Wednesday 25 November 2015

Budgeting for balance: How hard is this going to be?

"In this paper, we look at the experience of fiscal consolidation so far, and how to approach the remainder of the task. Do we need to keep going until the deficit is literally zero, or can we get away with stopping when the deficit is back at its mid 2000 levels? Where have the savings come from so far, and what has been the impact on public services? How does the Government plan to find the rest of the savings, and how do we ensure that as many savings as possible come from increased efficiency?"

Budgeting for balance: How hard is this going to be?
J Dupont
Policy Exchange
November 2015

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Monday 23 November 2015

Developing an ambulance commissioning strategy

"The ambulance service should develop into a mobile health provider working in multidisciplinary teams."

Developing an ambulance commissioning strategy: Five Year Forward View and beyond
NHS Clinical Commissioners
November 2015

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The function and effectiveness of knowledge brokers in health-related settings

"As knowledge managers, linkage agents, and capacity builders, KBs performed many and varied tasks to transfer and exchange information across health-related stakeholders, settings, and sectors. How effectively they fulfilled their role in facilitating KT processes is unclear; further rigourous research is required to answer this question and discern the potential impact of KBs on education, practice, and policy."

Exploring the function and effectiveness of knowledge brokers as facilitators of knowledge translation in health-related settings: a systematic review and thematic analysis
CC Bornbaum, K Kornas, L Peirson, LC Rosella
Implementation Science, 2015, 10:162

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Thursday 19 November 2015

Intentional whole health system design

"When Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska, assumed responsibility for primary, community and mental health services for Alaska Native people in the mid-1990s, the quality of care and outcomes for the population were among the worst in the United States. Seventeen years later, Southcentral is widely regarded as one of the most successful examples of health system redesign in the United States and internationally. Costs are down and quality is up, with health outcomes among the best in the United States based on a wide range of measures."

Intentional whole health system design: Southcentral Foundation's 'Nuka' system of care
B Collins
The King's Fund
November 2015

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Cancer models and real-world data: Better together

"The pairing of models with such data can create more robust models to not only better inform policy but also inform health care systems about best approaches to improve the provision of cancer screening in the United States."

Cancer models and real-world data: Better together
JJ Kim, et al.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2016, 108(2)

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Wednesday 18 November 2015

Growing healthy communities: The Health and Wellbeing Index

"The purpose of this report is to help stakeholders – NHS providers and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), local authorities, health and social care providers, housing associations, fire authorities and the police – to improve collaboration through a better understanding of the correlation between the economic, social and environmental health determinants and health outcomes within their locality."

Growing healthy communities: The Health and Wellbeing Index
Grant Thornton
October 2015

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An NHS leadership team for the future

"Developing clinicians as the ‘agent for change’ has never been more important. This report seeks to evaluate how the NHS is preparing future clinical leaders for this responsibility. The NHS has access to 50,000 junior doctors who are among the highest performing young people in the country. It is an unparalleled resource in comparison to many corporations and organisations operating in the UK today."

An NHS leadership team for the future
N Ahmed, F Ahmed, H Anis, P Carr, S Gauher, F Rahman
Reform Research Trust
November 2015

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Devolution: what it means for health and social care in England

"Ahead of further devolution deals expected to be announced as part of the Spending Review 2015, this briefing describes the origins of the devolution agenda and charts its progress in relation to health and social care."

Devolution: what it means for health and social care in England
The King's Fund
November 2015

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Place-based systems: A way forward for the NHS in England

"This paper argues that providers of services should establish place-based ‘systems of care’ in which they work together to improve health and care for the populations they serve. This means organisations collaborating to manage the common resources available to them."

Place-based systems: A way forward for the NHS in England
C Ham, H Alderwick
The King's Fund
November 2015

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Better use of care at home

"This quick guide provides case studies, ideas and practical tips to commissioners, health professionals and care providers on how to improve the relationships, processes and use of homecare and housing support to help people home from hospital."

Quick guide: Better use of care at home: Transforming urgent and emergency care in England
NHS England
November 2015

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Models of care for high-need, high-cost patients

"This brief analyzes experts’ reviews of evidence about care models designed to improve outcomes and reduce costs for patients with complex needs. It finds that successful models have several common attributes: targeting patients likely to benefit from the intervention; comprehensively assessing patients’ risks and needs; relying on evidence-based care planning and patient monitoring; promoting patient and family engagement in self-care; coordinating care and communication among patients and providers; facilitating transitions from the hospital and referrals to community resources; and providing appropriate care in accordance with patients’ preferences."

Models of care for high-need, high-cost patients: An evidence synthesis
The Commonwealth Fund
November 2015

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Financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable mental health services

This guide has been written by a group of experts in mental health and sustainability, in consultation with service users and patients, and strengthened by input from a local government and public health perspective. The content is primarily evidence-based but ideas deemed to be best practice by expert consensus have also been included. By the end of this guide, readers should:

  • understand the concept of sustainability in mental health care, and how using
  • this commissioning framework can create sustainable services
  • be aware of the legislation relating to sustainability that the NHS is required
  • to meet
  • understand what sustainable commissioning looks like in practice
  • understand how and why improving the sustainability of mental health interventions will contribute to achieving the aims of both the mental health, public health, NHS, and social care strategies, as well as improving quality and productivity
  • be able to commission sustainable mental health services and interventions.

Guidance for commissioners of financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable mental health services
Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health, Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
October 2015

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Continuous improvement of patient safety

"This report makes the case for changing the way patient safety is approached in the NHS. It argues that change is needed in: how safety is understood, because current approaches to measurement don’t provide the full picture; how safety is improved, because existing approaches alone will not address the most intractable problems; how risk is perceived, because comfort-seeking behaviours will not create a genuine culture of learning."

Continuous improvement of patient safety: The case for change in the NHS
J Illingworth
Health Foundation
November 2015

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On targets: How targets can be most effective in the English NHS

"This report does not set out to determine whether targets, as a concept, are good or bad, but focuses on how targets can be most effective for improving quality of care. It builds on the evidence base regarding the impact of targets to identify good practice in designing new or improved targets, and considers how policymakers can apply these lessons to the challenges facing the NHS."

On targets: How targets can be most effective in the English NHS
N Berry, T Gardner, I Anderson
The Health Foundation
November 2015

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Tax and fiscal options for a sustainable UK health and social care system

"Our analysis suggests that there are challenging times ahead for health care across the UK. The NHS needs to embed and sustain rates of productivity improvement for the foreseeable future in a way that has hitherto proved difficult. Our analysis of the extra funding required would be sufficient to maintain the current service. It would not address known weaknesses in our health care system such as the lack of parity for mental health care."

Filling the gap: Tax and fiscal options for a sustainable UK health and social care system
A Roberts, S Thompson, A Charlesworth, B Gershlick, A Stirling
The Health Foundation
November 2015

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General practice commissioning: in whose interests?

"An investigation into England’s clinical commissioning groups shows that many are commissioning from organisations in which board members are involved."

General practice commissioning: in whose interests?
G Iacobucci
British Medical Journal, 2015, 351:h6000

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Monday 9 November 2015

Do NHS healthcare commissioners produce the outcomes they hope to achieve?

"Commissioners made marginal investments in specific health conditions and services with the aim of improving a wide range of outcomes. There was little evidence of impact on the limited number of outcomes measured."

Do marginal investments made by NHS healthcare commissioners in the UK produce the outcomes they hope to achieve? Observational study
A O'Cathain, F Sampson, M Strong, M Pickin, E Goyder, S Dixon
BMJ Open, 2014, 5:e009336

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Fat chance? Exploring the evidence on who becomes obese

"When 2020health looked at the evidence, we found it wasn’t simply about those who were poor; it was younger, socially deprived women most at risk. Living in an environment that has a high density of fast food outlets, poor pavements, insufficient green space and a perceived fear of crime all correlated with an increase in obesity in girls."

Fat chance? Exploring the evidence on who becomes obese
A Parkhurst
2020health
November 2015

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