MANAGE KNOWLEDGE AS CAREFULLY AS MONEY

Knowledge is the enemy of disease: the application of what we know will have more impact on health and disease than any single drug or technology likely to be developed in the next decade.

Knowledge as the new platform - Creating Knowledge Based Organisations

Most people still think of healthcare in terms of its institutions, hospitals and health centres, and there is obviously a need for real estate; but the real platform of a health service is its knowledge base.  Knowledge is the only element that is flexible and adaptive enough to respond to the challenges of the 21st century; it can be used to develop systems - organisations based on knowledge. 


BVHC Resources

Management of knowledge is another of Better Value Healthcare's important solutions. BVHC's resources are based on the options faced and the three types of generalisable knowledge:

  • knowledge derived from the analysis of routinely collected or audit data provided by the NHS, sometimes called healthcare statistics
  • knowledge derived from the experience of others by making tacit knowledge explicit
  • knowledge derived from research - sometimes called evidence

The founders of Better Value Healthcare have been involved with a number of knowledge initiatives in the last 20 years including the development of The Cochrane Collaboration, the setting up of the National Library for Health (now NHS Evidence), the creation of the EQUATOR Network to improve the reporting of research and the development of NHS Choices (the online information service for patients and the public).  The latter is one of the initiatives of which they are proudest.  When one types www.nhs.uk into a web site one doesn't find a picture of a building or a committee, but knowledge for patients – NHS Choices.

A handbook on how to manage knowledge for better health will be produced for the end of 2011 together with the a development programme for individuals and organisations.  This development programme will focus on the role of the librarian and the need for someone at board or senior management level to take responsibility of acting as Chief Knowledge Officer. 

We are also working with IWantGreatCare, an organisation that helps patients provide knowledge about their experience of the care they received.

Healthcare Foundations - absorb the wisdom of others

You don't need to read every great author, book and article but you need to know they exist and know their key messages distilled and delivered for learning in traffic jams or when walking to work.

Healthcare Foundations is a BVHC podcast service. A subscription to this service entitles you to receive podcasts on current healthcare topics that are important to you - topics such as redistribution of resources, streamlining, reducing waste and increasing value will be illuminated by introducing you to distillates from the 1000 greatest books about or relevant to the health of populations and the delivery of high value healthcare. We also have podcasts from 1000 great articles on the science of health service management.