11th Annual Meeting of the Case Mix Programme - 1 April 2008
In keeping with ICNARC's commitment to
reducing its carbon footprint, all delegates received packs made from 100% jute
(biodegradable and compostable) and pencils made from recycled materials.
Kathy Rowan (Director of ICNARC) set the scene for the meeting, outlining ICNARC's commitment to improving our service to participating units and tackling those few areas of the country where participation remains low.
Lucy Lloyd-Scott (Case Mix Programme Manager) provided an update on the Case Mix Programme since the last Annual Meeting and our objectives for 2008. She explained the importance of timely data for local performance management and how Case Officers will be working with units to move them to quarterly data submission (to provide smaller and more regular DVRs and help units to achieve timely data submission). In addition, a cut-off for receipt of all outstanding Version 2.0 data was announced as 30 June 2008.
John Morris (Chair of the Critical Care Information Advisory Group and responsible for the CCMDS) and Jane Eddleston (Department of Health Advisor for Critical Care) provided the keynote addresses. They gave delegates the national perspective on CCMDS and critical care, as well as highlighting the importance of the CMP as the national audit programme for critical care.
Just before midday, David Harrison (Statistician at ICNARC) entertained delegates with research which revealed how your Chinese Zodiac birth dictated likelihood of admission and outcome from critical care. However, being 1 April, he also reminded delegates that you can find always find something significant in a large database if you look long and hard enough!
The morning session was brought to a close by Jonathan Edgeworth (Consultant Microbiologist at Guys Hospital) who presented early analyses of Version 3.0 infection data. Delegates were encouraged to participate in this lively session and to comment on their experiences of collecting these data.
Following a good lunch in the portrait-lined Edward Lumley Hall (and the chance to visit exhibition stands and the CMP Helpdesk), delegates attended parallel sessions. The first featured interesting analyses of outcomes from the CMP Database for different patient groups (haematological malignancies, dermatological conditions and oesophagectomies), from three external speakers and also featured a look at how deprivation can affect outcome, presented by Cathy Welch (Statistical Research Assistant at ICNARC).
The second parallel session highlighted to delegates (and data collectors in particular) common Version 3.0 data collection and validation queries and answered specific queries from the audience. Attendees heard how others had managed to collect Version 3.0 data.
The third parallel session heard how units are using Case Mix Programme at the local level to support local quality improvement - the core role for the CMP. Case studies from James Cook University Hospital, Whiston Hospital and The London Clinic gave delegates some concrete ideas to take back to their own units/hospitals.
Delegates came together again for the final session of the day where they were treated to a first look (for those not lucky enough to receive one yet...!) at the new Version 3.0 electronic Data Analysis Report (eDAR) by Kathy Rowan and David Harrison. The new eDAR offers: quality indicators and outcomes including trends over time; a presentation summary to communicate results immediately to unit staff; a case mix summary of admissions, a data appendix of numbers/percentages underlying all the graphics; and finally, a comprehensive guide to the eDAR. Seventeen Version 3.0 eDARs have already been sent out and this session encouraged units to clean their data as soon as possible so they too can benefit from the new eDAR.
The final presentation (delivered by Kathy Rowan) looked at projections for critical care beds in 2031...unsurprisingly this gave many delegates food for thought!
Click
here to view the Annual Meeting programme.
Click here to view the Annual Meeting evaluation results.
Photos of the day
