Enhancing the use analysis and dissemination of healthcare information

Accepted.
Timely, accurate and robust data should be used by every provider to determine the quality of the services that they provide and identify whether there are any risks to patient safety. Wherever possible, such information should be available to commissioners, regulators and the public to drive improvement and support choice.
To support this, for example:
• the NHS Leadership Academy in The Healthy NHS Board (NHS Leadership Academy, 2013) set out clear roles for regarding the use of information across the board. It stated that Executive Directors should take ‘… principal responsibility for providing accurate, timely and clear information to the board’. (see recommendation 245); and
• data on providers’ performance is becoming increasing available including data at specialty level (see recommendation 264) and the provider’s compliance with quality standards (see recommendation 246 regarding quality accounts).
However, rather than determining how local providers should meet their information needs centrally, the Department of Health is committed to connecting existing systems, see Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution (Department of Health, July 2010) and The Power of Information133 (Department of Health, May 2012). As such, providers will set specific requirements locally but based on national standards to ensure that information can be shared across the system.
Some national standards have already been set, including the use of the NHS number, and further standards, such as interoperability of patient records, will be outlined in NHS England’s Technology Strategy, which is due to be published in early 2014.

Please see response to recommendation 244 for information on the Federated Data Platform.

Consultant Outcomes Publication

The Consultant Outcomes Publication (COP) was introduced to publish quality measures at the level of individual consultant doctor using National Clinical Audit and administrative data. Consultant Outcomes Publication began with 10 National Clinical Audits in 2013.

National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP)

The NCIP portal is a free data platform that allows consultants to review their own data: improving clinical quality, patient safety and supporting career development. It provides consultants with data covering their NHS practice wherever it is performed with high-quality, specialty-specific dashboards at patient level

NHS England plans to publish consultant-level outcomes data from all appropriate NHS funded national clinical audits before 2020. Consultant Outcomes Publication began with ten national clinical audits in June 2013 which were also made available through the NHS Choices Website. Consultant data for neurosurgery and upper gastro-intestinal has also now been published. NHS England will improve the way in which data is published and has supported the development of patient-friendly guidance which has been issued to professional societies. This outlines the indicators that must be included in consultant level reporting such as patient involvement in publication and the linking of results for the department to an individual’s work at the trusts in which they practice.

This recommendation was accepted by the Government. The Government responded by stating that, rather than determining how local providers should meet their information needs centrally, the Department of Health would commit to connecting existing systems. Providers would set specific requirements locally but based on national standards to ensure that information could be shared across the system.