Future work
We will focus on the following four themes:
Analysis of treatment pathways
This has two main aims: the derivation of indicators capable of assessing the whole patient journey, not just an isolated component of it such as the peri-operative period, and determining the best method of presentation of pathways to decision-makers.
Analysis of the Mental Health Common Data Set
Some initial work began by looking at CPN and OPD attendance patterns by diagnosis and number of admissions. The aim of projects such as this is to encourage better data submission by PCT by showing the potential of the dataset.
Consultant-level indicators
Analysis of performance is typically done at the level of the hospital, but there is increasing interest in measures that are calculated at the hospital consultant level as more clinicians want to see their own data.
Developing Real Time Monitoring
- Statistical process control: false alarm rate prediction and minimisation
- Risk prediction modelling: further casemix adjustment, e.g. updating comorbidity indices
- Work on failure to rescue metrics with the National Nursing Research Unit at King’s College: there is much interest in the UK in these US-based measures and we aim to adapt them for the NHS
- Indicators for primary care
- Working with organisational psychologists to identify and overcome the barriers to using information on performance in the NHS for improvement: what information should be presented to decision-makers and how?
