Two new web-based health investment analysis tools have been developed for Right Care by the Midlands and East Quality Observatory to provide data to inform Value Based Commissioning Guidance development, the Procedures Explorer Tool (PET) and bespoke Quality Dashboards.
The Procedures Explorer Tool (PET) is designed to deliver information on local clinical variation for the care pathways covered by the Commissioning Guidance. Drawing on Hospital Episodes Statistics from the NHS Information Centre and validated by professional coding auditors, it shows data on secondary care surgical activity – organised into individual specialties and then clinically relevant conditions, such as “sore throat/ recurrent tonsillitis” or “knee pain”.
Two lenses are applied to the data, to give both a commissioner and a provider perspective. The former allows variation in the standardised rates of surgery to be visualised for resident populations (the commissioner view) at LAT, CCG and GP practice levels. The provider view shows the same data, but from the viewpoint of the provider organisation, with the capacity to drill down to specific specialties, conditions and potentially individual surgical teams.
Total Hip Replacement. Activity Variation by Local Area Team
As a public-facing online tool, the Procedures Explorer Tool is equally accessible by patients, the public, commissioners and providers. The information provided initially covers one year of data on activity levels, length of stay, readmission rates, day case rates, reoperation rates and mortality rates. It is a highly interactive resource which allows users to select conditions, perspective and the level of view – as well as different graphical styles.
Total Hip Replacement. 30 day readmission rate by CCG.
The Procedures Explorer Tool is available via the Royal College of Surgeons website, supporting the NHS’s agenda for information, transparency and patient choice.
Quality Dashboards for each surgical specialty are being developed to sit alongside the PET, presenting key measures of quality (such as mortality and readmission rates) at the level of each CCG. These are due to be launched in the summer of 2013.
Quality Dashboard
The Quality Dashboards are available via the Royal College of Surgeons website