Unlocking the power of information

"Part of the Smart Guides to Engagement series, this guide helps clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and service providers understand how information is the foundation for effective engagement with patients so that they can become partners in decision-making about their own health and care."

Smart guides to engagement: Unlocking the power of information
M Duman
NHS Networks
December 2013

Read more here.

Challenging bureaucracy

"Our review has uncovered a number of ways to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy from national bodies on NHS providers. We believe our recommendations will help manage the volume of requests, reduce the effort involved in responding and, crucially, maximise the value of information for staff, patients and the public."

Challenging bureaucracy
NHS Confederation
November 2013

Read more here.

Health on the high street

"This paper discusses how best public health services might be commissioned from community pharmacy within the new system architecture."

Health on the high street: rethinking the role of community pharmacy
NHS Confederation
October 2013

Read more here.

Towards an NHS payment system that does more for patients

"If commissioners pay providers of NHS services too little, they won’t be able to afford to give the high standards of care that patients need and have the right to expect. If commissioners pay providers too much, they may lose focus on keeping their costs under control. We also won’t get as much care as we could for the amount of taxpayers’ money that is being spent."

Towards an NHS payment system that does more for patients
Monitor, NHS England
October 2013

Read more here.

Webinar: Personal health budgets and integrated care go under the microscope

16th and 18th July - online

"To support members to implement joint personal budgets, NHS Confederation is holding two webinars which will delve into key lessons from pilot sites, disseminate practical advice on overcoming challenges and help shape the support developed nationally for their roll-out."

Mental health providers are invited to take part on 16 July (12.45pm to 1.30pm)

Commissioners for all sectors are invited to attend the webinar on 18 July (12.45pm to 1.30pm)

Find out how to register here.

Towards commissioning excellence

"But if commissioning is to deliver better quality and outcomes for patients and better value for taxpayers, it must be taken to a new level – clinically-led, professional and streamlined, underpinned by great commissioning support services."

Towards commissioning excellence: a strategy for commissioning support services
NHS England
June 2013

Read more here.

Guide to the healthcare system in England

This guide has been written to explain about all the different organisations that "play a key role in making the NHS what it is."

Guide to the healthcare system in England
NHS England
May 2013

Read more here.

Quality governance

"A highly engaged board working in true partnership with the senior leadership team and wider staff, and where applicable the council of governors, is a critical factor in the successful delivery of quality improvement."

Quality governance: how does a board know that its organisation is working effectively to improve patient care? Guidance for boards of NHS provider organisations
Monitor
April 2013

Read more here.

Preparing for your 2013/14 Quality Account

"This page provides information to help local providers supply their Quality Accounts report."

National clinical audits for inclusion in quality accounts
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership
April 2013

Access resources here.

Ensuring the continuity of health care services

"If a health care provider gets into financial difficulties, commissioners and Monitor must work together to make sure that patients continue to have access to services which are critical to patients and which no other provider may be close enough to or able to deliver."

Guidance for commissioners on ensuring the continuity of health care services: Designating commissioner requested services and location specific services
Monitor
March 2013

Read more here.

Rating providers for quality

"Our analysis suggests that there is a clear gap in the provision of clearly presented, comprehensive and trusted information on the quality of care of providers which might properly inform the public and users about the quality of care, as well as improve the accountability of providers to the public."

Rating providers for quality: a policy worth pursuing?
Nuffield Trust
March 2013

Read the full report here or the summary here.

Mental health and the market

"Understanding how the market in mental health works is critical – both for the development of future national policy, as well as for the implementation of existing policy relating to competition and choice."

Mental health and the market
NHS Confederation
October 2012

Read more here.

The Engagement Cycle

This resource is for commissioners of health services, it sets out what is required when engaging patients, carers and the public in the decisions made about health service provision. It provides practical advice, case-study examples and links to other vital information.

Access The Engagement Cycle here.

Design and application of shared savings programs

"Enabling health care providers to share in the savings they generate from the delivery of more efficient, higher-quality care is a promising way to achieve the goals of health reform."

The design and application of shared savings programs: lessons from early adoptersThe Commonwealth Fund
September 2012

Read more here.

Determinants of patient choice of healthcare providers: a scoping review

"Comparative information seems to have a relatively limited influence on the choices made by many patients and patients base their decisions on a variety of provider characteristics instead of solely on outcome characteristics."

Determinants of patient choice of healthcare providers: a scoping review
A Victoor, DMJ Delnoij, RD Friele, JJDJM Rademakers
BMC Health Services Research 2012, 12:272

Read more here.

Provider-level risk-adjusted quality measurement for inpatient rehabilitation facilities

"This report should be of interest to researchers involved either in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) or the development of IRF quality reports or in outcomes studies that require risk adjustment."

Provider-level risk-adjusted quality measurement for inpatient rehabilitation facilities
AW Dick, PJ Huckfeldt, H Liu, H Yu, A Mehrotra, SL Lovejoy, JS Ashwood
RAND Corporation
2012

Read more here.

Going big: how major providers scale up their best ideas

"Three types of innovations - technical advances, process improvements, and business model innovations - have significant applicability to health care."

Going big: how major providers scale up their best ideas
C Hawn
California HealthCare Foundation
June 2012

Read more here.

A pilot qualitative study to explore stakeholder opinions regarding prescribing quality indicators

"Prescribing quality indicators are considered to be an important tool for assessing quality of provided diabetes care by all participants, although the preferences for specific types of indicators may differ by stakeholder depending on their user aim."

A pilot qualitative study to explore stakeholder opinions regarding prescribing quality indicators
L Martirosyan, J Markhorst, P Denig, FM Haaijer-Ruskamp, J Braspenning
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:191

Read more here.

Health and Social Care Act explained

The Department of Health has prepared a series of factsheets on the Health and Social Care Act 2012, explaining particular topics contained in the Act, including its key themes. There are cases studies of the policy in action and answers to frequently asked questions about the topic.

Access the leaflets here.

A stitch in time - the future is integration

"This Briefing includes examples of successful models of integration from within the UK, where NHS organisations are now working more effectively with other public sector providers as well as independent providers, and from Western Europe, where integration between the public and independent sectors is more widely accepted."

A stitch in time - the future is integration
NHS Confederation
June 2012

Read more here.