Sustainable Healthcare: Getting more from less

Feature giving details of the three shortlisted entries for the BMJ Group’s Sustainable Healthcare award.

Sustainable Healthcare: Getting more from less
Kirsten Patrick
BMJ 2011; 342:d2425
April 2011

View the full article here.

Reducing expenditure on low clinical value treatments

This health briefing suggests that the NHS could save up to £500 million a year by carrying out fewer ineffective or inefficient treatments.

Reducing expenditure on low clinical value treatments
Audit Commission
April 2011

Read a summary or download the full version here.

Delivering QIPP by redesigning iron deficiency services

"Redesigning intravenous iron services is an excellent way of delivering QIPP improvements to patient care by dramatically reducing hospital visits and improving service efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Currently, the treatment of iron deficiency involves multiple visits to the hospital but a drug called Ferinject from Vifor Pharma administers all the iron a patient needs in one 30 minute visit.

Watch this video to find out how this patient-centric service is saving the NHS money and promoting faster recovery and better outcomes."

Delivering QIPP by redesigning iron deficiency services
HealthExecTV
April 2011

View video here (free registration needed to view content)

Rapid impact assessment of The Productive Ward

"This Rapid Impact Assessment explores the efficiency and productivity improvements The Productive Ward programme can make across the NHS."

Rapid impact assessment of The Productive Ward: Releasing time to care
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
January 2011

Read more here.

United Kingdom (England) health system review

"The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of reform and policy initiatives in progress or under development in a specific country."

United Kingdom (England) health system review
Sean Boyle
Health Systems in Transition, 2011 13(1)
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Read more here.

High-value, cost-conscious health care

"This article discusses 3 key concepts for understanding how to assess the value of health care interventions."

High-value, cost-conscious health care: concepts for clinicians to evaluate the benefits, harms, and costs of medical interventions
DK Owens, A Qaseem, R Chou, P Shekelle
Annals of Internal Medicine, 2011, 154(6):174-180

Read more here.

If you cannot access the full record, please use your NHS Athens username and password  or contact the Royal Free Medical Library.

Can we save money by improving quality

"This paper uses research evidence to assess the contribution that quality-improvement can make as a central component of cost reduction."

Can we save money by improving quality
M Marshall, J Ovretveit
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2011, 20(4):293-296

Read more here.

If you cannot access the full record, please use your NHS Athens username and password  or contact the Royal Free Medical Library.

Many of the other articles in this issue focus on quality-improvement collaboratives.