Competency 4 - Engaging with clinicians to inform strategy and drive quality
This Competency recognises that clinicians are best placed to advise and lead on issues relating to clinical quality and effectiveness. They are the local care pathway experts who work closely with local people understanding clinical needs. PCTs should therefore ensure that, through the involvement of clinicians in strategic planning and service design, the services then commissioned build on the current evidence base, maximise local care pathways and utilise resources effectively. Professional Executive Committees (PECs) have a crucial role to play in building and strengthening clinical leadership in the strategic commissioning process. Practice based commissioning (PBC) is the key methodology for this and should be maximised to drive innovative and transformational change.
You can read more about this Competency, including the key information-related inputs and outputs required to meet this Competency here: Competency 4 - Knowledge Management Summary.
There is one area of this Competency where Knowledge Management has particular relevance.
Below you will find a summary of how Knowledge Management can support your development in this area, along with a choice of resources which we feel may help.
DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION TO SUPPORT CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING
At a minimum, PCTs must share quality of care information and engage in regular dialogue with clinicians on quality improvement. The status updates they then produce and disseminate must be of a quality, format and frequency which the PBCs perceive as appropriate.
To reach Level 4, PCTs will need to be able to produce quality reports that include recent clinical evidence, benchmarks, and changes in clinical practice. They will also need to be able to calculate the PBC return on investment.
Humana recommends creating a comprehensive repository (data warehouse) that is patient-centric and combines patient-related data from multiple sources, including primary care (EMIS web), secondary care (SUS), patient demographics (NSTS), community health (RIO and potentially a CRM system (hyperlink to previous mention of CRM System). Combining such a repository with a web-based application that shows all the data about a patient at a glance and a comprehensive set of reports will also help engage clinicians.
For a list of resources relating to this area, including a summary of the documents and rating, click here.
