Innovation

The Innovators Council: call for ideas
The purpose of the Innovators Council is to champion innovation in public services - it will be a forum for people to make suggestions for reform and challenge thinking in public service design and delivery. Have you got ideas about how people delivering public services can work better together? Have you spotted areas of duplication in public services which could be cut out? The Innovators Council is looking for ideas to make public services more efficient by building them around the needs of citizens, cutting out the waste and changing ways of working together. The Council will be meeting for the first time on 24th June and if your idea makes it onto the shortlist you will be invited to come along and take part. If your idea can be explained in a few words, you can let us know on the Public Experience website. If what you are suggesting is more complicated you can send it by e-mail or post it to Room 1.17, Admiralty Arch, Lonson SW1A 2WH.

National Innovation and Improvement Survey – deadline 8th June 2009
The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has launched the first nationwide Innovation and Improvement survey specifically designed for the NHS. It offers all NHS staff an opportunity to influence the national innovation and improvement agenda and inform the programmes of work that happen at national and regional level in the NHS over the next year. The survey, which is open to all NHS staff, takes about 10 minutes to complete and is live until 8th June. Results will only be analysed at nationwide and SHA level and will not be analysed at the level of an individual NHS organisation or team. All responses will be anonymous and no individual responses will be shared. It will not be possible for anyone to identify respondents as a result of the survey. When the survey is complete, everyone who has completed the survey will have the option to view their results in comparison to the overall responses.

Nurturing good ideas
J van den Ende, B Kijkuit
Harvard Business Review, 2009, 87(4), pp24-25
NHS Athens passwords may be required to access this resource, and can be obtained by registering here. Choose the Athens login option.

Knowledge Improvement and Research

Understanding medical words: a tutorial from the National Library of Medicine
This tutorial teaches you about medical words and how they are put together. It is a useful tool for those who do not come from a clinical background, but need to recognise the terminology.

Knowledge translation learning modules
Three knowledge translation learning modules are now freely available from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. They are:
1. A guide to researcher and knowledge-user collaboration in health research
2. Introduction to evidence-informed decision making
3. Critical appraisal of intervention studies

Leadership

Financing health care in the European Union: challenges and policy responses
S Thomas, T Foubister, E Mossialos
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2009
This report looks at the issue of financial sustainability of health systems, discussing the current situation and then suggesting practical ways forward.

Events/Calls of Interest

Event: Economic evaluations and economic evidence in healthcare: finding information to inform technology assessments and economic models
7th July 2009, University of York, UK
Health economics information is a key element in much health services research and particularly in health technology assessments. Identifying economic evidence to inform such research can involve searches in a range of databases and using a variety of strategies. This study day will demonstrate some useful resources and present the basics of health economics and economic models.

Event: Health Services & Policy Research Conference 2009
25th-27th November 2009 – Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia
This is the Conference of the Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand (HSRAANZ). This year’s theme is ‘Health Services Research – Reforming, Responding, Rewarding’. In Australia, the Health and Hospitals Reform Commission is considering options for restructuring the Australian Health System. And in New Zealand, while there is a sense of reform fatigue, many incremental changes and innovations in health services are continually being introduced. The conference looks at how health service researchers should respond to these current needs for health care and health system reform, and aims to learn from good practice from around the world. The call for abstracts closes on 10th July 2009.

Commissioning

Transformational Government Annual Report 2008
This report shows how the Cabinet Office has worked with government departments and the wider public sector across service boundaries to develop solutions, programmes and services that are both effective and efficient from the perspective of the customer, the taxpayer and staff.

Improvement

What students think
This new article in Healthcare Executive describes how health professions students are learning about and applying the tools of quality improvement.

Measuring for quality improvement
In partnership with professionals right across the NHS, the Department of Health and The NHS Information Centre have identified an initial, but evolving, set of indicators to describe the quality of a broad range of services – the Indicators for Quality Improvement.

Research in action: using positive deviance to improve quality of health care
EH Bradley, LA Curry, S Ramanadhan, L Rowe, IM Nembhard, HM Krumholz
Implementation Science, 2009, 4:25

Perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of evidence-based medicine in primary care: a study protocol
P Alonso-Coello, I Sola, R Rotaeche, AI Gonzalez-Gonzalez, M Marzo-Castillejo, A Louro-Gonzalez, R Carrillo, P Velazquez, G Garcia-Velasco, C Calderon
BMC Health Services Research, 2009, 9:80

Applying the balanced scorecard to local public health performance measurement: deliberations and decisions
E Weir, N d’Entremont, S Stalker, K Kurji, V Robinson
BMC Public Health, 2009, 9:127

Innovation

Pseudoinnovation: the development and spread of healthcare quality improvement methodologies
K Walshe
International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 21(3), pp153-159
This item is not available in full text. Please contact your local health library service.

Knowledge Improvement and Research

The effectiveness of a clinically integrated e-learning course in evidence-based medicine: a cluster randomised trial
R Kulier, SF Coppus, J Zamore, J Hadley, S Malick, K Das, S Weinbrenner, B Meyerrose, T Decsi, AR Horvath, E Nagy, JI Emparanza, TN Arvanitis, A Burls, JB Cabello, M Kaczor, G Zanrei, K Pierer, K Stawiarz, R Kunz, BW Mol, KS Khan
BMC Medical Education, 2009, 9:21

Learning Revolution Transformation Fund
The Learning Revolution Transformation Fund of £20 million offers grants of various sizes to help projects supporting informal adult learning get started. Public, private or third sector organisations in England are eligible to submit their creative proposals, preferably in partnership, by 12th July 2009. For a chance to meet other organisations with shared interests, there is a networking event on 9th June.

Research activity and capacity in primary healthcare: the REACH study: a survey
LG Glynn, C O’Riordan, A MacFarlane, J Newell, AA Iglesias, D Whitford, P Cantillon, AW Murphy
BMC Family Practice, 2009, 10:33

The feasibility of determining the impact of primary health care research projects using the Payback Framework
EC Kalucy, E Jackson-Bowers, E McIntyre, R Reed
Health Research Policy and Systems, 2009, 7:11

The systematic guideline review: method, rationale, and test on chronic heart failure
C Muth, J Gensichen, M Beyer, A Hutchinson, FM Gerlach
BMC Health Services Research, 2009, 9:74

Learning to Manage Health Information: a theme for clinical education: making a difference
Learning to Manage Health Information (LtMHI) was first developed in 1999 to establish a common educational framework in health informatics for all clinical professionals at pre- and post-registration levels, in all areas of healthcare.

Use of communities of practice in business and health care sectors: a systematic review
LC Li, JM Grimshaw, C Nielsen, M Judd, PC Coyte, ID Graham
Implementation Science, 2009, 4:27

Evolving the theory and praxis of knowledge translation through social interaction: a social phenomenological study
CL McWilliam, A Kothari, C Ward-Griffin, D Forbes, B Leipert
Implementation Science, 2009, 4:26

Leadership

Health policy: Integrated care
N Hawkes
British Medical Journal, 2009, 338:b1484
Sixteen organisations have been chosen to pilot new models of integrated care in the NHS. The pilots include seven that will focus on long term conditions or chronic diseases, three on elderly people and end of life care, two on dementia, and one each on falls, mental health, delivery of rural healthcare, and substance misuse.

Health care process modelling: which method when?
GT Jun, J Ward, Z Morris, J Clarkson
International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 21(3), pp214-224
This item is not available in full text. Please contact your local health library service.

Patient Safety

Search strategies to identify information on adverse effects: a systematic review
S Golder, Y Loke
Journal of the Medical Library Association, 2009, 97(2), pp84-92

Measuring hand hygiene compliance: overcoming the challenges
This document has been published by The Joint Commission, in collaboration with a range of other organisations, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the World Health Organization World Alliance for Patient Safety.

IHI Global Trigger Tool white paper: second edition
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement Global Trigger Tool for Measuring Adverse Events is being used by patient safety teams in organizations around the world. This is the second edition of the white paper and contains step-by-step instructions for using this methodology. Free registration may be required to download this paper.

Hospitals in pursuit of excellence
This document has been sponsored by the American Hospital Association Quality Centre. It contains case studies focused on four key topics:
· Healthcare-acquired infection
· Patient flow
· Medication management
· Safety

How-to guide: improving hand hygiene
The purpose of this guide is to help organisations reduce health-care-associated infections. It has been prepared in collaboration with a range of organisations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Free registration may be required to download this paper.

Global priorities for patient safety research
DW Bates, I Larizgoitia, N Prasopa-Plaizier, AK Jha
British Medical Journal, 2009, 338: b1775
NHS Athens passwords may be required to access this resource, and can be obtained by registering here. Choose the Athens login option.

Selection of indicators for continuous monitoring of patient safety: recommendations of the project safety improvement for patients in Europe
S Kristensen, J Mainz, P Bartels
International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 21(3), pp169-175
This item is not available in full text. Please contact your local health library service.

Events/Calls of Interest

Call for papers: Health Statistics Data Users Conference 2009: Translating data into knowledge and action
Abstracts required by 31st May 2009.
21st-22nd September 2009 – Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa, Canada
This conference, sponsored by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) will promote the exchange of information between data providers and users in the health statistics field. Abstracts for proposals (not exceeding 300 words in either English or French) must be submitted by May 31, 2009.

Event: Innovation Expo
18th-19th June 2009 – ExCel Centre, London
The Innovation Expo will bring together public, private, scientific, academic and voluntary sectors to showcase health care innovation, enabling thousands of NHS and social care staff to experience and adopt the latest innovation initiatives and best practice.

Event: 21st Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care
6th-9th December 2009 – Orlando, Florida, USA
The National Forum is an opportunity for leaders to come together to hear about cutting-edge improvement strategies, and share best practices and innovative ideas.

Event: Delivering better health services
3rd-4th June 2009 – Holiday Inn, Birmingham, UK
The Health Services Research Network and the National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme are holding this joint annual conference, presenting leading research on health policy and innovation.

Event: Better value for local people: how culture and behaviour drive excellence
19th June 2009 – Oxford Town Hall, UK
This event will examine how cultural and organizational change with councils can be further improved and support wider service transformation.

Event: Quality improvement supporting children’s well-being
12th May 2009 – Hilton Metropole, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK
Hosted by the National Children’s Bureau, this event provides the venue to ensure best practice is shared locally.

Event: The culture conference
7th July 2009 – The Boathouse, Wisbech, UK
This event is part of a series of national events being held to examine how culture and organizational change within councils can be further improved and support wider service transformation.

Event: Quality informatics: your role in delivering the NHS Next Stage Review
4th June 2009 – National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK
This event is being offered by the British Computing Society and the Association for Informatics Professionals in Health and Social Care.

Event: Sustaining innovations and new technologies for managing long-term conditions
9th July 2009 – London, UK
This event will focus on sustaining innovations and new technologies for managing long-term conditions.

Event: Practical statistics for medical and health care research
15th-16th June 2009 – The Leopold Hotel, Sheffield, UK
This course will introduce participants to basic concepts and techniques such as hypothesis testing and confidence interval estimation in statistics.

Event: World class commissioning: effectively managing the market
27th May 2009 – The King’s Fund, London
This conference aims to increase understanding of some of the key issues involved in managing markets and will provide commissioners and other senior NHS professionals with practical solutions to take this forward.

Event: National third sector quality conference: demonstrating quality in challenging times
25th June 2009 – CBI Conference Centre, London, UK
This event will focus on quality in local government and the third sector.

Event: Care Pathways 2009
24th-25th June 2009 – London, UK
This event is supported by the European Pathway Association and The International Journal of Care Pathways and is aimed at all those involved in monitoring and improving patient care through integrated care pathways, clinical pathways and critical pathways. This year’s conference focuses on new and innovative techniques that can help make care pathways more effective, including lean thinking and measurement.

Event: The Productive Ward
4th June 2009 – Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester
The Productive Ward Programme, developed by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, aims to improve processes, maximize value and eliminate waste and error on the wards. This practical one-day conference provides an introduction to the Productive Ward and other programmes from the Productive Ward series.

Event: e-health postgraduate module
The University of Plymouth e-health module is a 10-credit postgraduate online course. Within the University of Plymouth it can be taken as part of the Integrated Masters Scheme, within the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry it can be taken as part of the MSc Public and Community Health. It can also be taken as a stand-alone module for your Continuing Professional Development. The totally online module is delivered by live interactive webcasting so to be able to participate you will need a good broadband connection to the Internet with a computer that plays sounds. The module starts on Wednesday September 30th, runs for 10 weeks with sessions from 2-4.30 UK time, and costs £225 for UK/EU students.