Improving quality is about looking beyond what you do and comparing the way you work with other approaches. There is much that can be learned from healthcare systems around the world and we provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to study abroad and exchange expertise. This section also looks at comparisons within - as well as between - countries.
Case studies
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The quest for evidence-based healthcare
The Quest for Quality and Improved Performance is a research initiative which aims to provide impartial evidence about which policies have the greatest impact on improving the health of the population and the productivity of the NHS.
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Developing chronic disease management policy
Derek Feeley is a recent Harkness/Health Foundation fellow. He has been working with leading health policy experts in the field of chronic disease management, to explore how healthcare policy can be developed to provide better quality care for patients in Scotland.
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International patient safety lessons
The Health Foundation's Quality Improvement Fellowships aim to develop leaders to promote quality improvement nationally. Dr Noeleen Devaney worked on a research project in the US that looked at how to get doctors involved in improving quality and is now back in the UK working with other hospitals to help them to improve patient safety.
Publications
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Financial incentives, healthcare providers and quality improvements
This report reviews the literature to determine how financial incentives affect the quality of care delivered by healthcare organisations and individuals. It was updated and republished in July 2009.
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The link between health spending and health outcomes for the new English primary care trusts
Our third report on programme budget data analysis builds on a unique methodology developed by the research team at the University of York.
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QQUIP
This leaflet introduces QQUIP, a research initiative of the Health Foundation that provides a source of independent commentary and data about the quality and performance of healthcare provision.
Featured data
Current activities
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Harkness/Health Foundation Fellowships
The aim of the Harkness/Health Foundation fellowship is to encourage and support healthcare practitioners from managerial and clinical backgrounds to participate in the Harkness Fellowship programme, run by The Commonwealth Fund of New York.
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International Quality Improvement Exchange
We enable leaders in healthcare from across Europe to come together and share ideas through our International Quality Improvement Exchange events.
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Opinion research
Between 2003 and 2005, The Health Foundation conducted a series of surveys of patients’ opinions and attitudes towards the healthcare they receive in the UK and beyond.
Features
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As good as it gets?
Health policy makers and managers around the world are striving to secure improvements in the quality of care. Kim Sutherland discusses the role of international comparisons in improving healthcare.
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Increased activity may put bright future at risk
While health service investment has soared, the pressure on organisations to secure financial control may be driving down productivity. Peter Smith unravels the paradox...
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Democratic control is essential
Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, Stephen Thornton, debates whether taking the politics out of the NHS would make for a better health service.
Latest news
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Health spending and outcomes for the new English primary care trusts
Current spending by primary care trusts on some important programmes of care is highly cost-effective, according to the third spending and outcomes study by the Health Foundation.
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Bold stroke initiative launched in North West England
A bold new health programme aims to reduce the number of stroke deaths by a third by 2010. The Stroke 90:10 initiative could see an unprecedented level of stroke sufferers leaving hospital without serious disability in the region.
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Healthcare spending and the link to outcomes
There is high variability in spending across the 152 primary care trusts in England, explains Vin McLouglin, Director of Performance Analysis at the Health Foundation, in a HSJ data briefing.