Do pneumonia readmissions flagged as potentially preventable by the 3M PPR software have more process of care problems?

"Among VA [Veterans Health Administration] pneumonia readmissions, PPR [Potentially Preventable Readmissions] categorisation did not produce the expected quality of care findings. Either PPR–yes cases are not more preventable, or preventability assessment requires other data collection methods to capture poorly documented processes (eg, direct observation)."

Do pneumonia readmissions flagged as potentially preventable by the 3M PPR software have more process of care problems? A cross-sectional observational study
AM Borzecki et al.
BMJ Quality and Safety 2015;24:753-763 doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003911

Read more here.

HSJ Commissioning supplement: The right services at the right time

"Commissioning within the NHS is being shaped by a variety of factors, ranging from technology to the third sector. This week’s supplement, produced in association with Skills for Health, IMS Health and the British Red Cross, looks at:

• workforce planning 
• gaining value from data 
• benefitting from third sector organisations" 

HSJ Commissioning supplement: The right services at the right time
How data, workforce planning and the voluntary sector are shaping NHS commissioning
September 2015

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Using data and analytics to transform patient care

"Data-driven decision making has improved patient outcomes in Intermountain's cardiovascular medicine, endocrinology, surgery, obstetrics and care processes — while saving millions of dollars in procurement and in its the supply chain." 

How Intermountain Healthcare is using data and analytics to transform patient care
M Fitzgerald
MITSloan Management Review
June 2015

Read more here.

Priorities for creating a learning healthcare system based on routinely collected data

"Ongoing feedback of insights from data to patients, clinicians, managers and policymakers can be a powerful motivator for change as well as provide an evidence base for action. Many studies and systems have demonstrated that routine data can be a powerful tool when used appropriately to improve the quality of care."

Making sense of the shadows: priorities for creating a learning healthcare system based on routinely collected data
SR Deeny, A Steventon
BMJ Quality and Safety 2015;24:505-515 doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004278

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Making Sense and Making Use of Patient Experience Data

"The report raises important questions. Is the collection, analysis and reporting of data on patient experience being done by people with the right skills and knowledge to do this work? Are these activities merged with responsibilities for reporting on activity and clinical quality, or are they carried out separately?"

Making Sense and Making Use of Patient Experience Data
Membership Engagement Services’, InHealth Associates
June 2015

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How elite commissioning support units can shape transformation

"This edition of the Health Service Journal supplement looks at commissioning support units and how they can support new models of care." 

How elite commissioning support units can shape transformation
HSJ commissioning
March 2015

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Are people waiting longer for health care?

"This overview considers the performance of the NHS in England in providing timely access to health care during the current parliament. We look at available data on waiting time targets across key services, including accident and emergency (A&E), ambulances, cancer treatment, secondary care and primary care."

Are people waiting longer for health care?
T Gardner
The Health Foundation
March 2015

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The NHS under the coalition government: NHS performance

"Our verdict overall is that NHS performance held up well for the first three years of the parliament but has now slipped, with waiting times at their highest levels for many years and an unprecedented number of hospitals reporting deficits. "

The NHS under the coalition government: Part two: NHS performance
J Appleby, B Baird, J Thompson, J Jabbal
The King's Fund
March 2015

Read more here.

The quality of NHS services during the current parliament

"This briefing summarises trends in the quality of NHS care in England since the 2010 general election. "

Swimming against the tide? The quality of NHS services during the current parliament
T Gardner
The Health Foundation
March 2015

Read more here.

Mental Health, Dementia and Neurology Intelligence Network

"The Mental Health Dementia and Neurology Intelligence Network (MHDNIN) analyses information and data and turns it into timely meaningful health intelligence for commissioners, policy makers, clinicians and health professionals to improve services, outcomes and reduce the negative impact of mental health, dementia and neurology problems."

Access the resource here.

Health and healthcare: assessing the real world data policy landscape in Europe

"Real World Data is any data not collected in conventional randomised controlled trials. It includes data from existing secondary sources (eg databases of national health services) and the collection of new data, both retrospectively and prospectively." 

Health and healthcare: assessing the real world data policy landscape in Europe
C Miani, E Robin, V Horvath, C Manville, J Cave, J Chataway
RAND Corporation
April 2014

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Using balanced metrics and mixed methods to better understand quality improvement interventions

"Targets for improvement will remain abundant and easily identifiable and QI work will become more complex. As hospitals and healthcare systems refine processes and improve quality—and see mixed results in the outcomes—the awareness of the need for new and valid metrics grows." 

Using balanced metrics and mixed methods to better understand QI interventions
PJ Kaboli, HJ Mosher
BMJ Quality and Safety 2014;23:437-439

Read more here.

The reality behind improving cancer survival rates

"By addressing issues such as morbidities, delays in diagnosis and cancer recurrence, we can improve care for patients, improve their outcomes and save the NHS money."

Cancer’s unequal burden – The reality behind improving cancer survival rates
Macmillan Cancer Support
April 2014

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International prevalence of adverse drug events in hospitals

"Adverse drug events (ADEs) are frequent in hospitals, occurring either in patients before admission or as a nosocomial event, and either as a drug reaction or as a consequence of a medication error. Routine data primarily recorded for reimbursement purposes are increasingly being used on a national level both in pharmacoepidemiological studies and in trigger tools. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rates of coded ADEs in hospitals on a transnational level."

International prevalence of adverse drug events in hospitals: an analysis of routine data from England, Germany, and the USA
J Stausberg
BMC Health Services Research, 2014, 14:125

Read more here.

The NHS payment system: evolving policy and emerging evidence

"This research report takes a comprehensive look at different approaches to payment and how they function in the English NHS. It then brings together and summarises the available evidence on whether recent payment initiatives have met their goals."

The NHS payment system: evolving policy and emerging evidence
L Marshall, A Charlesworth, J Hurst
Nuffield Trust
February 2014

Read more here.

Identifying key vulnerable groups in data collections

"Our report, Hidden Needs, is about making the invisible visible. It demonstrates the yawning gaps in data, information analysis and research in four of the most vulnerable populations in society." 

Hidden needs: Identifying key vulnerable groups in data collections: Vulnerable migrants, gypsies and travellers, homeless people, and sex workers 
PJ Aspinall
Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent
March 2014

Read more here.

Programmed for improvement

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

Programmed for improvement
S Brown
Healthcare Finance
June 2013

Read more here.