The Health Foundation is an independent charity working to continuously improve the quality of heatlhcare in the UK

Structuring a Business Case for Quality Improvement

In brief

Quality improvement programmes can have a positive impact on patient care and can reduce inefficiencies. However, it is often difficult for NHS organisations to quantify these benefits, calculate actual savings and therefore justify the investment in service improvement.

There are currently no tested models to assess the business case for quality improvement initiatives. A business case model would help departments and organisations illustrate the potential savings from such programmes and would help individuals to see the full impact of their changes.

We have awarded Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust funding for a 12-month programme examining the impact of quality improvement initiatives, specifically in relation to return on investment and increases in efficiency.

The programme will use 'lean' methodology to examine how resources can be used more efficiently and waste reduced, which will then result in the development of an evidence-based business case model.

The funding was awarded in May 2010 and the programme will begin in autumn 2010. Data collection and monitoring are being undertaken by Pascal Metrics.

Comments
Mike Wash 01 December 2010
LEAN is not enough for a Health organisation it needs integrating with greater emphasis on behavioural change at every level - go to Alder Hey Childrens Hospital or the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals Trust to see this working at a cultural level.
John Ovretveit 13 July 2011
There is a tested model - used in sweden

Øvretveit J, Andreen Sachs M. 2005 Brister i patientsäkerhet och övrig kvalitet - hur minska kostnaderna? Läkartidningen 2005;102:232-4. (How can we estimate and reduce the cost of poor quality in our service?)

Øvretveit J, Andreen Sachs M. Brister i patientsäkerhet och övrig kvalitet - vilka är kostnaderna? Läkartidningen 2005;102:140-2. (What is the cost of the patient safety and quality problem in healthcare? A review of the research).

Ovretveit, J and Granberg, C (2007) Testing quality costing models, Phase 3 (2006-2007): A report of the 12-month experience of 10 projects, available from Karolinska Institutet, Medical Management Centre, Stockholm. or download from http://public.me.com/johnovr


and also published in this !!!

Øvretveit, J 2009 Does improving quality save money? A review of evidence of which improvement to quality reduce costs for health service providers, The Health Foundation, London. www.health.org.uk; http://www.health.org.uk/publications/research_reports/does_quality_save.html.
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