Clinical Indicators – their development, procurement and governance

Heather Dawe – Clinical Indicator Programme Manager

Key deliverables and objectives• Sourcing, development, procurement and management of the supply of clinical indicators to NHS Choices and Indicators for Quality Improvement (IQI)

• Growing number of services to which we will deliver

• Further development of existing and new methods by which clinical indicators can be developed, delivered and utilised by the NHS and other key customers and stakeholders

NHS IC Clinical Indicator team

What do we do? • Source ‘non-manufactured’ indicators from both within the IC and from external stakeholders and supply them to the NHS Choices team (DH and Capita)

• Source ‘manufactured’ indicators. Currently supplied by DFI, this is now out for tender

• Provide development advice and input into the governance of NHS Choices clinical indicators

• Internal and external reviews of manufactured indicator methodologies have enabled the IC to fully specify the construction of manufactured indicators for their supply to NHS Choices

NHS Choices

What are we doing? • Source IQI indicators from both within the IC and from external stakeholders which are then published on the IC website

• Liaise with the DH to further develop IQI

• Input into the DH-led development of a over-arching governance function for clinical indicators

Indicators for Quality Improvement

Going forwards • The current NHS Choices ITT is the first example of the ways in which the NHS IC will work with external suppliers to design, develop and present information products such as clinical indicators using the procurement frameworks

• Whilst it is key that methodological understanding of clinical indicators resides within the IC it would be wholly naïve to suggest this is the only place it should reside

• Innovation in the healthcare intelligence sector has played a large part in driving the development of clinical indicators: there are much knowledge and skills here

• Not mutually exclusive to the healthcare intelligence sector, academia has much to input here too

Clinical Indicators

What do we know?

• The demand for the effective use of clinical indicators within the NHS is growing

• There is significant risk that the plethora of different methodologies currently in use by (all kinds of) suppliers serve to diminish the value of this use in the NHS

• The NHS IC has a role to ensure these methodologies become standardised for the NHS and available for all to access, use and comment upon

• And there will be comments!!!

Clinical Indicators

What do we know?

• The demand for the effective use of clinical indicators within the NHS is growing

• There is significant risk that the plethora of different methodologies currently in use by (all kinds of) suppliers serve to diminish the value of this use in the NHS

• The NHS IC has a role to ensure these methodologies become standardised for the NHS and available for all to access, use and comment upon

• And there will be comments!!!

Clinical Indicators

A platform for continuous review• “We (the IC) will ensure that these methodologies remain open for continuous peer and academic review, in close liaison with the NHS”

• The NHS IC has a responsibility to help ensure that clinical indicators are developed and used effectively across the NHS

• We are currently planning how best to manage the continued development – your input and opinions are valued and welcome

Methodology standardisation and development