1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care
Business Plan 2009/10

2. Vision
To be the recognised source of relevant health and & social care information Mission
To drive the use of information to improve decision making and deliver better care
The Information Centre has a primary aim to become a key enabler of improved patient care

3. Strategic Objectives
Improving High Information Quality & Data Standards
Ensuring the right quality information is provided, using clear governance and standards in data and data collections.
Improving Access to Information
Improving access to and interpretation of information through better presentation and reporting
Ensuring fair and equal access to the information
Providing Relevant Information Services
Delivering the information frontline services need to meet their priorities
Being the source of data for official statistics published by DH, CQC and other bodies for the purposes of accountability

4. In 2009-10 The NHS IC the NHS IC will focus on 14 programmes which collectively will:
Deliver projects that actively promote information to help the NHS and Social Care frontline provide better care and drive service reform and improvement.
Enable patients and the public to exercise choice by being a key supplier of quality information for the website NHS Choices.
Strengthen the NHS IC capacity and skills to deliver the above via an organisational development and business change plan.
Build the capacity of the frontline services to make best use of information through working with NHS Connecting for Health and other key partners through a structured programme to enable better use of existing local resources, support and training.

5. Information management programmes
2009/10 NHSIC Programmes
Data Sources
Information for
Commissioning
Clinical programme
Finance & Performance
Information for Workforce
Planning and Productivity
Social Care Services
Information for Patients
NHS Choices content
NHS Information Reporting Service
( include. GPES)
Data Quality Programme
Syndication of Information
Honest Broker
Signposting of Information
Information Services and Analysis
NHS IC Organisational Development & Capacity
Building frontline information management capacity Informatics professional development in NHS
NHS Spine Data
Care outcomes data
Research Data
Finance Data
Workforce +
ESR Data
Primary Care
Other Data Sources
Data Standards Programme
Frontline Programmes
enabling better care
Information management programmes
Streamlining Data Collections
Communications Programme

6. Streamlining Data Collections
In 2007 the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform set a challenging cross government target to reduce the burden of data collection by 30% by The NHS IC will address this by:
Taking forward work to discontinue or reduce in scope a priority list of collections in order to meet the 30% target.
Extending our regulation of information collections to include DH Arm’s Length Bodies and Strategic Health Authorities.
Instituting a new impact assessment methodology that more accurately estimates the end-to-end cost of information demands.

7. NHS Information Reporting Service
The aim for the NIRS programme is to enable the provision of information through the automatic collection of data from operational systems, particularly the NHS Care Record Service and primary care systems, and the provision of a range of reporting and analysis services to support areas such as planning, management, research, audit and public health. It subsumes the Secondary Uses Service.
The objectives are to:
Improve access to data to support the business requirements of the NHS and its stakeholders.
Provide a range of software tools and functionality which enable users to analyse, report and present this data.
Be the single, authoritative and comprehensive source of high quality data by:
- Enabling linkage of data across all care settings
- Ensuring the consistent derivation of data items and construction of indicators for analysis
- Improving the timeliness of data for analysis purposes
Provide a secure environment which enables patient confidentiality to be maintained according to national standards.

8. Data Quality Programme
The NHS IC is initiating a wide-ranging Data Quality programme to tackle the concerns regarding the quality of health and social care data, and its fitness for purpose.
The programme will deliver:
A network of informatics representatives, who will help to shape and implement the programme.
A portal providing access to best practice, quality processes, and quality comparators comparing data quality across organisations and data sets.
Data Quality Accreditation Framework - which will provide organisations with a yardstick for data quality standards, processes and procedures.

9. Informatics Data Standards Programme
The NHS IC is jointly leading with NHS CFH a wide-ranging programme to update and improve health and social care data standards, in particular to focus on care quality using patient-centred information and meeting current national policy needs.
This programme has seven key elements:
Logical Record Architecture (LRA)
Datasets Futures
End-to-end datasets process
Pathways Groups
Social Care - to update and extend the scope of data standards for social care services
Clinical Quality metrics
Analysis and measures of care activity

10. Syndication of Information Service
The syndication service is focused on the properly governed acquisition of data and/or content from originators and/or suppliers, subsequent processing and combination of those materials and delivery of the resulting outputs.
In simple terms getting-processing-delivering data and/or content to customers.
This could be freely available aggregate information channelled through the NHS IC’s own website, NHS Choices, NHS Comparators or other means, or more complex requirements which requires additional analysis or collection.
‘Syndication’ builds on existing adhoc services, and will introduce new processes and mechanisms, that will further improve both the collation (inbound) and distribution (outbound) of data - not just that from the NHS IC but from many other providers. It will also enhance and support the delivery of the ‘Signposting’ portal.

11. Honest Broker Service The NHS IC is to set up two secure functions:
A compliance unit, which will create the policies to which the system has to conform, accredit compliance criteria and then police participants on their adherence to the terms of their accreditation.
An internal data management service that will collect, hold, merge data sources and manage accredited 3rd party sources as necessary.
This service has the support of the Research Capability Programme (RCP), NHS CFH and other information related organisations.

12. Signposting of Information
A fundamental requirement of information users which emerged in the Health Informatics Review was identifying what information is available across the health and social care landscape, and how to get hold of that information.
The ‘Signposting’ Service will deliver a new, advanced and interactive, web resource (portal) for our customers to access and use health and social care information far more effectively and usefully than now. It will be the access point to get or be connected to information:
The first objective with the Signposting Service is to increase the ‘discoverability’ of health & social care information that exists within both NHS IC and that which exists in other key online resources.
The second key objective is to deliver a contextually relevant user experience, by providing appropriate links to information, and tools which help answer questions and business issues.

13. Clinical Programmes
Focused on meeting the information needs of the clinical community in the NHS and in supporting the quality framework.
The clinical program will cover four main areas:
Care quality indicators – leading on the development of new and existing indicators to bring clarity to quality and enable it to be measured.
Population Health – working with Public Health Observatories to drive forward the quality agenda.
Clinical audit – establishment of a new audit support service.
Research – creating a focal point for information to support clinical research.

14. Information for patients - NHS Choices Programme
The NHS Choices website was launched in 2007 with the vision of enabling the public to know where to find trusted answers on health and wellness, identify how local health services are performing and see information about the quality of services provided. It will underpin many of the reforms outlined in Lord Darzi’s review.
The NHS IC will be the definitive source of quality data for the website as well as the collaborative partner to identify and develop patient relevant information.
The scope of involvement covers:
Maintaining and developing Clinical Indicators with robust methodology
Data Directories – maintaining and developing - GPs, Pharmacies, Dentists, Health Services etc.
Information Development

15. Information for Commissioning
A programme of work streams have been identified for the NHS IC to provide relevant information for commissioning. These include:
Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA).
Update and extend the WCC data packs.
Addressing data and metrics gaps.
Information skills for commissioners.
Supporting the information requirements of Practise Based Commissioning (PBC).
Supporting Metrics development for the Nation Integrated Care Pathway Pilots.

16. Information for Social Care
The NHS IC report, A Strategic Direction for Adult Social Care Information, set out the key issues for the year ahead:
Follow up our review of adult social care collections, by streamlining them to take into account the new National Indicator Set for local authorities.
Further develop plans for a National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS), which would be a shared repository for management information. This could support local benchmarking and allow a national focus on filling information gaps, including information to meet the equalities agenda.
Have a stronger focus on standards.
Increase momentum around a national informatics programme to align health and social care information.

17. Information for Workforce – Planning and Productivity
Widening the data items available in iView workforce.
Improving the quality of ESR data.
Engaging with NHS Jobs to exploit the data behind it.
Overhauling the census process to achieve automated production.
Enhancing the information on the GP workforce.
Ensuring that our wide range of workforce products is used for workforce planning and productivity.

18. Information for Finance and Performance
The Department of Health is in the process of introducing a new NHS performance regime that covers the following five areas:
Finance and performance
Operational standards and targets
Quality and safety
User experience
Board capability
The NHS IC intends through its Director of Finance and Performance to take an active role in providing accurate and timely information to help deliver the agenda and by working closely with the Care Quality Commission and Monitor as regulators in this area.