidelines

"These are guidelines for communications between health visitors and local authority children’s social care teams using the SAFER process when a child may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm."

SAFER communication guidelines
Department of Health
June 2013

Read more here.

Recommendations for safe trainee changeover

"Doctors in training in the UK have historically started new six-monthly rotations in February and August, with the majority of junior doctors rotating to new training programmes during the first week of August. There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that simultaneous trainee changeover is associated with higher mortality, reduced efficiency and lower satisfaction. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) and NHS Employers have worked with partner organisations to develop simple, practical recommendations that can help mitigate these problems. "

Recommendations for safe trainee changeover
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, NHS Employers
June 2013

Read more here.

Value for money in health care

"An index assessing these performances in light of provincial health expenditures finds that some [Canadian] provinces do a better job than others at providing value for money in health care. Equally importantly, the measurement shows clearly that higher health spending does not lead to superior health system performance in Canada."

Value for money in health care: varying performances across Canada
B Barua, N Esmail
Fraser Forum, 2013, May/June, pp22-25

Read more here.

Carer quality of life and experiences of health services

"Carer well-being was found to be compromised and differed significantly between the three conditions" [motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease].

Carer quality of life and experiences of health services: a cross-sectional survey across three neurological conditions
M Peters, C Jenkinson, H Doll, ED Playford, R Fitzpatrick
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2013, 11:103

Read more here.

Palliative and end of life care for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups in the UK

"There is growing evidence that ethnic and cultural differences can influence patterns of advanced disease, illness experiences, healthcare seeking behaviour, and the use of healthcare services..... This report therefore provides an evidence-base to understand the profile of BAME populations living in the UK, and identifies their unmet needs regarding palliative and end of life care."

Palliative and end of life care for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups in the UK
N Calanzani, J Koffman, IJ Higginson
Mari Curie Cancer Care
June 2013

Read more here.

Sunday 23 June 2013

Speech: The silent scandal of patient safety

This speech, delivered by The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP on 21st June 2013, describes the issues with patient safety, and what the NHS needs to do to improve:

"Through better measurement and reporting of the extent of harm free care in our hospitals. But most of all, through by creating a new culture which engages and listens better to frontline staff so they help us to design systems that prioritise safety whatever the pressures."

Read the full speech here.

Influences on prescribing in general practice: why is there variation in prescribing practices?

"Prescribing is a core activity for general practitioners, yet significant variation in the quality of prescribing has been reported. This suggests there may be room for improvement in the application of the current best research evidence."

An ethnographic exploration of influences on prescribing in general practice: why is there variation in prescribing practices?
A Grant, F Sullivan, J Dowell
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:72

Read more here.

Read a summary from the Commissioning Elf here.

All babies count: Spotlight on perinatal mental health

"Effective prevention, detection and treatment of perinatal mental illnesses could have a positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of families in England, and improve the wellbeing, health and achievement of children across the country."

Prevention in mind: All babies count: Spotlight on perinatal mental health
S Hogg
NSPCC
June 2013

Read more here.

Exploring the impact of caring on people's lives

"Shares the personal accounts of carers as they discuss the realities of caring for a family member or friend."

Prepared to care? Exploring the impact of caring on people's lives
Carers Week
June 2013

Read more here.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Parliamentarians on the future of health and social care

"A viewpoint featuring personal reflections by eight parliamentarians, based on speeches and observations at a series of events organised by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust."

The view from Westminster: Parliamentarians on the future of health and social care
The Nuffield Trust
June 2013

Read more here.

Health Reform Observer - new open access journal about health care reform in Canada

Health Reform Observer – Observatoire des Réformes de Santé is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal presenting the best evidence available on reforms related to the governance, financing and delivery of health care in the Canadian provinces and territories.

Access it here.

Environmental scan of patient safety education and training programs

"This report, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, presents the results of an environmental scan of existing patient safety education and training programs."

Read more here.

Report of the Independent Expert Group on the future of European public health research

This report looks at the background European public health research, and suggests methods for getting the research into practice.

Report of the Independent Expert Group on the future of European public health research
European Commission
May 2013

Read more here.

Improving the management of wait times

"From this systematic review of 47 articles, we were able to identify key factors influencing Wait Time Management Systems, especially for implementation."

Toward systematic reviews to understand the determinants of wait time management success to help decision-makers and managers better manage wait times
MP Pomey, PG Forest, C Sanmartin, C DeCoster, N Clavel, E Warren, M Drew, T Noseworthy
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:61

Read more here.

Flat lining: lack of progress on NHS reform

"One of the consequences of reduced public spending in this Parliament has been innovation and change in the public services affected."

Flat lining: lack of progress on NHS reform
T Cawston, C Corrie, C Fraser, T Macpherson
Reform
June 2013

Read more here.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Involving people in safety

"On 1 May 2013 the Health Foundation hosted a roundtable event to explore how the public, patients, their families and carers can be involved in improving patient safety. People with expertise and personal experience of involvement in patient safety came together to share their knowledge and learning in order to build understanding in this area, and to recommend some practical next steps."

Involving people in safety: a summary of learning from a Health Foundation roundtable
The Health Foundation
June 2013

Read more here.

Measuring patient experience

"This evidence scan describes approaches to measuring patient and carer experiences of healthcare."

Measuring patient experience: Evidence Scan 18
The Evidence Centre
The Health Foundation
June 2013

Read more here.

Saturday 15 June 2013

Engaging with Black and Minority Ethnic communities

"We see many examples in the NHS of where ‘barrier busting’ is happening, led by inspirational and dedicated leaders. This paper highlights just some of these examples, detailing ways in which providers and commissioners have developed innovative solutions and approaches to better cater for and engage with BME communities."

Engaging with BME communities: insights for impact
NHS Confederation
June 2013

Read more here.

Putting patients at the centre of care

"Technology brings enormous benefits to healthcare, but as medicine becomes increasingly high-tech it becomes more daunting, so the need for the ‘human touch’ increases to compensate."

Won't you please, please help me?
NHS Confederation Briefing - issue 264
June 2013

Read more here.

Primary care: our first line of defence

"The evidence shows that good access to primary care can help us live longer, feel better, and avoid disability and long absences from work."

Primary care: our first line of defence
Health Reform and You Brief
The Commonwealth Fund
June 2013

Read more here.


High quality healthcare commissioning

"The aim of the paper is to describe typical elements of commissioning work and to point out a range of actions that clinical commissioners, commissioning managers and other stakeholders can and should take to improve healthcare commissioning for multi-ethnic populations."

High quality healthcare commissioning: obstacles and opportunities for progress on race equality
S Salway, D Turner, G Mir, L Carter, J Skinner, B Bostan, K Gerrish, G Ellison
Better Health Briefing 28
Race Equality Foundation
June 2013

Read more here.

Read a summary from the Commissioning Elf here.

Securing excellence in commissioning sexual assault services

"This document aims to support commissioners in delivering a consistent, high quality approach to the delivery of services that secure the best outcomes for victims of sexual assault and rape."

Securing excellence in commissioning sexual assault services for people who experience sexual violence
NHS England
June 2013

Read more here.

Falls prevention in older people

"This guideline updates and replaces 'Falls' (NICE clinical guideline 21)."

Falls: assessment and prevention of falls in older people
NICE Clinical Guideline 161
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
June 2013

Read more here.

Clinical Commissioning Hub

"The Hub is an online resource for those commissioning secondary care services in England, service planners and clinicians designing these services across the UK."

Access this resource, produced by the Royal College of Physicians, here.

Towards commissioning excellence

"But if commissioning is to deliver better quality and outcomes for patients and better value for taxpayers, it must be taken to a new level – clinically-led, professional and streamlined, underpinned by great commissioning support services."

Towards commissioning excellence: a strategy for commissioning support services
NHS England
June 2013

Read more here.

New patient-reported outcome measure for patients with pressure ulcers

"The PU-QOL instrument provides a standardised method for assessing PROs, reflecting the domains in a pressure ulcer-specific conceptual framework."

Development and validation of a new patient-reported outcome measure for patients with pressure ulcers: the PU-QOL instrument
C Gorecki, et al
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2013, 11:95

Read more here.

The four UK health systems: learning from each other

"This paper does not present data, and it makes no attempt to conclude whether one system is performing better than another. What it does try to do is document some of the key policy areas where divergence has occurred, to highlight at least some areas where, consciously or not, policy transfer has in fact taken place across borders, and then to suggest at least some subjects where future research could provide valuable lessons."

The four UK health systems: learning from each other
N Timmins
The King's Fund, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
June 2013

Read more here.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Targeted versus universal decolonization to prevent ICU infection

"In routine ICU practice, universal decolonization was more effective than targeted decolonization or screening and isolation in reducing rates of MRSA clinical isolates and bloodstream infection from any pathogen."

Targeted versus universal decolonization to prevent ICU infection
SS Huang, et al.
New England Journal of Medicine, 2013, May 29th

Read more here.

Sunday 9 June 2013

Getting research into practice in occupational health

"It appears that current practice in occupational health in the healthcare sector is not solidly grounded in evidence-based decision-making and strategies should be developed to improve this."

Bridging the gap between the economic evaluation literature and daily practice in occupational health: a qualitative study among decision-makers in the healthcare sector
JM van Dongen, E Tompa, L Clune, A Sarnocinska-Hart, PM Bongers, MW van Tulder, AJ van der Beek, MF van Wier
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:57

Read more here.

How is the health and social care system performing?

"The Quarterly Monitoring Report combines publicly available data on selected NHS performance measures with views from a panel of NHS finance directors."

How is the health and social care system performing? Quarterly monitoring report
The King's Fund
June 2013

Read more here.

Your health – your decision

"The aim of this publication is to spread the learning and the results from the AQuA workstream of the National QIPP Right Care Shared Decision Making Programme and to complement the wide range of resources that have been developed to support the continued embedding of Shared Decision Making so that more patients can benefit."

Your health – your decision
Advancing Quality Alliance Workstream, National Shared Decision-Making Programme
May 2013

Read more here.

Implementation of nice guidance on venous thromboembolism risk assessment and prophylaxis

"Our results show an improvement in the percentage of patients who are risk assessed for VTE across all hospitals."

The implementation of nice guidance on venous thromboembolism risk assessment and prophylaxis: a before-after observational study to assess the impact on patient safety across four hospitals in England
AG Bateman, R Sheaff, S Child, O Boiko, OC Ukoumunne, T Nokes, A Copplestone, CA Gericke
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:203

Read more here.

Implementation of a hospitalist programme in a community hospital

"Compared to traditional family physicians, hospitalists appear to improve measures of quality and resource utilization."

Does implementation of a hospitalist program in a Canadian community hospital improve measures of quality of care and utilization? an observational comparative analysis of hospitalists vs. traditional care providers
V Yousefi, CAKY Chong
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:204

Read more here.

Understanding determinants of wait-time management success

"The main common factors influencing success at the contextual level were stakeholder engagement and strong funding, and at the organizational level, physician involvement, human resources capacity, and information management systems."

Toward systematic reviews to understand the determinants of wait time management success to help decision-makers and managers better manage wait times
MP Pomey, PG Forest, C Sanmartin, C DeCoster, N Clavel, E Warren, M Drew, T Noseworthy
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:61

Read more here.

Patient involvement in quality improvement

"Hospital managers need to design and implement wider strategies to help their staff members recognize and value the contribution that patient involvement and patient experiences can make to the improvement of healthcare quality."

Investigating the use of patient involvement and patient experience in quality improvement in Norway: rhetoric or reality?
S Wiik, M Storm, K Aase, MT Gjestsen, M Solheim, S Harthug, G Robert, N Fulop
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:206

Read more here.

Investment in patient information improves outcomes and reduces costs

"If we fail to provide patients with the information and support they need, we compromise all three dimensions of quality care – patient experience, patient safety and clinical effectiveness."

Making the case for information: the evidence for investing in high quality health information for patients and the public
Patient Information Forum
June 2013

Read the full report here or the executive summary here.

The Patient Information Forum has produced three summary briefings to accompany this report:

  1. PiF Briefing Summary: Health information specialists 
  2. PiF Briefing Summary: Policy makers and commissioners 
  3. PiF Briefing Summary: Health professionals
Read a summary from the Commissioning Elf here.

What should the 'what works network' do?

"This short paper recommends five ways that the What Works centres can ensure that they maximise their impact, and avoid the mistakes of past evidence initiatives, which were often overly focused on supply rather than demand and use, and on academic research to the exclusion of other types of evidence."

What should the 'what works network' do?
R Puttick, G Mulgan
Nesta
May 2013

Read more here.

National Surgical Commissioning Centre

"The National Surgical Commissioning Centre (NSCC) is a web-based source of practical information, guidance,  advice and support for commissioners of surgical services."

Resources include data tools, national commissioning guides, regional support, and standards and policy. Access the Centre here.

Programmed for improvement

"Analysing programme spend alongside outcomes could be the starting point for clinical commissioning groups keen to get the most out of investments."

Programmed for improvement
S Brown
Healthcare Finance
June 2013

Read more here.

Two new QIPP themed cased studies

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has published two new QIPP case studies:

Achieving value in health systems

"This paper describes one way in which a clinical commissioning group (CCG) may achieve financial sustainability by adopting an approach that follows the principles endorsed by the Right Care programme."

Achieving value in health systems
M Cripps
Right Care
May 2013

Read more here.

Sunday 2 June 2013

Physical activity: brief advice for adults in primary care

"Inactivity costs the NHS an estimated at £1.06 billion based on national cases of CHD, stroke, diabetes, colorectal cancer and breast cancer (all conditions that are potentially preventable or manageable through physical activity)."

Physical activity: brief advice for adults in primary care
NICE public health guidance 44
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
May 2013

Read more here.

Read a summary from the Commissioning Elf here.

Guide for monitoring scale-up of health practices and interventions

"To achieve improved health outcomes, countries are focused on scaling up proven effective health services and practices."

Guide for monitoring scale-up of health practices and interventions
B Adamou
US Agency for International Development
May 2013

Access the manual here.