Development of the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set

"We developed a ready-to-use, valid and reliable critical appraisal instrument applicable to healthcare QI intervention publications, but recognise scope for continuing refinement."

Development of the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set (QI-MQCS): a tool for critical appraisal of quality improvement intervention publications
S Hempel, PG Shekelle, JL Liu, M Sherwood Danz, R Foy, YW Lim, A Motala, LV Rubenstein
BMJ Quality and Safety 2015;24:796-804 doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003151

Read more here.

Continuous improvement of patient safety

"This report makes the case for changing the way patient safety is approached in the NHS. It argues that change is needed in: how safety is understood, because current approaches to measurement don’t provide the full picture; how safety is improved, because existing approaches alone will not address the most intractable problems; how risk is perceived, because comfort-seeking behaviours will not create a genuine culture of learning."

Published alongside the report is a safety improvement check list, as well as pointers to a host of other resources from the Health Foundation focused on assisting organisations in improving patient safety.

Continuous improvement of patient safety: The case for change in the NHS
J Illingworth
The Health Foundation
November 2015

Read more here.

Atlas of Variation 2015 Opportunity Locator tool

"The Atlas of Variation Opportunities Locator is a companion tools to the NHS Atlas of Variation 2015. It uses the same data and maps but allows local commissioners to select and view the CCG and Local Authority maps for their own local population across a wide range of disease areas contained in the Atlas."

Atlas of Variation 2015 Opportunity Locator tool
NHS RightCare
2015

Access the locator tool here.

Validation of the intermountain patient perception of quality survey

"Our objective was to evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of the Intermountain Patient Perception of Quality (PPQ) survey among patients discharged from the ICU."

Validation of the intermountain patient perception of quality (PPQ) survey among survivors of an intensive care unit admission: a retrospective validation study
SM Brown
BMC Health Services Research 2015, 15:155  doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0828-x

Read more here.

A tool to improve communication in the neonatal unit

"We sought to assess whether the implementation of a baby diary used as a communication tool would improve parent-staff communication and optimise the parental experience of neonatal care."

A tool to improve communication in the neonatal unit
M van de Vijver, M Evans
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203180.w3084

Read more here.

Healthier Lives online tool: Diabetes, Hypertension, NHS Health Check

This newly released tool/map shows the quality and levels of care provided across England with comparisons against the national average. It currently contains statistics for diabetes, high blood pressure and NHS Health Checks.

Healthier Lives: Diabetes, Hypertension and NHS Health Check online tool
Public Health England
October 2014

Access the tool here.

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

Read more here.

Improving the accuracy of operation coding in surgical discharge summaries

" We suggest that specifically designed coding tables be introduced across each surgical department to ensure accurate OPCS codes are used to produce better quality surgical discharge summaries and to ensure correct reimbursement to the Trust."

Improving the accuracy of operation coding in surgical discharge summaries
E Martinou, G Shouls, N Betambeau
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2014;3

Read more here.

Assessing motility of the gastrointestinal tract using a wireless capsule: audit tool

"NICE has recommended that assessing motility of the gastrointestinal tract using a wireless capsule should only be used with special arrangements for audit. This means that clinicians carrying out the procedure should audit and review the outcomes of all patients. Audit data should be reviewed at appropriate intervals and practice should be changed if the results suggest the need to do so."

Assessing motility of the gastrointestinal tract using a wireless capsule: clinical audit tool
NICE
September 2014

Access the tool here.

Bipolar disorder: costing and clinical audit tools

NICE have published an audit tool and costing statement to assist organisations in assessing for and implementing guidance for bipolar disorder assessment and management.

Bipolar disorder: the assessment and management of bipolar disorder in adults, children and young people in primary and secondary care
NICE
September 2014

Access the costing and audit tools here.

Estimating NHS and social care spend: a tool for commissioners

"This Excel-based tool aims to help NHS commissioners by approximating how their local care economy spends its money by age group, patient group and care settings, and how this may evolve over time. By filling in some basic variables, commissioners can create a quick, indicative patient segmentation for their locality."

Estimating NHS and social care spend: a tool for commissioners
Monitor
September 2014

Access the tool and find out more here.

Pressure ulcers: NICE clinical audit tools

NICE have published two clinical audit tools for pressure ulcer prevention, one for paediatric care and one for adults.

"Clinical audit tools are Excel spreadsheets developed to help with clinical audit. They contain clinical audit standards, data collection sheets, a clinical audit report an action plan template and a printable data collection form.  When data is entered into the data collection sheets the audit results are automatically displayed in the audit report."

Access the tools and find out more here.

Adult social care efficiency tool

"The adult social care efficiency tool identifies similar areas (or ‘statistical neighbours’) for adult social care delivery for older people and working age adults with learning disabilities. These are the two largest groups who receive adult social care. The comparable indicators include spending per head, quality of services and access to services."

Adult social care efficiency tool
Department of Health
August 2014

Find out more and access the tool here.

Prevalence and severity of patient harm detected by the Paediatric Trigger Tool

"There is a significant, measurable level of harm experienced by children admitted to hospitals in the UK. While most of this harm is temporary, some of it is serious. The UKPTT offers organisations the means to measure and examine the adverse events occurring in their hospital in order to reduce harm."

Prevalence and severity of patient harm in a sample of UK-hospitalised children detected by the Paediatric Trigger Tool
SM Chapman, J Fitzsimons, N Davey, P Lachman
BMJ Open, 2014; 4: e005066

Read more here.

Quality of physical therapy from a patient’s perspective

"We recommend a thrice-yearly, shorter survey of triangulated patients who are randomly selected from the Electronic Medical Records. Besides this, a visible and mandatory complaint desk (physical or digital) should be implemented to monitor the quality of care at all times. If need be, the Inspectorate can audit the low performing practices based on the number of complaints or low performance on the surveys."

Quality of physical therapy from a patient’s perspective; factor analysis on web-based survey data revealed three dimensions on patient experiences with physical therapy
M Scholte, H Calsbeek, MWG Nijhuis-van der Sanden, J Braspenning
BMC Health Services Research, 2014, 14: 266

Read more here.

The implementation leadership scale

"The ILS is a brief tool that may be used in implementation research to assess the extent to which leaders support their staff in implementing EBP."

The implementation leadership scale (ILS): development of a brief measure of unit level implementation leadership
GA Aarons, MG Ehrhart, LR Farahnak
Implementation Science, 2014, 9: 45

Read more here.

CCG Learning Environment

The NHS England/NHS Commissioning Assembly Learning Environment hosts a range of knowledge sharing tools for CCGs, allowing them to share best practice and seek advice and support. The website includes case studies, private forums, a search tool to identify similar CCGs, and a directory of support providers.

Find out more and access all the resources here.

Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme interactive results maps

"These interactive maps allow you to find information about stroke services for your local provider. You can compare different standards of care within your team, and compare your local provider to other providers and against regional and national averages."

SSNAP clinical audit: interactive results maps
Royal College of Physicians
May 2014

Access the maps here.

Cost benefit analysis guidance for local partnerships

"This document outlines a methodology for a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model originally developed by New Economy, local authorities and other public sector agencies across Greater Manchester (GM). It is designed to simplify and to lower the cost of performing CBA in the context of local programmes to improve public services where analytical and research resources may be relatively limited." 

Supporting public service transformation: cost benefit analysis guidance for local partnerships
HM Treasury, Public Service Transformation Network, New Economy
April 2014

Read more here.

Improvement Capability Self-Assessment Tool

"You can use the tool to assess your hospital’s capability in six key areas: 1) Leadership for Improvement, 2) Results, 3) Resources, 4) Workforce and Human Resources, 5) Data Infrastructure and Management, and 6) Improvement Knowledge and Competence."

IHI Improvement Capability Self-Assessment Tool
Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 

Access the tool and additional resources here.