NHS Arden & GEM CSU has published a new technical report ‘Measuring productivity in Health Care’, which provides a comprehensive analysis of how productivity is currently evaluated within the NHS.
Commissioned by the Health Foundation (and authored by Arden & GEM’s Health and Care Transformation team), the report marks the first phase of an ongoing programme of work to consider how productivity measurement can be improved.
Set against a backdrop of increasing demand, constrained resources and post-pandemic recovery, the report looks at how we measure, and how we should measure productivity in such a complex system as the NHS.
Drawing on a wide body of literature and engagement with stakeholders across government, academia, NHS England and local health systems, the report explores the current strengths and limitations of existing productivity metrics, also looking forward to recent developments in productivity measurement, as set out in the ONS recent Public Services Productivity Review. It highlights persistent challenges such as fragmented data, inconsistent coverage across settings, and a lack of tools to evaluate long-term investment, preventative care and workforce resilience.
The report highlights the breadth of reasons for measuring health care productivity and corresponding approaches. It proposes a new classification framework to better align metrics with their intended use, whether for system-level planning, local service improvement, evaluating resource allocation or national financial accountability.
Key areas for development include:
- Aligning measures with future service needs, better reflecting long-term investment, patient outcomes and workforce resilience
- Integrating evaluative and macro-level methodologies to strengthen the link between local insights and national planning
- Investing in metrics for preventative care recognising value beyond short-term costs
- Enhancing tools to measure productivity across evolving integrated care pathways, including interfaces with social care and independent providers.
The Health Foundation will build on these findings to inform future work aimed at improving long-term planning and resource use across health and social care systems.
Katie Fozzard, Senior Economist at the Health Foundation said “The government has placed significant emphasis on increasing NHS productivity - setting a stretching target for the health service to deliver 2% annual productivity growth. The way productivity is measured, and whether it captures what matters most, is therefore of crucial importance. This report is a vital resource to help us understand the different ways that productivity is measured and areas for improvement.
Rose Taylor, Executive Director Health and Care Transformation at Arden & GEM said “Understanding and improving NHS productivity is essential to delivering high-quality care with finite resources. This report provides a fresh lens on how we measure productivity in such a complex system, highlighting where current metrics fall short and where new approaches can drive meaningful change.”