Technology to improve quality and health risk management

How can boards use data and technology to improve the quality of services?

His name might not be widely known but in the early twentieth century Dr Ernest Codman, a surgeon in Boston, quietly changed the way that we think about patient safety.

His pioneering ‘end result’ system, which advocated that ‘every hospital should follow every patient it treats, long enough to determine whether or not the treatment has been successful and then to inquire, “if not, why not?”’, fundamentally changed how patient care was perceived.1 It encouraged practitioners to think longitudinally to identify patterns of harm, to focus on patient outcomes and to adopt a culture of learning from their mistakes, values which are still vital to this day.

Now, with the significant opportunity afforded by ICSs, as well as the advancement of technology, the health and social care sector in England is well-placed to embrace population health management approaches, taking the ideas developed by Dr Codman to their logical conclusion.

On 29 April, the Good Governance Institute, sponsored by Tendable, hosted a roundtable event to explore how such ideas could be made manifest, with a particular focus on risk and technology.

The roundtable was facilitated by GGI’s own chief executive, Andrew Corbett-Nolan. This short paper captures the key themes raised during the discussion in the hope that it can stimulate further debate and the sharing of best practice.