Development of a cost-effectiveness model for optimisation of the screening interval in diabetic retinopathy screening

"The study found that annual screening of all patients for STDR [sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy] was not cost-effective. Screening this entire cohort every 3 years was most likely to be cost-effective."

Development of a cost-effectiveness model for optimisation of the screening interval in diabetic retinopathy screening
PH Scanlon, SJ Aldington, J Leal , R Luengo-Fernandez, J Oke , S Sivaprasad , et al.
Health Technology Assessment 2015;19(74)

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Breast Cancer Screening, Incidence, and Mortality Across US Counties

"Our analysis shows that, when directed toward the general US population, the most prominent effect of screening mammography is overdiagnosis. Nonetheless, we do not believe that the right rate of screening mammography is zero. As is the case with screening in general, the balance of benefits and harms is likely to be most favorable when screening is directed to those at high risk, provided neither too frequently nor too rarely, and sometimes followed by watchful waiting instead of immediate active treatment."

Breast Cancer Screening, Incidence, and Mortality Across US Counties
C Harding, F Pompei, D Burmistrov, HG Welch, R Abebe, R Wilson
JAMA Intern Med. Published online July 06, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.3043

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Use of a validated screening tool for psoriatic arthritis in dermatology clinics

"We wanted to implement a robust system of screening for PA [psoriatic arthritis] in both psoriasis and general dermatology clinics in accordance with NICE guidelines which would be sustainable and reduce potential missed cases of the disease."

Use of a validated screening tool for psoriatic arthritis in dermatology clinics

B Ganatra, D Manoharan, V Akhras
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203335.w2644

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Improving safety through the establishment of a Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service

"The message to others is to ensure that in establishing a new service, this should be done with complete staff engagement in respect to understanding the direct effect of service change on creating a positive patients pathway with sustained positive clinical outcomes. The frontline workforce are key in delivering changes, therefore it is imperative that they are fully involved in the process."

Improving safety - through the establishment of a Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service (HALS), alongside the launch of a therapeutic Chlordiazepoxide prescribing Detoxification Regime
Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
NICE Shared learning example
January 2015

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Improving the primary care physicians’ decision making for fibromyalgia in clinical practice

"The use of such a tool during consultation will not only improve the quality of care in general practice but will also increase patients’ and doctors’ satisfaction and improve patients’ self-esteem and well-being." 

Improving the primary care physicians’ decision making for fibromyalgia in clinical practice: development and validation of the Fibromyalgia Detection (FibroDetect®) screening tool
R Baron et al.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2014, 12:128

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NICE Alcohol return on investment tool

"The alcohol use return on investment tool has been developed to help decision making on interventions and strategies to prevent and reduce alcohol use at local and sub-national levels."

Alcohol return on investment tool

Public Health ROI Tool

NICE

September 2014

Access the tool and all the resources here.

The UK strategy for rare diseases

"The Strategy aims to ensure that people living with a rare disease have the best quality of evidence based care and treatment that our health and social care systems, working with charities and other organisations, our researchers and industry can provide."

The UK strategy for rare diseases
Department of Health
November 2013

Read more here.

Cost effectiveness of the NHS breast screening programme

"... further primary research will be needed for cost effectiveness studies to provide definitive data to inform policy."

Cost effectiveness of the NHS breast screening programme: life table model
PDP Pharoah, B Sewell, D Fitzimmons, HS Bennett, N Pashayan
British Medical Journal, 2013, 346:f2618

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NHS England publishes generic commissioning policies

"NHS England has published a number of interim generic policies, ensuring fair and consistent decision-making across its direct commissioning function. The 14 policies cover all aspects of NHS England’s direct commissioning responsibilities including specialised services, primary care, screening, military and offender health."

Access the policies here.

Cost comparison of MRSA screening and management

"It was shown that universal MRSA screening strategies are far more cost-intensive than the targeted screening approaches."

Cost comparison of MRSA screening and management: a decision tree analysis
A Tubbicke, C Hubner, NO Hubner, C Wegner, A Kramer, S Flessa
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:438

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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.