Driving QIPP across the Commissioner and Provider divide
The UK Performance Network, run by HCS and MedeAnalytics, is a learning environment enabling NHS organisations to deliver their QIPP agenda, whilst focusing on retaining a local health system that delivers for patients within available resources.
QIPP programmes and plans are becoming well established around the national work streams. The overall approach is that if every part of the NHS could achieve the level of performance of the best across a wide range of key measures, then the £15b - £20b efficiency gain required over the next spending cycle can be achieved, whilst increasing clinical quality and patient experience.
Although this is an untested hypothesis with a number of significant pitfalls, there is also sufficient evidence to believe that, substantially at least, it is true. It will require radical service change at a level we have yet to see and co-operation between bodies to deliver it against a firm set of objectives, measures and milestones.
QIPP is a health economy deliverable, led by the PCT. Agreed metrics become even more important. Therefore a shared methodology and shared metrics plus identification of unintended consequences are very important. Commissioners will concentrate on driving volumes of activity appropriately as well as challenging the unit cost of that activity outside of tariff. Providers will be focused on adapting to changing volumes and patterns of required services whilst at the same time driving down unit costs as tariff falls. However, there is a shared interest in evolving the system in a way which changes but doesn’t break it.
The UK Performance Network already offers subscribers a range of performance metrics relevant to the QIPP agenda including access rates (inpatient, outpatient and A&E), prescribing, use of theatre and diagnostics, workforce productivity and quality and outcome measures. These will be expanded based on subscribers demands but provides an independent platform to measure the performance of a health system both over time and compared to others.
Even more importantly though, it is backed not only by your own highlights and issues report but a very cost effective mechanism for learning from the experience of others through a range of educational networking events.
The HCS/MedeAnalytics UK Performance Network proposes an approach which links the QIPP work streams with key performance metrics and milestones underpinned by a locally delivered sharing and education programme of what is working elsewhere. See Figure 1.
We have a sample education programme centred around Long Term Conditions (attached) and will developing similar programmes with PN members over the next few weeks.
In each work stream we will suggest and agree with network members, either in total, or across smaller groups, the KPIs to be collected and shared. We will build the education programmes around learning that helps influence and evolve those KPIs and what appear to be obstacles and perhaps unintended consequences resulting from them. We are in a position to facilitate local health economies to progress their agenda in each of these areas across the range of organisations and key executives within them.
To find out more about how the UK Performance Network can delivery efficiencies acroos the local and regional health systems click here.
Click here to understand what makes the Performance Network unique to other tools on the market.