Introduction
The UK National budget for pathology amounts to some £2 billion per annum. There is concern that with rising demand there is a need to ensure these resources are used with maximum efficiency. Benchmarking has been identified as an important tool to influence local budgetary management, and also to support an increased focus on appropriate testing.
Summary
It is proposed to develop a clinical benchmarking system that will bring together laboratory, managerial and epidemiological data to provide insight into comparative aspects of diagnostic test delivery across the NHS. The system will be expected to support desired goals of:
- Demand management for pathology services.
- Increased focus of appropriate testing on individual patients.
- Reduction in redundant testing.
- Improved cost effectiveness.
- Equity of access to pathology services within and across PCTs & GPs
- Compliance with diagnostic and monitoring aspects of NSFs, e.g. diabetes, CHD.
- Monitoring testing practice in relation to new commissioning arrangements.
The proposal will largely utilise public domain information, routinely collected by the NHS locally to provide timely insights into the delivery of diagnostic services. The system will be developed as a pilot with a view to rapid rollout across the NHS and all data designs will support scalability. It will build on work previously conducted in the field in both the public and private sector.
More details about the aims of this project can be found below. Please download the flier for more information.
benchmarking/Portals/0/PB_toolkit_development_project.pdf
Supported by the Department of Health
