Openness in the NHS: a secondary longitudinal analysis of national staff and patient surveys

Impact of primary to secondary care data sharing on care quality in NHS England hospitals

Health information exchange (HIE) is seen as a key component of effective care but remains poorly evidenced at a health system level. In the UK National Health Service (NHS), the ability to share primary care data with secondary care clinicians is a focus of continued digital investment. In this study, we report the evolution of interoperable technology across a period of rapid digital transformation in NHS England from 2015 to 2019, and test association of primary to secondary care data-sharing capabilities with clinical care quality indicators across all acute secondary care providers (n = 135 NHS Trusts). In multivariable analyses, data-sharing capabilities are associated with reduction in patients breaching an Accident & Emergency (A&E) 4-h decision time threshold, and better patient-reported experience of acute hospital care quality. Using synthetic control analyses, we estimate mean 2.271% (STD+/-3.371) absolute reduction in A&E 4-h decision time breach, 12 months following introduction of data-sharing capabilities. Our findings support current digital transformation programmes for developing regional HIE networks but highlight the need to focus on implementation factors in addition to technological procurement.

A decade after Francis: is the NHS safer and more open?

Recurrent organisational catastrophes remain a disheartening reality

Encouraging openness in health care: Policy and practice implications of a mixed-methods study in the English National Health Service

OBJECTIVE

The National Health Service (NHS) in England has introduced a range of policy measures aimed at fostering greater openness, transparency and candour about quality and safety. We draw on the findings of an evaluation of the implementation of these policies in NHS organisations, with the aim of identifying key implications for policy and practice.

METHODS

We undertook a mixed-methods policy evaluation, comprising four substudies: a longitudinal analysis of data from surveys of NHS staff and service users; interviews with senior stakeholders in NHS provider organisations and the wider system; a survey of board members of NHS provider organisations and organisational case studies across acute, community and mental health, and ambulance services.

RESULTS

Our findings indicate a mixed picture of progress towards improving openness in NHS organisations, influenced by organisational history and memories of past efforts, and complicated by organisational heterogeneity. We identify four features that appear to be necessary conditions for sustained progress in improving openness: (1) authentic integration into organisational mission is crucial in making openness a day-to-day concern; (2) functional and effective administrative systems are vital; (3) these systems must be leavened by flexibility and sensitivity in implementation and (4) a spirit of continuous inquiry, learning and improvement is required to avoid the fallacy that advancing openness can be reduced to a time-limited project. We also identify four persistent challenges in consolidating and sustaining improvement: (1) a reliance on goodwill and discretionary effort; (2) caring for staff, patients and relatives who seek openness; (3) the limits of values-driven approaches on their own and (4) the continued marginality of patients, carers and families.

CONCLUSIONS

Variation in policy implementation offers important lessons on how organisations can better deliver openness, transparency and candour. These lessons highlight practical actions for policymakers, managers and senior clinicians.

The impact of transparency constraints on the efficiency of the Russian healthcare system: systematic literature review

There is an ongoing debate among researchers and policy-makers on how to make transparency a powerful tool of healthcare systems. This study addresses how the availability and accessibility of information about medical services to the general population affects healthcare outcomes in Russia. A systematic review was conducted and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviewing and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Transparency indicators of health facilities used in the world's most efficient healthcare systems are also reviewed. Although the increase of transparency in the Russian healthcare system is considered as a tool for improving its efficiency, very little has been done to improve the actual level of transparency. The existing institutional specifics of the Russian healthcare system impose serious restrictions on acceptable levels of transparency. In the reviewed empirical Russian studies, transparency is often viewed simplistically as either information available on the websites of medical organizations or issues related to the amount of accessible indicators of compulsory medical statistical reporting. The novelty of this study consists in (a) reviewing the most recent studies on the topic and (b) including studies in Russian in the analysis. We elaborate on general and specific policy implications for improving transparency-driven outcomes in the Russian healthcare system.