Commissioning resources
Latest additions
Options for PCT provider services: an evidence-based policy analysis for NHS West Midlands (PDF, 500KB)
This report sets out the findings of a research project carried out by the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham and Hempsons (a national law firm focused on the health sector). It identifies, describes and analyses models of organisation and governance (legal entities) that could be adopted by PCTs for their provider services as they adapt to the current policy context of NHS systems reforms following Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS (2005), the NHS community services White Paper (2006), and the Government’s open advocacy of third sector providers for statutory services. The report is intended as a practical, research-based resource for PCT boards and management teams to use as they consider their corporate response to a policy environment that appears to expect contestability and plurality of provision.
Establishing Contract Monitoring Mechanisms for Salford PCT Provided Services (Word, 2.1MB)
This report (by Ben Cowan of the Salford PCT Modernisation Directorate) is designed to provide an introduction to a larger piece of work (embedded at the base of the paper) which supplies the means to carry out this task; i.e. the detailed guidance, the tools, the methododolgy and the analysis. The subject examines future PCT provider and commissioning responsiblities regarding the implementation of recent national policy and guidance under the banner of Commissioning a Patient-led NHS .
Camden PCT Public Consultation on Service Specifications and Selection Criteria for Tendering for GP Services in Camden (Word, 388KB)
This primary care (GMS) draft specification and consultation document sets out the service specification for future tendering of General Primary Care Services in Camden, and the selection criteria used to decide who is awarded the contract. Providers might include alternative providers of medical services (APMS) from the independent sector, voluntary sector, not-for profit organisations, or other NHS organisations. (March 2007)
Older resources, alphabetically by source
1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
See also, in this section:
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18-weeks website, includes work on pathways
- Review of the NHS Financial Management and Accounting Regime Critical in many respects and makes a number of recommendations, with the advent of foundation trusts and new commissioning practices in mind. For example, the report suggests resource based budgeting and accounting be scrapped, that there should be more emphasis on transparency, particularly with regard to liquidity and borrowing for investment (Abstract from TIN)
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Early lessons in implementing practice based commissioning
(Jun 2006) Key areas to focus on for success and key questions for primary care trusts' boards to consider -
Early lessons from payment by results (Oct 2005)
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Older people - implementing telecare (Sep 2004 )
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Transforming Health and Social Care in Wales Aligning the levers of change (2004)
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Governing Partnerships: Bridging the accountability gap (2005)
- Quicker treatment closer to home
Primary care trusts’ success in redesigning care pathways 2004. Reviews how primary care trusts (PCTs) are supporting redesign of care pathways from primary care into consultant outpatient services.
Birmingham and the Black Country SHA
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Reducing unplanned hospital admissions What does the literature tell us ?
186 studies systematically summarised, out of an initial trawl of 65,812. Comprehensive, but not conclusive.
British Medical Association
Calderdale and Huddersfield Health Community
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Looking to the Future Integrated Service Strategy
Care Services Improvement Partnership
A wide range of relevant initiatives and a developing knowledge community - see www.csip.org.uk
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DH/CSIP/Integrated Care Network
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Practice based commissioning: an introduction for a local authority audience An introduction to PBC and illustrative examples of the potential of PBC in the context of joint commissioning of care services. (these and many other examples also included in NHS Networks Learning from practice PBC case studies.)
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Integrated Care Network
- Whole Systems Working Guide and Discussion Paper With an increased policy drive towards joint working between health and social care, the concept of whole system working continues to bear great significance yet it is a concept still very much in its infancy. This discussion paper aims to develop the debate around the factors behind whole systems working and explores issues in managing a whole system. A revision of the earlier ICN discussion paper published in 2004, this paper makes practical suggestions as well as gives illustrations of whole system working in practice.
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CSIP - Change Agent Team:
- Commissioning eBook a resource to improve commissioning of community services
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Better commissioning learning improvement network draws its membership from commissioners in social care, health and housing bodies as well as the full range of independent providers
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Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPPs)- council-based partneships' innovative pilot projects providing person-centred and integrated care for older people, and encouraging preventative approaches
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CSIP - other programmes:
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Everybody’s Business
Integrated mental health services for older adults – Key messages for commissioners inc Commissioning Checklist -
From segregation to inclusion: Commissioning guidance on day services
Refocusing day services for working-age adults with mental health problems into community resources that promote social inclusion
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CSIP/ DfES:
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Industry techniques and inspiration for commissioners
A resource for those with responsibility for commissioning services for children, young people and maternity services through children’s trusts. Insights into the way business and industry tackles challenges which are comparable to those of the Every Child Matters programme. It does so by summarising a range of techniques and approaches that have been developed in the private sector and that appear to have the potential for being applied to the tasks faced by children’s trusts.
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CIPFA
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Practice-Based Commissioning – The Essential Guide to Practical Implementation (2006) Price:£ 95.00 "....of particular benefit to executives and non-executives at primary care trusts, professional executive committee (PEC) members, PBC leads, project managers and finance managers. Equally, the publication will be of great use to practice-based commissioners – both practitioners and practice business managers."
Commissioning News
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Commissioning News Issue One (June/July 2006)
“Investing in services for drugs, health, crime and social care” . Produced in conjunction with CJ Wellings, and supported by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, the Care Services Improvement Partnership, Futurebuilders and criminal justice agencies.
Dr Foster Intelligence
A partnership between The Information Centre for Health and Social Care and Dr Foster
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PCTs can compare their performance on specific aspects of care and resource utilisation through the publication Delivering quality and value: Focus on productivity and efficiency and the website: www.drfosterintelligence.co.uk/productivity. Uses 2004-5 HES data.
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Improving delivery and performance through primary care:
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Improving delivery and performance in secondary care:
Healthcare Financial Management Association
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NED Role in Commissioning a Patient-led NHS Event 4 July 2006
Health Foundation and the Picker Institute
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Patient-focused Interventions: a review of evidence reveals that patient involvement can significantly improve health outcomes and efficiency but is being ignored by policy makers and healthcare professionals.A 'definitive guide to what works and what doesn't in patient involvement', it collates evidence published over the last eight years. Valuable resource, badly needs an index.
Health Service Journal
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Quality And Value Supplement:Quick Wins How The Productive Time Programme Is Cutting Costs And Advancing Care April 2006
- Developing Effective Partnerships in Health and Social Care Conference 18 January 2007 Overcoming barriers to successful integration in a climate of great change
Health Services Management Centre
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Creating NHS Local: a new relationship between PCTs and local government argues that local councils should have a more powerful role in determining health spending priorities thus bringing a greater degree of local democracy to NHS decision making.Planning and commissioning local health services needs to be taken out of the hands of primary care trusts and should be entrusted to local councils instead, according to a new report by Jon Glasby, Judith Smith and Helen Dickinson. -
Inter-Authority Comparisons and Consultancy (IACC) Performance information for PCTs and trusts
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Commissioning in the reformed NHS:policy into practice (with NHS Alliance) March 2006
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A Review of the Effectiveness of Primary Care-led Commissioning and Its Place in the NHS commissioned by The Health Foundation
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National Evaluation of the Costs and Outcomes of Intermediate Care for Older People , funded by the Department of Health, 2001-2005, with the Nuffield Community Care Studies Unit, University of Leicester
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Developing Effective Commissioning by Primary Care Trusts: Lessons from Research , funded by the Department of Health, Policy Research Programme, 2002
Improvement Foundation (formerly NPDT)
- Free Webcasts for High Impact Changes for Practice Teams Access & Long Term Conditions:onThursday 16th November 2006 -Register by noon Monday 13thNovember
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Improvement Foundation PBC Survey Results 396 practices detail their readiness August 2006
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Practice Based Commissioning Development Programme:
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Commissioning and Contracting:
Institute of Public Care
Part of Oxford Brookes University aims to enhance the quality of services received by users of public welfare organisations through applied research and consultancy , management practice and development, dissemination of knowledge and specialist software design
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The IPC Network
Commissioning and performance resource network for community, primary care and children’s services -
Issues in Commissioning for Long Term Conditions
proposes a commissioning cycle and specific questions for specialist commissioning that will be addressed in the guidance the Institute for Public Care are producing for the Neurological conditions NSF
Institute for Public Policy Research
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Public expectations of the NHS are running ahead of what the health service can deliver, according to Ipsos MORI survey. Great Expectations: A sustainable health system beyond 2008 by Jennifer Rankin will be published by IPPR in the autumn. See IPPR press release
Integrated Service Improvement Programme (ISIP)
Kent and Medway SHA
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Future Commissioning Arrangements in Kent System reform & Commissioning Final Report August 2005 Tribal Secta
King’s Fund
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Shaping Health Services for the Future This half-day conference (14 November) is a timely opportunity for senior managers and clinicians from the NHS, independent and voluntary sectors to consider the future shape of health services locally, especially the role of the district general hospital and examine the potential for out-of-hospital care, the challenges for academic medical centres and the complexities of the reconfiguration process itself. Keynote speaker Andrew Cash, DH Director General of Provider Development.
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Social Enterprise and Community-based Care
Is there a future for mutually-owned organisations in community and primary care? -
NHS Market Futures: Exploring the Impact of Health Service Market Reforms
September 2005 Analyses the government's market reforms, considering whether they can meet the core aims of the NHS, looking at the challenges they present, and exploring options for meeting those challenges. -
The Future of Primary Care: Meeting the Challenges of the New NHS Market
November 2005 Examines the potential impact of these changes and the role of primary care in the new NHS market, outlining some of the main challenges and suggesting possible ways forward. -
Public Views on Choices in Health and Health Care: A Qualitative Study
October 2005 Presents the key findings from 10 focus groups held to explore public views about choice in health and health care, and aims particularly to describe attitudes to choice among people living with a long-term condition. It concludes with a discussion about the implications of findings for emerging policy. The findings will inform the design of a larger quantitative survey about choice, to be conducted towards the end of 2005. -
Securing Good Care for Older People: Taking a Long Term View
Sir Derek Wanless reviews how much should be spent on social care for older people in England over the next 20 years and what funding arrangements need to be in place to ensure that this money is available and will produce high-quality outcomes. -
Incentives for Reform in the NHS: An assessment of current incentives in the South East London health economy
Examines whether these incentives are helping or hindering progress. Its findings are based on interviews with health sector representatives in south-east London. The paper makes a number of recommendations for how incentives can be better aligned at a national level, and also highlights actions that local agencies – such as strategic health authorities – can take. -
Online reading room on Social Care and Older People and Online reading room on Practice Based Commissioning. Bring together details of books, reports and journal articles held by the King's Fund Information and Library Service. It also offers links to relevant organisations and other information
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust: Performance Improvement Team
Leicestershire, Northampton and Rutland SHA
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Enhanced Clinical Networks Programme Commissioning Guide offers a a generic model for networks to advise commissioners. Also a Performance Framework to support local networks with organisational development, planning and performance management. Cited in NDST network guide supplement (below).
Local Government Association
- Vision for services for children and young people affected by domestic violence Commissioning guidance offers a template which directors of children's services, cabinet members with lead responsibility for children and their local safeguarding children's boards, working with domestic violence partnerships can use to incorporate the needs of children experiencing domestic violence in planning children's services.
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Improving services, improving governance and better governance for better well-being (summary) This discussion paper outlines a governance framework to support a partnership approach for well-being and help such partnerships to secure better outcomes for local citizens and communities.
London Health Observatory
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How to Analyse Ethnic Differences in Health, Health Care and the Workforce: A Toolkit for the NHS Commissioned from the LHO by the Department of Healthto help the NHS to analyse ethnic differentials in health, healthcare and the workforce. It should be read in conjunction with the Quick Questions and Answers companion document.
Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Registry
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Cancer incidence and mortality in Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network 1996-2001 (a classic example of best practice in commissioning Cancer Chemotherapy and Associated Drugs).
Middlesborough PCT - MIDAS
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Middlesborough PCT Information Data and Statistics (MIDAS) package
Allows GPs to monitor and audit patient information submitted for PbC. Used by increasing number of PCTs.
Modernisation Agency archive and legacy resources
(see also NatPaCT archive and NHS Institute)
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www.improvement.nhs.uk
An online resource to support improvement of NHS services for patients and carers. It is designed to reflect the journeys patients take through the NHS system. It is available to every NHS organisation in England.( i.e. on NHS Net users only; some areas require registration).Specialities covered: Cardiac, Cancer, Endoscopy, Radiology, Pathology, Generic Improvements and Mental Health. -
WISE:
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Improvement Leaders' Guides:
Monitor
National Association for Voluntary and Community Action
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For good measure. Contract, without squeezing, voluntary and community groups – an appeal for action. Puts forward proposals for lighter monitoring to spare voluntary and community sector unnecessary and bureaucratic reporting requirements imposed by funders
National Association for Primary Care (NAPC)
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Practice Based Commissioning: Making it Work in Practice Annual Conference1-2 November: Patricia Hewitt, Dr Hamish Meldrum, Simon Stevens, Dr Richard Lewis
National Diabetes Support Team (NDST)
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Levels of Care: A New Language for Service Planning and Design has been published by the NDST to provide a new vocabulary in order to make discussions about any service more straightforward. The new language introduces four different ‘levels of care’. Each level represents a different perspective from which services can be described and discussed.Word version (550KB)
National Library for Health (NeLH)
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Library for Health Protocols and Care Pathways
NatPaCT - National Primary and Care Trust Development Programme, Commissioning Archive
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The Commissioning Friend for PCTs (2004)
F ocuses specifically on the role of the PCT in Whole Systems Commissioning of Acute Services, including specialist commissioning. -
The Commissioning Friend for Mental Health Services (2005)
A Resource Guide for Health & Social Care Commissioners -
Driving Change
Good Practice designed to help PCT commissioners to understand fully how emergency care and non-emergency patient transport fit into the overall pattern of care for the communities they serve.
National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC)
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The implementation of local authority scrutiny of primary health care:2002-2005 Summary of the final report that looked at the implementation of local authority scrutiny of primary health care (2002-2005), including implications for democratic accountability, local governance, and local authority/PCT partnerships. Full report also available
National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group
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NSCAG annual report 2005/06 Key achievements of nationally designated services during 2005/06, includes activity and financial data.National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group
National Diabetes Support Team
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Network guide supplement: System reform and Commissioning Summarises national policy and suggests opportunities and actions for local diabetes networks, especially around PBC. Principles apply to other clinical areas.
National Leadership Network
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Strengthening Local Services: The Future of the Local Hospital
Report by the National Leadership Network's Local Hospital Project Board presented to Sir Ian Carruthers, acting Chief Executive of the NHS.
National Primary Care Research and Development Centre
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Outpatient Services and Primary Care
A review of research into strategies for improving outpatient effectiveness and efficiency. A report to the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R&D Programme March 2006 (with Centre for Public Policy and Management of the University of Manchester).
National Resource Centre for Patient and Public Involvement
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Involvement is power: Rosie Winterton announces details of national resource centre for patient and public involvement
May 2006 DH Press Release. The Centre starts life on 1 June 2006 and will be run by a consortium made up of the University of Warwick, the Centre for Public Scrutiny and the Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement will performance manage the Centre. The executive director of the Centre is Dr Jonathan Tritter.
NHS Alliance
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Commissioning in the reformed NHS:policy into practice (with HSMC) March 2006
NHS Employers
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Improving services for people with long-term conditions through large-scale workforce change Results and learning from national workforce change programme in 2005-6; many detailed case studies.
NHS Heart Improvement Programme
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Making Moves:
Data audit and review of service improvements in interhospital transfer arrangements for cardiac patients (April 2006) demonstrates improved care with shorter patient journeys and substantial bed-day savings, but further work is required.
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
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Delivering Quality and Value:
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Focus On High Volume Care - comprehensive and detailed range of specific or system improvements along the entire patient pathway for cholecystectomy, urinary tract infections , acute admissions in mental health, fractured neck of femur, primary hip and knee replacement, acute stroke, caesarean section, short stay emergency care (two or fewer days).
- Focus Document
- Delivering quality and value: focus on productivity and efficiency Focus on nine key areas where the NHS can improve productivity and efficiency.
- Productivity metrics A set of 15 productivity metrics linked to the nine key areas.
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Development Portfolio for senior leaders (Chairs, Directors and Chief Executives) May 2006
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Making the shift key success factors A rapid review of best practice in shifting hospital care into the community The NHS Institute's Primary Care/Long Term Conditions Priority Programme is examining the most effective strategies to support shifting specialist care into the community. The Institute is working with local NHS test sites to examine how such shifts work in practice; which approaches help encourage shifts; and how to accelerate effective, evidence-based change across the NHS. This rapid review of strategies to facilitate shifts in care provides evidence to help underpin development and learning within the test sites.
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Making the shift: a review of NHS Experience Summary of review of current NHS experience; parallels literature review above
NHS National Workforce Projects and the Workforce Review Team
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NHS Healthcareworkforce portal
Provides one-stop access to NHS healthcare workforce planning information, knowledge, intelligence and practical tools.
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Web-based commissioning guides to help NHS reduce spending on ineffective treatments, by setting benchmarks to determine the level of service needed., offering advice on a range of issues, including local needs assessment and opportunities for disinvestment. Five guides are being launched in the autumn focus on upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation, pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD, assisted discharge scheme for COPD, assessment of the diabetic foot.
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The Centre for Public Health Excellence develops public health guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health.
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The Centre for Health Technology Evaluation develops Technology appraisals, recommendations on the use of new and existing medicines and treatments within the NHS.
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Presentations from national series of Practice Based Commissioning Events inc speakers from DH, PCTs NAPC Newmarket 24 October | Newbury 11 October | Haydock Park 3 October
- Bulletin 5: Pharmacy and PBC covers Commissioning and Pharmacy – developing a strategic approach; Pharmacy and Service Development/Redesign; Best Practice Examples.
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Preliminary toolkit, implementation examples and other Bulletins and other resources on Practice based commissioning at Practice based commissioning pages
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Vision and Values - a call for action on community nursing
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Practice-based commissioning: can nurses get in on the act ?Christian Duffin examines how practice based commissioning is currently taking shape and finds out how nurses can ensure they have a role. Article from Primary health care | Vol 16 No 7 | September 2006
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The Horizon Scanning Centre is responsible for advance notice of significant new and emerging health technologies to the Department of Health
University of York
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Practice Based Commissioning: A summary of the evidence (PDF, 472KB)
Issue 11 of Health Policy Matters, a regular newsletter on health and social policy matters
US experiences
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Supporting NHS Commissioning
Jonathan T. Lord, MD Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Humana Inc -
Purchasing to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs: Lessons from U.S. Managed Care
Leonard D. Schaeffer, Founding Chairman & CEO, WellPoint
Working in Partnership Programme
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Working in Partnership Programme (WiPP)
identifies, develops and signposts effective ways to manage workload in general practice.