Facilitating improvement in primary care

"Practice coaching, also called practice facilitation, assists physician practices with the desire to improve in such areas as patient access, chronic and preventive care, electronic medical record use, patient-centeredness, cultural competence, and team-building."

Facilitating improvement in primary care: the promise of practice coaching
K Grumbach, E Bainbridge, T Bodenheimer
The Commonwealth Fund
June 2012

Read more here.

Putting patients first - the Productive Series

"All of the examples here are real-life improvement initiatives at various stages of development and implementation during 2011."

Putting patients first - the Productive Series
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
March 2012

Read more here.

Listening to children's views on health provision

"The review provides a synthesis of up-to-date evidence on children and young people’s views and experiences of health provision."

Listening to children's views on health provision: a rapid review of the evidence
I La Valle, L Payne, J Gibb, H Jelicic
National Children's Bureau
May 2012

Read more here.

Celebrating early implementer achievements - one year on

This report presents the outcomes of twenty-six Early Implementer Sites (EISs), which were established in March 2011 with the aim of delivering the full health visiting service vision and helping lead a step-change in the way these services are provided across the country.

Celebrating early implementer achievements - one year on
Department of Health
June 2012

Read more here.

Atlas of variations in social care

"The atlas examines initiatives to improve care services including additional funds for social care from the NHS and how this resource is being spent."

An atlas of variations in social care: an analysis of the quality of social care services in England
MHP Health Mandate
June 2012

Read more here.

Economics of ehealth and mhealth

"As a first step to developing the investment case for mHealth, this article outlines some of the key economic and financial questions that need to be answered in developing in-country eHealth investments."

The economics of ehealth and mhealth
J Schweitzer, C Synowiec
Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, 17(sup1):73-81

Read more here.

European database of suspected adverse drug reaction reports

"On this website you can view data on suspected side-effects also know as suspected adverse drug reactions for authorised medicines in the European Economic Area (EEA)."

Access the European database of suspected adverse drug reaction reports.

Effectiveness of booklet based vestibular rehabilitation for chronic dizziness in primary care

"Booklet based vestibular rehabilitation for chronic dizziness is a simple and cost effective means of improving patient reported outcomes in primary care."

Clinical and cost effectiveness of booklet based vestibular rehabilitation for chronic dizziness in primary care: single blind, parallel group, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial
L Yardley, F Barker, I Muller, D Turner, S Kirby, M Mullee, A Morris, P Little
British Medical Journal, 2012, 344:e2237

Read more here.

Dark chocolate consumption as prevention therapy in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease

"Daily dark chocolate consumption could be an effective cardiovascular preventive strategy in this population."

The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of dark chocolate consumption as prevention therapy in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: best case scenario analysis using a Markov model
E Zomer, A Owen, DJ Magliano, D Liew, CM Reid
British Medical Journal, 2012, 344:e3657

Read more here.

Using care bundles to improve health care quality

"This white paper describes the history, theory of change, design concepts, and outcomes associated with the development and use of bundles over the past decade."

Using care bundles to improve health care quality
R Resar, FA Griffin, C Haraden, TW Nolan
IHI Innovation Series white paper
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
May 2012

Read more here. (Free registration required)

Clinicians in management: does it make a difference

"Those NHS hospital trusts with larger proportions of doctors on their boards are also those which are most likely to achieve quality ratings of four, lower morbidity rates (according to Dr Foster) and higher levels of patient satisfaction."

Clinicians in management: does it make a difference
G Veronesi, I Kirkpatrick, F Vallascas
Centre for Innovation in Health Management
Leeds University Business School
May 2012

Read more here.

Pathology services commissioning toolkit

"This toolkit is for commissioning community (i.e. direct access) pathology services to support commissioners who have undertaken a strategic review of their existing services and wish to improve the quality, effectiveness, affordability and value for money of these services, in line with locally determined objectives and priorities."

The pathology services commissioning toolkit
Department of Health
May 2012

Read more here.

Additional supporting material available here.

Knowledge translation of research findings

"In this paper, we have attempted to briefly summarise some of the key concepts and evidence about the effectiveness of knowledge translation activities targeting different stakeholder groups."

Knowledge translation of research findings
JM Grimshaw, MP Eccles, JN Lavis, SJ Hill, JE Squires
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:50

Read more here.

How is the NHS performing?

"This fifth report aims to take stock of what has happened over the past year – the first year of the £20 billion productivity challenge for the NHS – and provide an update on how the NHS is coping as it continues to grapple with this challenge and implement the government’s NHS reforms."

How is the NHS performing? Quarterly monitoring report
The King's Fund
May 2012

Read more here.

Health systems, health, wealth and societal well-being

This book looks at how health systems are part of improving health and achieving better economic growth.

Health systems, health, wealth and societal well-being
Edited by J Figueras, M McKee
May 2012

Read more here.

Quality, innovation and value in cardiac rehabilitation

"This resource will help to guide commissioners and providers through real examples of what works and to save others from reinventing the wheel."

Quality, innovation and value in cardiac rehabilitation: commissioning for improvement
NHS Improvement
May 2012

Read more here.

Patients' preferences matter

"The silent misdiagnosis is a widespread problem in the NHS. While a preference misdiagnosis may be less obvious than a medical misdiagnosis, the consequences for the patient can be just as severe."

Patients' preferences matter: stop the silent misdiagnosis
A Mulley, C Trimble, G Elwyn
The King's Fund
May 2012

Read more here.

Long term conditions compendium of information

"This is the third compendium of information on long term conditions (LTCs) which aims to provide the most up to date data together with a range of case study examples of excellence and innovation from across the country."

Long term conditions compendium of information: third edition
Department of Health
May 2012

Read more here.

Deciphering harm measurement

"Improvement in health care quality and safety can be notable when measurement criteria are clear, evidence is strong, and policy and interventions are focused."

Deciphering harm measurement
G Parry, A Cline, D Goldmann
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2012, 307(2):2155-2156

Read more here.

Using care bundles to improve health care quality

"This white paper describes the history, theory of change, design concepts, and outcomes associated with the development and use of bundles over the past decade."

Using care bundles to improve health care quality
R Resar, FA Griffin, C Haraden, TW Nolan
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
May 2012

Read more here. (Free registration required)

Assessing value in health care programs

"Programs designed to improve health and prevent disease should be evaluated based on whether they improve health at a reasonable price, essentially comparing whether improvements in health are achieved for less resources than through alternatives, eg, expenditures on health care services."

Assessing value in health care programs
KG Volpp, G Loewenstein, DA Asch
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2012, 307(2):2153-2154

Read more here.

The role of the patient in clinical safety

"Staff have to acknowledge the worth of patients’ safety knowledge, their unique contribution, and, where necessary, the need to respond with action."

The role of the patient in clinical safety
R Lawton, G Armitage
The Health Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

Personal accountability in healthcare: searching for the right balance

"In this thought paper, Professor Robert Wachter explores the issue of personal accountability in healthcare and describes how accountability for performance is a key element for a safe system."

Personal accountability in healthcare: searching for the right balance
R Wachter
The Health Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

Proactive approaches to safety management

This paper offers some practical suggestions for proactively managing safety.

Proactive approaches to safety management
E Hollnagel
The Health Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

Reinventing healthcare delivery

"High quality care and great performance involves leaders making problem solving, improvement, and innovation part of the regular routine of daily practice."

Reinventing healthcare delivery
S Spear
The Health Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

How can leaders influence a safety culture?

"The systematic delivery of safe and reliable care requires a safety culture, continuous learning, and improvement."

How can leaders influence a safety culture?
M Leonard, A Frankel
The Health Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS

"We estimate that through better management of people with diabetes, the NHS could save £170 million a year."

The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS
National Audit Office
Department of Health
May 2012

Read more here.

Alive and clicking: information that benefits all

"This paper looks at the costs and benefits of informing and communicating with patients through web and social media platforms versus the costs of not doing so effectively."

Alive and clicking: information that benefits all
NHS Confederation
May 2012

Read more here.

NICE clinical case scenarios

Clinical case scenarios are an educational resource that can be used for individual or group learning. Each question should be considered by the individual or group before referring to the answers.The resource is available in a PDF document for individual learning or as a power point presentation to help facilitate group learning.

Here is a list of clinical case scenarios that are currently available:

• CG108 Chronic heart failure
• CG113 Anxiety
• CG122 Ovarian cancer
• CG123 Common mental health disorders
• CG126 Stable angina: chest pain algorithm
• CG127 Hypertension
• CG131 Colorectal cancer
• CG133 Self-harm (longer-term management) 
• CG135 Organ donation
• CG137 Epilepsy

Reforming social care: options for funding

"This paper examines the current level of funding of social care and the Dilnot Commission’s recommendations and suggests ways of funding a fairer, more sustainable system of social care."

Reforming social care: options for funding
A Charlesworth, R Thorlby
May 2012

Read more here.

A preliminary guide to measuring 'harm free' care

"This guide is designed to provide support in implementing the NHS Safety Thermometer and achieving the 2012/13 CQUIN. It shares learning about the best ways to use the tool and what support is available. It offers technical support in validating data and enables readers to start to understand their data."

Delivering the NHS Safety Thermometer CQUIN 2012/13: a preliminary guide to measuring 'harm free' care
QIPP Safe Care Team
Department of Health
May 2012

Read more here.

Helping hospitals deliver better care: a new toolkit for quality improvement

"The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) contracted with a team of researchers from RAND and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), a large collection of academic medical centers, to develop a toolkit for hospitals to support their quality improvement efforts based on the AHRQ quality indicators."

Helping hospitals deliver better care: a new toolkit for quality improvement
RAND Health
May 2012

Read more here.

Access the toolkit here.

The economic impact of improvements in primary healthcare performance

"Better health outcomes have a positive impact on employment, productivity and economic growth."

The economic impact of improvements in primary healthcare performance
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
May 2012

Read more here.

Health system performance comparison

"International health system performance comparisons have the potential to provide a rich source of evidence as well as policy influence."

Policy summary 4: Health system performance comparison: an agenda for policy, information and research
PC Smith, I Papanicolas
World Health Organization
May 2012

Read more here.

National Diabetes Inpatient Audit 2011

"This year’s audit has demonstrated progress in several areas but also reveals that there is considerably more to be done if the safety and care of people with diabetes in hospital is to be assured."

National Diabetes Inpatient Audit 2011
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, NHS The Information Centre, Diabetes UK
May 2012

Read more here.

How to maintain quality during the transition

"In producing this guide, our aim is not to increase the bureaucratic burden on our staff, but to provide practical support so that people can continue to deliver on their respective accountabilities for quality as we go through this transition."

How to maintain quality during the transition: preparing for handover
National Quality Board
May 2012

Read more here.

Leadership and engagement for improvement in the NHS

"Report from The King's Fund Leadership Review 2012."

Leadership and engagement for improvement in the NHS: together we can
The King's Fund
May 2012

Read more here.

Improving general practice by working differently

"The biggest single challenge for general practices, therefore, is the need to shift from treating episodic illness to working in partnership with patients and other providers to improve health, and treat people in the community more cost-effectively."

Primary care: today and tomorrow: improving general practice by working differently
Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
May 2012

Read more here.

Effectiveness of organizational interventions to reduce emergency department utilization

"The evidence suggests that interventions aimed at increasing primary care accessibility and ED cost-sharing are effective in reducing ED use."

Effectiveness of organizational interventions to reduce emergency department utilization: a systematic review
G Flores-Mateo, C Violan-Fors, P Carrillo-Santisteve, S Peiro, J-M Argimon
PLoS One, 2nd May 2012

Read more here.

Smart Guides to Engagement - more guides added

Three more guides have been added to the Smart Guides to Engagement series. Visit the original post to access the new guides.

Sharing commissioning experiences

“Right Care enables sharing of good practice by compiling local examples of commissioning work, which demonstrate the philosophy behind Right Care or showcases the tools available through the programme.”

Sharing commissioning experiences: The Right Care Casebook Series: Volume 2
NHS Right Care
March 2012

Read more here.

Improving general practice by working differently

"The focus of this report is on the general practice as a provider of primary care services, and while it is based on the English NHS, many of the solutions could apply equally to general practice in the rest of the United Kingdom."

Primary Care: Today and Tomorrow - Improving general practice by working differently
Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
May 2012

Read more here.

Sustainable health and social care

"This briefing provides a summary guide for busy commissioners and health and wellbeing board members."

Sustainable health and social care: a briefing for commissioners and health and wellbeing boards
Social Care Institute for Excellence
May 2012

Read more here.

An outcomes strategy for COPD and asthma

"The Outcomes Strategy for COPD and Asthma showed the Government’s commitment to improving services for people with respiratory disease, as well as providing high-quality care that is safe, effective and responsive to the needs of individuals in streamlined services delivered closer to home.
This NHS Companion Document is a key part of the suite of tools and resources planned to help support different parts of the system implement the Outcomes Strategy."

An outcomes strategy for COPD and asthma: NHS companion document
Department of Health
May 2012

Read the outcomes strategy here and the companion document here.

Factors that promote and hinder joint and integrated working between health and social care services

"This is an update of a previous systematic review on the factors that promote and hinder joint working between health and social care services."

Factors that promote and hinder joint and integrated working between health and social care services
A Cameron, R Lart, L Bostock, C Coomber
Social Care Institute for Excellence
April 2012

Read more here.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis management

"This report aims to inform the development of quality indicators for postmenopausal osteoporosis management through:
(a) assessing the evidence for screening and diagnosis of osteoporosis and related risk factors, and for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures;
(b) describing current practice for managing postmenopausal osteoporosis in Europe; and
(c) highlighting existing gaps in the evidence base and management practices in Europe."

Postmenopausal osteoporosis management: a review of the evidence to inform the development of quality indicators
A Conklin, O Yaqub, C Celia, E Nolte
RAND Europe
April 2012

Read more here.

What we know so far...the NHS Commissioning Board

"This briefing note describes the new NHS Commissioning Board, identifying uncertainties that remain around implementation and where proposals will be further developed through secondary legislation and guidance."

What we know so far...the NHS Commissioning Board
British Medical Association
April 2012

Read more here.

New intelligence on end of life care in England

"The information contained within this report provides a great opportunity and lever for change and should be used to help identify where to channel our efforts most effectively over the coming years."

What do we know now that we didn't know a year ago? New intelligence on end of life care in England
NHS National End of Life Care Programme
May 2012

Read more here.

Effect of Clinical Decision-Support Systems (CDSS)

"Both commercially and locally developed CDSSs are effective at improving health care process measures across diverse settings, but evidence for clinical, economic, workload, and efficiency outcomes remains sparse."

Effect of Clinical Decision-Support Systems: a systematic review
TJ Bright, et al.
Annals of Internal Medicine, 23 April 2012

Read more here.

Evaluation of the national Cleanyourhands campaign to reduce infection in hospitals

"The Cleanyourhands campaign was associated with sustained increases in hospital procurement of alcohol rub and soap, which the results suggest has an important role in reducing rates of some healthcare associated infections."

Evaluation of the national Cleanyourhands campaign to reduce Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile infection in hospitals in England and Wales by improved hand hygiene: four year, prospective, ecological, interrupted time series study
SP Stone, C Fuller, J Savage, B Cookson, A Hayward, B Cooper, G Duckworth, S Michie, M Murray, A Jeanes, J Roberts, L Teare, A Charlett
British Medical Journal, 2012, 344:e3005

Read more here.

Commissioning Support Bulletin

The NHS Commissioning Board Authority now produces the Commissioning Support Bulletin, aimed at sharing ideas and information about the development of commissioning support services (CSS) in the Board Authority.

Read the first issue here.

Thinking about rationining

"The aim of this discussion paper is to give the reader an understanding of the issues involved in rationing in the evolving context of the contemporary NHS in England."

Thinking about rationining
R Klein, J Maybin
The King's Fund
May 2012

Read more here.

Investigating the prevalence and causes of prescribing errors in general practice

"Strategies for reducing the prevalence of error should focus on GP training, continuing professional development for GPs, clinical governance, effective use of clinical computer systems, and improving safety systems within general practices and at the interface with secondary care."

Investigating the prevalence and causes of prescribing errors in general practice: the PRACtICe Study (PRevalence And Causes of prescrIbing errors in general practiCe): a report for the GMC
General Medical Council
May 2012

Read more here.

Fulfilling the potential: a better journey for patients and a better deal for the NHS

"The future delivery of medical care will need to focus, not only on the development of innovative treatments, but on reducing the levels of stress associated with the delivery of in-patient care."

Fulfilling the potential: a better journey for patients and a better deal for the NHS
NHS Enhanced Recovery Partnership
NHS Improvement
April 2012

Read more here.

An international comparison of supply, utilization, prices, and quality

"This analysis uses data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other sources to compare health care spending, supply, utilization, prices, and quality in 13 industrialized countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States."

Explaining high health care spending in the United States: an international comparison of supply, utilization, prices, and quality
DA Squires
Issues in International Health Policy
The Commonwealth Fund
May 2012

Read more here.

Acute medical care for frail older people

"Geriatricians supporting acute medical units will be able to help to identify older people who may be safely managed in the community, probably improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital bed-days."

Acute care toolkit 3: Acute medical care for frail older people
Royal College of Physicians
March 2012

Read more here.

Involving primary care clinicians in quality improvement

This report provides a candid critique of quality improvement approaches and evaluation methods.

Involving primary care clinicians in quality improvement
T Ling, B Soper, M Buxton, S Hanney, W Oortwijn, A Scoggins, N Steel
The Health Foundation
April 2012

Read more here.

Co-creating health: evaluation of first phase

"The first phase of the Co-creating Health improvement programme was a three year initiative in eight sites across the UK that aimed to demonstrate the impact, on clinicians and patients alike, of integrating self-management support into routine care for people with long-term conditions."

Co-creating health: evaluation of first phase
LM Wallace, A Turner, J Kosmala-Anderson, S Sharma, J Jesuthasan, C Bourne, A Realpe
The Health Foundation
April 2012

The performance improvement imperative

"Improving care for the chronically ill is just one of many steps required to lower national health spending and bring about the dramatic change needed in the way health care is organized and provided."

The performance improvement imperative: utilizing a coordinated, community-based approach to enhance care and lower costs for chronically ill patients
The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System
April 2012

Read more here.

Intentional rounding: what is the evidence?

"The available evidence suggests that intentional rounding can help staff to organise their workload and provide more systematic reliable care."

Intentional rounding: what is the evidence?
Policy +
King's College, London
April 2012

Read more here.

NICE guideline: Patient experience in adult NHS services

"This clinical guidance offers evidence-based advice on ensuring a good experience of care for people who use adult NHS services."

Patient experience in adult NHS services: improving the experience of care for people using adult NHS services: CG138
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
February 2012

Read more here.

NICE guideline update: Infection control in primary and community care

"This clinical guideline (published March 2012) updates and replaces NICE clinical guideline 2 (published June 2003)."

Infection: prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care: CG139
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
March 2012

Read more here.

The barriers and facilitators to routine outcome measurement by allied health professionals in practice

"Routine outcome measurement may only be deliverable if appropriate action is taken at individual therapist, team, and organisational levels of an organisation."

The barriers and facilitators to routine outcome measurement by allied health professionals in practice: a systematic review
EAS Duncan, J Murray
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:96

Read more here.

Health care leader action guide to effectively using HCAHPS

"HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems data) is a tool that can be used to help organizations improve the patient experience, and may have a related effect on clinical quality."

Health care leader action guide to effectively using HCAHPS
Health Research and Educational Trust
March 2012

Read more here.

Smart guides to engagement

These seven guides are the first in a series of ten Smart Guides to Engagement, and they have been co-produced by Patient and Public Engagement experts from several organisations with support from the Department of Health:

1. Get smart about engagement
2. Engagement for commissioning success
3. Working with lay members and patient representatives
4. Working with LINks and local HealthWatch
5. Practices and patient engagement
6. Listening, learning and responding
7. Community development - improving population health

Investing in emotional and psychological wellbeing for patients with long-term conditions

"This report brings together the evidence across diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease, plus medically unexplained symptoms, to present a business case for investing in psychological services."

Investing in emotional and psychological wellbeing for patients with long-term conditions
Mental Health Network - NHS Confederation
April 2012

Read more here.

"NHS Confederation summarises the new Mental Health Network report, and describes how primary and secondary health services can improve patient outcomes, while reducing the overall costs of care for the NHS."

Read a summary here.

Emergency hospital admissions for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions

"This data briefing aims to highlight for commissioners the opportunity for improving the quality of care and saving costs that reducing emergency hospital admissions for ACSCs presents."

Data briefing: Emergency hospital admissions for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions: identifying the potential for reductions
Y Tian, A Dixon, H Gao
The King's Fund
April 2012

Read more here.

Continuity of care for older hospital patients

"This exploratory paper draws attention to an overlooked but important topic: the contribution that continuity of care makes to the quality of care experienced in hospital by patients with multiple health problems aged 70 years and older, and also how it affects the experience of the people closest to them."

Continuity of care for older hospital patients: a call for action
J Cornwell, R Levenson, L Sonola, E Potellakhoff
The King's Fund
March 2012

Read more here.

The care of frail older people with complex needs

"The summit recommends that excellence in the care of frail older people should be a priority for health and social care services, with the concept of human rights a standard point of reference."

The care of frail older people with complex needs: time for a revolution: The Sir Roger Bannister Health Summit
J Cornwell
The King's Fund
March 2012

Read more here.

Overcoming challenges to improving quality

"Within three main themes, The Health Foundation has identified 10 challenges to improvement that consistently emerge, and have suggested ways to overcome them."

Overcoming challenges to improving quality: Lessons from the Health Foundation's improvement programme evaluations and relevant literature
The Health Foundation
April 2012

Read more here.

Beyond consultation: a guide for health commissioners

"This guide suggests different and practical ways for health commissioners to encourage real engagement between service users and staff so that health services can adequately address the needs of seldom-heard groups."

Beyond consultation: a guide for health commissioners: How staff and service users can work together to improve health services
R Vincent, C Miskelly
Panos London and Naz Project
March 2012

Read more here.

Creating a culture of sustainability

"Sustainability offers a way to connect employers with their employees and communities in a powerful way."

Creating a culture of sustainability: leadership, coordination and performance measurement decisions in healthcare
T Boone
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health
April 2012

Read more here.

Dementia: a public health priority

"The report provides the knowledge base for a global and national response to facilitate governments, policy-makers, and other stakeholders to address the impact of dementia as an increasing threat to global health."

Dementia: a public health priority
Alzheimer's Disease International, World Health Organization
March 2012

Read more here.

Improving adult asthma care

"The aim of the NHS Improvement - Lung asthma work stream is to test which interventions have the biggest impact on patient outcomes and experience."

Improving adult asthma care: emerging learning from the national improvement projects
NHS Improvement - Lung National Improvement Projects
March 2012

Read more here.

International perspectives on patient engagement

"Across countries,engaged patients reported receiving higher-quality care, fewer errors, and more positive views of the health system."

International perspectives on patient engagement: results from the 2011 Commonwealth Fund Survey
R Osborn, D Squires
Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 2012, 35(2):118-128

Read more here.

Quality accounts: 2011/12 audit guidance

"Guidance for NHS trusts on additional reporting requirements to support external audit of Quality Accounts for the year 2011/12."

Quality accounts: 2011/12 audit guidance
Department of Health
April 2012

Read more here and access the accompanying toolkit here.

Uncovering middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation

"As middle managers’ responsibility in healthcare organizations increases, their potential influence over innovation implementation grows."

Uncovering middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation
SA Birken, SYD Lee, BJ Weiner
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:28

Read more here.

Knowledge management practices and healthcare delivery

"Being a knowledge driven process, healthcare delivery provides opportunity to incorporate knowledge management practices to improve processes."

Knowledge management practices and healthcare delivery: a contingency framework
P Bordoloi, N Islam
Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 2012, 10(1)

Read more here.

Incentive payments are not related to expected health gain in the pay for performance scheme for UK primary care

"When designing pay for performance programmes decisions about the size of the financial incentive attached to an indicator should be informed by information on the health gain to be expected from that indicator."

Incentive payments are not related to expected health gain in the pay for performance scheme for UK primary care: cross-sectional analysis
R Fleetcroft, N Steel, R Cookson, S Walker, A Howe
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:94

Read more here.

Levels of harm in primary care

"This research scan found that about 1–2% of primary care consultations may include adverse events, with the most common errors relating to medication and communication."


Evidence scan: levels of harm in primary care
The Health Foundation
November 2011

Read more here.

Management roles in innovative technology implementation: a healthcare perspective

"In a healthcare empirical context, we show that lack of top management vision and coordination leads to local units that are excessively autonomous in some respects, hindering knowledge and information transfer within the organisation."

Management roles in innovative technology implementation: a healthcare perspective
Centre for Strategic Innovation Research Electronic Working Paper Series: Paper no. 2012/2
Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden
2012

Read more here.

Personalised medicine in European hospitals

"Personalised medicine aims to provide the timely, precise, personalised diagnosis and treatment of patients, with a particular emphasis on wellness and disease prevention."

Personalised medicine in European hospitals
Price Waterhouse Cooper, European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE)
February 2012

Read more here.

Effective pathways for long term conditions

"There is a need to shift from an organisational model of delivery to a pathway approach which focuses on the needs of individual patients."

Effective pathways for long term conditions
NHS Improvement
April 2012

Read more here.

Developing and validating disease management evaluation methods for European healthcare systems

"We reviewed the policy context for, and approaches to, chronic disease management in 13 European countries."

DISMEVAL: Developing and validating disease management evaluation methods for European healthcare systems: final report
E Nolte, S Hinrichs
RAND Europe
April 2012

Read more here.

An accompanying document for users and funders is available here.

Weekend admission to hospital has a higher risk of death in the elective setting than in the emergency setting

"Weekend admission appears to be an independent risk factor for dying in hospital and this risk is more pronounced in the elective setting."

Weekend admission to hospital has a higher risk of death in the elective setting than in the emergency setting: A retrospective database study of national health service hospitals in England
MA Mohammed, KS Sidhu, G Rudge, AJ Stevens
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:87

Read more here.

Get e-QIPP-ed for neurology

"This booklet illustrates examples of innovative service delivery, prevention of unnecessary interventions, and initiatives that simultaneously improve service efficiency and cost effectiveness alongside quality of patient care."

Get e-QIPP-ed for neurology: positive practice in service redesign
Neurological Commissioning Support Limited
March 2012

Read more here.

Productivity of the English National Health Service 2003-4 to 2009-10

"Over the full period considered we find that increases in inputs have been matched closely by increases in output."

Productivity of the English National Health Service 2003-4 to 2009-10: CHE Research Paper 76
C Bojke, A Castelli, R Goudie, A Street, P Ward
Centre for Health Economics
University of York
March 2012

Read more here.

Reducing prescribing errors

"The scan provides a rapid collation of empirical research about initiatives to reduce prescribing errors."

Evidence scan: reducing prescribing errors
Health Foundation
March 2012

Read more here.

NHS Performance Framework: implementation guidance

"The NHS Performance Framework sets out the Department's approach to identifying underperforming NHS organisations and stipulates when intervention should occur in such organisations."

NHS Performance Framework: implementation guidance
Department of Health
April 2012

Read the full document here together with accompanying documents.

Uncovering middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation

"Because middle managers oversee these team initiatives, their potential to influence innovation implementation has grown."

Uncovering middle managers' role in healthcare innovation implementation
SA Birken, S-Y Daniel Lee, BJ Weiner
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:28

Read more here.

Caring for our future: what service users say

"The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) commissioned this paper as part of its programme on paying for long-term care, which aims to influence the funding and creation of a better system for adult social care in the UK."

Caring for our future: what service users say
P Beresford, E Andrews
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
March 2012
Read more here.

Cholecystectomy services redesign: reducing length of stay in hospital

"The benefit of reducing the length of stay by 1 day for patients undergoing laparascopic cholecystectomy saves more than 17,000 bed days across the NHS."

Cholecystectomy services redesign: reducing length of stay in hospital
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
March 2012

Read more here.

Improving safety in maternity services

Improving safety in maternity services: a toolkit for teams, has been developed by Vinice Thomas and Anna Dixon at The King's Fund, and is organised around five key areas for improvement in maternity care on which the teams focused:

• teamworking
• communication
• training
• information and guidance
• staffing and leadership

Infection: prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care

"Patient safety has become a cornerstone of care, and preventing healthcare-associated infections remains a priority."

Infection: prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care
NICE clinical guideline 139
March 2012

Read more here.

Health and Social Care Bill

"This briefing focuses on several major amendments agreed during the Lords’ report stage relating to ministerial responsibility for the NHS, economic regulation and CCG conflicts of interest."

Parliamentary briefing: Health and Social Care Bill: Commons' consideration of Lords amendments
Nuffield Trust
March 2012

Read more here.

Producing synergy in collaborations

"This paper describes a Norwegian hospital’s nutrition innovation that enhanced collaboration across and within the hospital hierarchy."

Producing synergy in collaborations: a successful hospital innovation
L Corwin, JH Corbin, MB Mittelmark
The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 2012, 17(1):5

Read more here.

Guideline-based development of quality indicators

"For the efficient development of high-quality quality indicators, rigorous, approved, and evidence-based development methods are needed."

Methods for the guideline-based development of quality indicators - a systematic review
T Kotter, E Blozik, M Scherer
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:21

Read more here.

Putting people first through shared decision-making and collective involvement

"This paper explores what it really means to put people first when commissioning and providing services, and sets out what we know about the benefits."

Putting people first through shared decision-making and collective involvement
NHS Confederation
March 2012

Read more here.

Self-management of diabetes in hospital

"The aim of the document is to improve the safety of the in hospital management of diabetes."

Self-management of diabetes in hospital
Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care Group
March 2012

Read more here.

Assessing how much confidence to place in the research evidence

In the third paper in a three-part series on health systems guidance, Simon Lewin and colleagues explore the importance of assessing how much confidence to place in different types of research evidence with regards to informing judgements regarding policy options to address health systems problems.

Guidance for evidence-informed policies about health systems: Assessing how much confidence to place in the research evidence
S Lewin, et al.
PLoS Medicine, 9(3):e1001187

Read more here.

National evaluation of the Department of Health's integrated care pilots

"This report is the final output of a two-year, real-time evaluation of the Department of Health (DH) Integrated Care Pilots (ICPs)."

National evaluation of the Department of Health's integrated care pilots
RAND Europe, Ernst & Young LLP
March 2012

Read more here.

Sustainable health and social care

"Evidence suggests that adopting various measures could generate considerable cost savings for the health and social care sector, as well as reducing its environmental impacts."

Sustainable health and social care: connecting environmental and financial performance
C Naylor, J Appleby
The King's Fund
March 2012

Read more here.

Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care

"Improvement of hospital work environments might be a relatively low cost strategy to improve safety and quality in hospital care and to increase patient satisfaction."

Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care: cross sectional surveys of nurses and patients in 12 countries in Europe and the United States
LH Aiken, et al
British Medical Journal, 2012, 344:e1717

Read more here.

Allied Health Professionals' QIPP Toolkits

"The Strategic Health Authority Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Leads for England have worked with NHS London to compile AHP QIPP Toolkits, designed to help commissioners design services that are of high quality whilst reducing cost."

Access the toolkits below:

• AHP Stroke Toolkit
• AHP Oral Nutritional Support Toolkit
• AHP Musculoskeletal Care Toolkit
• AHP Cancer Toolkit
• AHP Diabetes Toolkit

How quality improvement collaboratives shape practice change

"QICs offer a potentially powerful way of disseminating health care innovations through enhanced strategies for learning and change."

More black box to explore: How quality improvement collaboratives shape practice change
EK Shaw, SM Chase, J Howard, PA Nutting, BF Crabtree
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 25(2):149-157

Read more here.

Appropriate use of screening and diagnostic tests to foster high-value, cost-conscious care

"The overuse of some screening and diagnostic tests is an important component of unnecessary health care costs."

Appropriate use of screening and diagnostic tests to foster high-value, cost-conscious care
A Qaseem, et al.
Annals of Internal Medicine, 156(2):147-149

Read more here.

Bringing networks to life

"This document aims to help all paediatricians across the UK contribute to the development of effective networked care and thus deliver the highest quality care to their patients."

Bringing networks to life: an RCPCH guide to implementing clinical networks
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
March 2012

Read more here.

Rationale for and challenges of guidance development

"This is one paper in a three-part series that sets out how evidence should be translated into guidance to inform policies on health systems and improve the delivery of clinical and public health interventions."

Guidance for evidence-informed policies about health systems: rationale for and challenges of guidance development
X Bosch-Capblanch, et al.
PLoS Medicine, 2012, 9(3):e1001185

Read more here.

Linking guidance development to policy development

"In the second paper in a three-part series on health systems guidance, John Lavis and colleagues explore the challenge of linking guidance development and policy development at global and national levels."

Guidance for evidence-informed policies about health systems: linking guidance development to policy development
JN Lavis, et al.
PLoS Medicine, 2012, 9(3):e1001186

Read more here.

Scorecard on local health system performance

"The first-ever Scorecard on Local Health System Performance provides U.S. communities with comparative data to assess the performance of their health care systems, establish priorities for improvement, and set achievement targets."

Rising to the challenge: results from a scorecard on local health system performance
The Commonwealth Fund
March 2012

Read more here.

An economic case for involvement

"Meaningful involvement and shared decision making with patients and the public is a key enabler to improvements in quality, innovation, productivity and performance."

An economic case for involvement
InHealth Associates, Frontline, Department of Health
March 2012

Read more here.

Access the free decision support tool here.

Health policy and systems research

"The Reader provides guidance on the defining features of HPSR and the critical steps in conducting research in this field."

Health policy and systems research: A methodology
Edited by Lucy Gilson
Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization
2012

Read more here.

Paving the way

"High quality education and learning are critical to the delivery of excellence in health and social care, and this is now seen as a core part of NHS business."

Paving the way
Royal Society for Public Health
January 2012

Read more here.

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare for Children and Young Adults

"For the first time, variations across the breadth of child health services provided by NHS England are presented together to allow clinicians, commissioners and service users to identify priority areas for improving outcome, quality and productivity."

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare for Children and Young Adults
Right Care Programme, in collaboration with the Child and Maternal Health Observatory
March 2012

Find out more here.

Access the online version here.

Opening up healthcare innovation

"Innovative solutions for a 21st century healthcare system."

Opening up healthcare innovation
J Bessant, C Kunne, K Moslein
Advanced Institute of Management Research
February 2012

Read more here.

Personal experiences, public value: changing relationships in the NHS

"Intended to stimulate discussion, this paper is the first in a series looking at interactions between the NHS, individuals and communities. A further four papers in the run up to the 2012 NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition will explore:

• putting people first through shared decision-making
• information and the power paradigm
• micro-enterprises and building community assets
• building social value within the system and society."

An uneasy consensus: patients, citizens and the NHS: Paper 1: Personal experiences, public value: changing relationships in the NHS
NHS Confederation
February 2012
Read more here.

Updated guidance on the diagnosis and reporting of Clostridium Difficile

"This revised guidance to healthcare providers identifies which two types of tests, which when used in combination, will deliver the most accurate results for C. difficile infection testing."

Updated guidance on the diagnosis and reporting of Clostridium Difficile
Department of Health
March 2012

Read more here.

Review of the evidence on falls prevention in hospitals

"To facilitate the development of a hospital falls prevention resource guide, we systematically reviewed and documented the existing evidence base for interventions to prevent falls in hospitals, provided an overview of the performance of existing tools with known measurement properties, and compiled available online resources."

Review of the evidence on falls prevention in hospitals: task 4 final report
S Hempel, S Newberry, Z Wang, PG Shekelle, R Shanman, B Johnsen, T Perry, D Saliba, DA Ganz
February 2012

Read more here.

'Harm free' care

This initiative is the national roll out of the pilot Safety Express QIPP programme. 'Harm free' care is defined by the absence of pressure ulcers, falls, urinary catheters, and venous thromboembolism, and this collection of resources and case studies has been developed to reduce these incidents.

Find out more and access all the resources here.

eLearning resources to improve patient care

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has formed a joint venture with Virtual College to develop the Productives e-learning suite. This suite is designed for staff, team leaders, programme managers and leaders to help them use The Productive Series: Releasing Time to Care (TM) programme. Read more here.

eLearning for Healthcare has developed "e-learning for Harm Free Care", an online educational resource designed to support frontline teams in delivering harm free care, as defined by an absence of four common harms: pressure ulcers, harm from falls, catheter acquired urinary tract infections (CaUTI) and venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Find out more here.

NHS Better Care, Better Value Indicators

Better Care Better Value indicators identify potential areas for improvement in efficiency, which may include commissioners re-designing and shifting services away from the traditional setting of the hospital and out towards community based care.

View the indicators here.

Medical Leadership Competency Framework - self-assessment tool

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has developed a new version of the self assessment tool, which is linked to the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF), for doctors and medical students to review their leadership skills.

Access the tool here.

Transforming end of life care in acute hospitals

"This 'how to' guide aims to help clinicians, managers and directors implement The route to success in end of life care more effectively, drawing on valuable learning from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement's Productive Ward: Releasing time to care (TM) series."

Transforming end of life care in acute hospitals: the route to success 'how to' guide
National End of Life Care Programme
February 2012

Read more here.

Healthy competition

"This report presents ten case studies of successful health reform. Each case study shows how a radical change in the delivery of healthcare can result in improved quality and productivity."

Healthy competition
T Cawston, A Haldenby, N Seddon
Reform
February 2012

Read more here.

King's Fund Briefing: Health and Social Care Bill

"This briefing focuses on the implications of the Health and Social Care Bill for service reconfigurations and for the failure regime for providers that are financially unsustainable."

King's Fund Briefing: Health and Social Care Bill
The King's Fund
February 2012

Read more here.

Developing excellence in cancer networks

"The ultimate role of cancer networks should be to support commissioners and providers to drive up improvements in outcomes and experiences for cancer patients in their area."

Developing excellence in cancer networks: a report from the Cancer Campaigning Group
Cancer Campaigning Group
February 2012

Read more here.

Shared decision making - the pinnacle of patient-centred care

"If we can view the health care experience through the patient's eyes, we will become more responsive to patients' needs and, thereby, better clinicians."

Shared decision making - the pinnacle of patient-centred care
MJ Barry, S Edgman-Levitan
New England Journal of Medicine, 2012, 366:780-781

Read more here.

Use of decision technologies in health care

These two audio slideshows are produced by the Nuffield Trust. They explain how decision technologies can be used in the NHS to help patients, clinicians, managers and commissioners make more informed decisions, and explore some of the existing applications of decision technologies in the health service.

• Listen to audio slideshow 1.
• Listen to audio slideshow 2.

Rationing health care

"The report therefore makes a number of recommendations for changes that could be made to improve the way the NHS benefits package is shaped, without going as far as specifying a national set of NHS-funded services."

Rationing health care
B Rumbold, V Alakeson, PC Smith
Nuffield Trust
February 2012

Read more here.

How does lean work in emergency care?

"Improvements in waiting and lead times (19-24%) were achieved and sustained in the two years following lean-inspired changes to employee roles, staffing and scheduling, communication and coordination, expertise, workspace layout, and problem solving."

How does lean work in emergency care? A case study of a lean-inspired intervention at the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
P Mazzocato, RJ Holden, M Brommels, H Aronsson, U Backman, M Elg, J Thor
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:28

Read more here.

Leading the way to shared decision making

"The critical steps for the NHS Commissioning Board to make 'no decision about me, without me' a reality."

Leading the way to shared decision making: summit report
The Health Foundation
February 2012

Read more here.

Critical success factors that enable individuals to die in their preferred place of death

"The main aim of this work was to try to identify the factors that influenced increases in numbers of people being able to die in their preferred place of death, which can largely be assumed to be outside of acute hospital settings, but is not always."

Critical success factors that enable individuals to die in their preferred place of death
National End of Life Care Programme
February 2012

Read more here.

Quality standard for patient experience in adult NHS services

"The aim of this quality standard is to provide the NHS with clear commissioning guidance on the components of a good patient experience."

Quality standard for patient experience in adult NHS services
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
February 2012

Read more here.

Delivering the NHS Foundation Trust pipeline: single operating model

"This document describes the first element of the Single Operating Model (SOM) that the four Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Clusters will adopt from early 2012."

Delivering the NHS Foundation Trust pipeline: single operating model: Part 1: SHA development and FT assurance
Department of Health
February 2012

Read more here.

Delivering the Information Revolution

"A framework for delivering the Information Revolution."

Delivering the Information Revolution: from vision to reality
SK Patel, S Ash
Public Sector Research Centre
Price Waterhouse Coopers
November 2011

Read more here.

Does competition improve public hospitals' efficiency?

"Our results suggest that competition between public providers prompted public hospitals to improve their productivity by decreasing their pre-surgery, overall and post-surgery length of stay."

Does competition improve public hospitals' efficiency? Evidence from a quasi-experiment in the English National Health Service
Z Cooper, S Gibbons, S Jones, A McGuire
Centre for Economic Performance
February 2012

Read more here.

New organisational models for delivering health and social care

"This briefing paper pulls together information on the development of employee ownership and social enterprises in health and social care and has been produced as part of the Health and Social Care Partnership South East’s work programme."

New organisational models for delivering health and social care: briefing paper
Health and Social Care Partnership South East
February 2012

Read more here.

The cost of satisfaction

"In a nationally representative sample, higher patient satisfaction was associated with less emergency department use but with greater inpatient use, higher overall health care and prescription drug expenditures, and increased mortality."

The cost of satisfaction: a national study of patient satisfaction, health care utilization, expenditures, and mortality
JJ Fenton, AF Jerant, KD Bertakis, P Franks
Archives of Internal Medicine, Online First, 13th February 2012

Read more here.

Effectiveness and safety of emergency department short stay units

"Limited evidence from 1 systematic review indicates that SSUs may lead to improved patient satisfaction in specific clinical contexts."

The effectiveness and safety of emergency department short stay units: a rapid review
KJ Konnyu, E Kwok, B Skidmore, D Moher
Open Medicine, 2012, 6(1):e10

Read more here.

Health and Social Care Bill explained

The Department of Health has published a series of factsheets on the Health and Social Care Bill to explain particular topics contained in the Bill, including its key themes.

Access the factsheets here.

Guide to commissioning for maximum value

"This guide is for people involved at all stages in commissioning public services in all public bodies."

Guide to commissioning for maximum value
Local Government Association
January 2012

Read more here.

Health IT and patient safety

"Health IT is playing an ever-larger role in the care of patients, and some components of health IT have significantly improved the quality of health care and reduced medical errors."

Health IT and patient safety: building safer systems for better care
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
National Academies Press
February 2012

Read more here - free registration required to download the PDF version of this document.

Safeguarding and quality in commissioning care homes

"The government have identified six guiding principles on safeguarding which seek to increase the protection for those most at risk in society."

Safeguarding and quality in commissioning care homes
Social Care Institute for Excellence
February 2012

Read more here.

Transforming patient experience

"This guide is for anyone with designated responsibility for improving patient experience – either as a provider of services, or as a commissioner."

Transforming patient experience: the essential guide
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
February 2012

Read more here.

Cost of co-morbidities

"Developing more integrated support for people with mental and physical health problems could improve outcomes and play a significant part in helping the NHS meet the QIPP challenge."

Long-term conditions and mental health: the cost of co-morbidities
C Naylor, M Parsonage, D McDaid, M Knapp, M Fossey, A Galea
The King's Fund
February 2012

Read more here.

Deprivation and death: variation in place and cause of death

"The report adds to the evidence base for commissioners and providers of end of life care to use in planning services and tackling inequalities."

Deprivation and death: variation in place and cause of death
National End of Life Care Programme
February 2012

Read more here.

Guidance for commissioners of primary mental health care services

"Mental health problems should be managed mainly in primary care by the primary health care team working collaboratively with other services, with access to specialist expertise and to a range of secondary care services as required."

Guidance for commissioners of primary mental health care services: volume 2: practical mental health commissioning
Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health
February 2012

Read more here.

Guidance for commissioners of dementia service

"Specialist dementia services support people during particular phases of their illness, including at diagnosis, during a stay in an acute general hospital, or when they are experiencing behavioural or psychosocial problems that require expertise beyond that normally provided by the primary care team."

Guidance for commissioners of dementia service: volume 2: practical mental health commissioning
Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health
February 2012

Read more here.

Guidance for commissioners of liaison mental health services to acute hospitals

"Commissioning of acute liaison services should be universally included in contracts for the provision of acute hospital services and concord to standards set by professional and regulatory authorities."

Guidance for commissioners of liaison mental health services to acute hospitals: volume 2: practical mental health commissioning
Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health
February 2012

Read more here.

Guidance for commissioners of mental health services for young people making the transition from child and adolescent to adult services

"Commissioners must work with public health colleagues to ensure that the needs of young people with mental health problems, including those young people whose needs are primarily met within education, social care and nonstatutory agencies and young people in contact with the criminal justice system, are identified in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)."

Guidance for commissioners of mental health services for young people making the transition from child and adolescent to adult services: volume 2: practical mental health commissioning
Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health
February 2012

Read more here.

National Inquiry into Organisational Ethical Decision Making in the NHS

"This report identifies, and seeks to begin to address, a need for greater attention to be paid to ethical decision-making in NHS trusts."

National Inquiry into Organisational Ethical Decision Making in the NHS
Centre for Innovation in Health Management, University of Leeds
February 2012

Read more here.

Paying for quality

"Commissioners and providers should use CQUINs to prioritise improvements in care for conditions with rapidly increasing prevalence and cost such as dementia."

Paying for quality: an analysis of the impact of the 2010/11 Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme in London
MHP Health Mandate
February 2012

Read more here.

Better value for money in healthcare

"The United Kingdom appears to have controlled healthcare costs much more effectively than Canada, without significantly reducing the quality of care."

Better value for money in healthcare: European lessons for Canada
A Blomqvist, C Busby
C.D. Howe Institute
January 2012

Read more here.

Webinar: The social imperative to demonstrate that better care = lower costs

9th February 2012 - 7pm-8pm GMT (2pm-3pm Eastern Time USA) - PLEASE CONFIRM TIME

Speakers:

• Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, Former Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Former President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
• Gerard M. Shea, Assistant to the President for External Affairs, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

This webinar is provided by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in America. Find out more and register here.

Improving health and social care in London

"A strong emphasis of the government’s health and social care reforms has been on supporting integration across health, public health, social care and other support."

Improving health and social care in London: supporting integrated commissioning
London Councils
January 2012

Read more here.

Personal health budgets and NHS continuing healthcare

"A personal health budget is an amount of money that is allocated to an individual to allow them to meet their health and wellbeing needs in a way that best suits them."

Personal health budgets and NHS continuing healthcare
Department of Health
January 2012

Read more here.

Competition in the NHS

"The NHS is far from being a competition-free zone, but the extent of competition remains confined to a minority of the services provided to NHS patients."

Competition in the NHS
Office of Health Economics Commission
January 2012

Read more here.

Emergency day surgery: Improving productivity and reducing bed days

"QIPP Evidence provides users with practical case studies that address the quality and productivity challenge in health and social care."

Emergency day surgery: Improving productivity and reducing bed days
NHS Evidence - Quality and Productivity: proposed case study
Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
January 2012

Read more here.

Cost reduction in central government

"Despite the short timescale, departments successfully managed within their reduced spending allocations for 2010-11."

Cost reduction in central government: summary of progress
Cabinet Office and HM Treasury
February 2012

Read more here.

How does lean work in emergency care?

"Improvements in waiting and lead times (19-24%) were achieved and sustained in the two years following lean-inspired changes to employee roles, staffing and scheduling, communication and coordination, expertise, workspace layout, and problem solving."

How does lean work in emergency care? A case study of a lean-inspired intervention at the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
P Mazzocato, RJ Holden, M Brommels, H Aronsson, U Backman, M Elg, J Thor
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:28

Read more here.

Preventing emergency readmissions to hospital

"This report presents a scoping review of the evidence and potential for use of ‘emergency readmissions within 28 days of discharge from hospital’ as an indicator within the NHS Outcomes Framework."

Preventing emergency readmissions to hospital: a scoping review
E Nolte, M Roland, S Guthrie, L Brereton
RAND Europe
January 2012

Read more here.

Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety

"This guidance sets out our expectation that all doctors will, whatever their role, take appropriate action to raise and act on concerns about patient care, dignity and safety."

Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety
General Medical Council
January 2012

Read more here.

Leadership and management for all doctors

"This guidance sets out the wider management and leadership responsibilities of doctors in the workplace."

Leadership and management for all doctors
General Medical Council
January 2012

Read more here.

Working for equity in health

"Despite the growing number of policy commitments to tackle inequities, overall improvements in health have been dogged by persistent and increasing inequalities."


Working for equity in health: the role of work, worklessness and social protection in health inequalities: context, situation analysis and evidence review
Health Action Partnership International, The Scottish Government
January 2012

The full report is available here and a summary is available here.

Genomic technology in healthcare

"This report sets out a strategic vision for how the healthcare system in the UK – and particularly in the NHS – can benefit from the mainstream adoption of genomic technology."

Building on our inheritance: genomic technology in healthcare
Human Genomics Strategy Group
January 2012

Read more here.

The Management Code

"An excellent manager will always have safety in mind when planning change and patient client services."

The Management Code
The Institute of Healthcare Management
January 2012

Read more here.

Educating surgical patients to reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism

"A simple method of introducing patient education at pre-assessment clinic and as part of their discharge planning, for major elective surgery, is an effective system in improving patient understanding of VTE, its risk factors and the importance of prophylaxis."


Educating surgical patients to reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism: an audit of an effective strategy
H Sadideen, JM O'Callaghan, M Navidi, M Sayegh
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Short Reports, 2011, 2(12):97

Read more here.

Service-line management: Can it improve quality and efficiency?

Implementing Service Line Reporting and Service Line Management "works best when it is central to the overall management approach of the trust and part of its day-to-day way of working."

Service-line management: Can it improve quality and efficiency?
C Foot, L Sonola, J Maybin, C Naylor
The King's Fund
January 2012

Read more here.

Telehealth - lessons to learn

"Development of an integrated patient record greatly facilitates collaboration between different clinicians involved in patient care, with telehealth data available to communitywide electronic health records."

Telehealth: What can the NHS learn from experience at the US Veterans Health Administration?
J Cruickshank, E Winpenny
2020health.org
January 2012

Read more here.

Good Governance Handbook

"This document has been designed to provide some key principles of good governance that can aid decision making at board level in healthcare providers."

Good Governance Handbook
J Bullivant, R Burgess, A Corbett-Nolan, K Godfrey
Good Governance Institute, Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership
January 2012

Read more here.

Experience led commissioning for end of life care

"The ELC commissioning process was thought to be different from the usual way of doing things because it was seen as more ‘human’ and ‘real’, involved ‘meaningful’ user engagement, contributions from a wide range of stakeholders, and was run as a change management process."

Experience led commissioning for end of life care: final evaluation report
A Cheshire, D Ridge
January 2012

Read more here.

Paying for "end-of-life" drugs in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom

"This issue brief compares U.K., Australian, and German policies on coverage of end-of-life medicines, particularly those that are not curative and offer modest increments in median survival rates."

Paying for "end-of-life" drugs in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom: balancing policy, pragmatism, and societal values
Issues in International Health Policy
The Commonwealth Fund
January 2012

Read more here.

Impact of PubMed search filters on the retrieval of evidence by physicians

"The use of search filters can assist physicians to search more effectively, in less time and with less frustration."


Impact of PubMed search filters on the retrieval of evidence by physicians
SZ Shariff, JM Sontrop, RB Haynes, AV Iansavichus, KA McKibbon, ML Wilczynski, MA Weir, MR Speechley, A Thind, AX Garg
Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2012

Read more here.

Practice facilitation within primary care settings

"Practice facilitation has a moderately robust effect on evidence based guideline adoption within primary care."

Systematic review and meta-analysis of practice facilitation within primary care settings
NB Baskerville, C Liddy, W Hogg
Annals of Family Medicine, 2012, 10(1):63-74

Read more here.

Activity based funding versus integrated health care reform

This paper reviews the international evidence about the effectiveness of two initiatives: activity based funding versus integrated health care.

Beyond the hospital walls: activity based funding versus integrated health care reform
M Cohen, M McGregor, I Ivanova, C Kinkaid
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
January 2012

Read more here.

Delivering sustainable cost improvement programmes

This report is aimed at acute, ambulance, mental health and specialist NHS trusts and foundation trusts, and summaries how successful organisations approach the delivery of cost improvement programmes.

Delivering sustainable cost improvement programmes
Audit Commission
January 2012

Read more here.

Getting care right for patients after a heart attack

"Not all providers offer all four phases of cardiac rehabilitation which are set out in the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease."

After the event: getting care right for patients after a heart attack
Heart UK
January 2012

Read more here.

Delivering stepped care: an analysis of implementation in routine practice

"The application of core principles of implementation science (such as targeted planning, implementation strategies and clear activity specification) around service organisation is urgently required."

Delivering stepped care: an analysis of implementation in routine practice
DA Richards, P Bower, C Pagel, A Weaver, M Utley, J Cape, S Pilling, K Lovell, S Gilbody, J Leibowitz, L Owens, R Paxton, S Hennessy, A Simpson, S Gallivan, D Tomson, C Vasilakis
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:3

Read more here.

Review of Innovation in the NHS

This report is a summary of the responses received in response to the Department of Health Call for Evidence and Ideas about how the adoption and diffusion of innovations can be accelerated across the NHS.

NHS Chief Executive’s Review of Innovation in the NHS Summary of the responses to the Call for Evidence and Ideas
Young Foundation
December 2011

Read more here.

Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS

"Given that mergers reduce the scope for competition between hospitals the findings suggest that further merger activity may not be the appropriate way of dealing with poorly performing hospitals."


Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS
M Gaynor, M Laudicella, C Propper
The Centre for Market and Public Organisation
January 2012

Read more here.

NICE guide for commissioners on end of life care for adults

"This commissioning guide is a resource to assist commissioners, clinicians and managers to commission high quality and evidence based services across England."

CMG42 Guide for commissioners on end of life care for adults
NICE
January 2012

Read more here.

Can NHS hospitals do more with less?

"This report seeks to understand the factors that determine efficiency within hospitals and how hospital trusts can best make cost savings by improving efficiency, based on UK and international experience."

Can NHS hospitals do more with less?
J Hurst, S Williams
Nuffield Trust
January 2012

Read more here.

Cochrane quality and productivity topics

As part of the NHS Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) agenda, NICE and the UK Cochrane Centre are working together to summarise new Cochrane reviews which have shown that an intervention is either unsafe or cost ineffective.

Published each month, the Cochrane Quality and Productivity Topics “highlight potential disinvestment opportunities that can be used by the NHS to meet its overall QIPP targets, and include calculations of potential cost savings if implemented.”

Access the collection here.

First steps towards quality improvement

"If you want to deliver sustainable improvements with greater speed and confidence, this resource will help you take the first steps."

First steps towards quality improvement: a simple guide to improving services
NHS Improvement
December 2011

Read more here.

Why clinical quality improvement fails to deliver bottom-line results

"As the U.S. health care system begins shifting its focus from volume to value, hospitals will need to adapt their cost structures and capacity to accommodate lower per capita utilization rates as well as reductions in the per-episode intensity of care."

The savings illusion - why clinical quality improvement fails to deliver bottom-line results
SS Rauh, EB Wadsworth, WB Weeks, JN Weinstein
New England Journal of Medicine, 2011, 365:e48

Read more here.

Integrated care for patients and populations: Improving outcomes by working together

"The aims of integrated care are widely supported by NHS staff as well as patient groups, and taking forward the proposals set out in this paper would therefore be welcomed by key stakeholders."

Integrated care for patients and populations: Improving outcomes by working together: A report to the Department of Health and the NHS Future Forum
N Goodwin, J Smith, A Davies, C Perry, R Rosen, A Dixon, J Dixon, C Ham
The King's Fund
January 2012

Read more here.

Emergency bed use: what the numbers tell us

"Using hospital beds more efficiently could save the NHS at least £1 billion a year and deliver benefits for patients."


Emergency bed use: what the numbers tell us
The King's Fund
December 2011

Read more here.

Commissioning effective dementia services in the new world

"Ensuring truly integrated commissioning and integrated care pathways would deliver better outcomes for people with dementia and would cost less than the current system."

Common and complex: commissioning effective dementia services in the new world
Alzheimer's Society
December 2011

Read more here.

Value of healthcare services

Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are coming together with  patients and their representatives to look at health services in south west London in the Better Services, Better Value review. The following six reports show much of the thinking and analysis that has taken place to understand how people use the south west London health services and the quality of the service they receive in terms of outcomes and experience.

• Long-term conditions and out of hospital care (including mental health) clinical working group: draft clinical report
• Planned care clinical working group: draft clinical report
• Maternity and newborn clinical working group: draft clinical report
• Children's services clinical working group: draft clinical report
• End of life care working group: draft clinical report
• Urgent care clinical working group: draft clinical report