The document discusses the information needs of clinical commissioning groups to support patient choice, clinical decision making, and efficient healthcare delivery. It outlines that clinical commissioning groups will require integrated patient-level data, risk stratification tools, and timely financial and activity information. The document also emphasizes establishing national data standards and contractual obligations around data sharing to enable effective commissioning.

1. Meeting the information
needs of clinical
commissioning groups
Ailsa Claire OBE
Transition Programme Lead Patients & Intelligence
NHS Commissioning Board Design Team

2. The vision: Government White Paper
“Information, combined with the right support, is the
key to better care, better outcomes and reduced
costs.”
Equity & Excellence: Liberating the NHS

3. Context
• No decision without me − fundamental change in
the relationship with patients
• Health service that is open, transparent
responsive
• Clinical evidence − effectiveness
• Safety
• Transforming patient experience
• Outcomes

4. Patient choice and control
• Patients access to information to make choices about their care.
• People should be able to share their records with third parties eg, patient
support groups, who can help patients manage their condition better.
• Patients increased control over their own care records.
• People should have access to information for self care and self-directed
support.
• Patients information on health care to enable them to share in decisions
made about their care and available services.
• ‘NHS like the internet for info and access.’

5. Intelligence context
• Patient and public voice
• Insight
• Trustworthy open data intelligence
• Consumer choice − channels
• Technology to transform relationships

6. The CCG narrative
• Clinical commissioning
• Based on clinical practice
• Focus on a patient, groups of patients and
populations
• Focus on self care, self-directed support
• Care pathways not described in current PbR
language
• Procurement, contracting back room functions

7. Traditional information
• Devolved down to practices
• Not real time
• Not connected to individual patient info
• Not connected to finance
• Often inaccurate or incomplete
• Difficult to engage with
• Focus on contract validation

8. Why do we think it will be different this
time?

9. • Clinical commissioning will fail if things do not
change.
• The information revolution’s obligations to patients
will not be achieved.
• Unique role of the NHS Commissioning Board.
• Unique role of GP commissioners.
• Information Centre has greater powers.
• New support for commissioning arrangements.

10. Intelligence requirements of CCGs
• One shared, virtual patient-level care record visible at primary
care that supports clinical practice and care pathway-based
commissioning
• Data and intelligence aggregated from the care record
• Patients access to their care record
• Risk stratification tools

11. Intelligence needs of CCGs – continued
• Systems should be inter-operable between care settings to
allow commissioners to track patients through a pathway
• Integrated finance and activity data (inc. ‘forward order book’)
• Information must be timely
• Data quality must be improved and be consistent across the
country
• National information standards must be set and adhered to.

12. NHS Commissioning Flows - GPCC
Potential Future State
NHS
Commissioning
Board
PCT Cluster
Healthcare ‘Any
Aggregated
Willing Provider’
Primary Care Activity data
Information Activity information for:
• Annual Planning
• Contract Monitoring • Ambulance
GP Consortium / • Community
• Commissioning Information
• Performance Information • Acute
Commissioning • Mental Health
Support Unit • General
Information for: Practice
• Patient risk stratification
• Other non-
• Benchmarking
Ability to share information NHS providers
across consortium e.g. Third
Sector, Local
Authority etc
GP / Primary Care
Information for:
• Health Care
• Patient Choice
• Decision support
Patient level care • Patient empowerment
record
• Single authoritative
source of patient level
data
Governance/Access Secondary data maps to
• Data captured at point
Other organisations may primary care;
of care
require access to care Captured close to point
records e.g. Information of care;
Centre; Social Care; Ability to track patients
Public Health; Local
Authority; Healthwatch;
Patient
CQC; NICE and
Greater control over
Economic Regulator
care record:
• Access to electronic or Denotes : NHS Commissioners/Groups of
otherwise commissioners
• Ability to
comment/challenge Denotes : Providers

13. Information sharing
• A culture of open information, active responsibility
and challenge to ensure patient safety is priority.
• To make aggregate data available in a standard
format to allow intermediaries to analyse and
present it to patients.

14. Commissioning
• Providers would have clear contractual obligations, with
sanctions, in relation to accuracy and timeliness of data.
• Commissioners and providers would have to use agreed
technical and data standards to promote compatibility
between different systems.
• More information about commissioning of health care will
also improve public accountability. Information about
services will be published on a commissioner basis where
possible.

15. Government White Paper – Information Revolution
The role of the NHS Commissioning Board
• Commissioning for quality improvement:
- making information on commissioner performance available
• Promoting public and patient involvement and choice:
- commissioning information requirements for choice and for
accountability, including through patient-reported measures
• NHS CB will need access to robust data to hold providers to account
for quality and outcomes
• The NHS CB would be responsible for setting and maintaining
national information standards for the NHS

16. The future
• Intelligence to enable patients carers, public and those
who support them to make the best decisions and choices
they can.
• Transform patient experience with information and
technology.