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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The search for low-cost integrated healthcare

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

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

Read more here.

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare

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

NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare
NHS RightCare
November 2011

Read more here.

The four habits of high-value health care organizations

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

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

Read more here.