On Friday 27 February, the latest Commissioning for Value packs were published – Integrated Care Pathways packs – to add to the ‘Pathway on a Page’ data packs published for CCGs in November 2014.

The new packs focus on integrated care pathways and complex patients. These packs are designed to support you with local discussions around commissioning decisions. They will:

• help you compare how your CCG/LA performs compared to similar areas for 3 new integrated care pathways: maternity and early years, dementia & long term conditions and substance misuse & mental health
• help you  understand how much more or less you spend on inpatients, by condition,  for the elderly and young children compared to similar areas.
• help you see the impact the 2 per cent of inpatients your CCG spends the most on has on the system.  You will be able to see how the number of admissions for these patients, and the associated A&E and outpatient attendances, compare with other similar areas.
• help you see the diverse range of comorbidities complex patients are treated for
• help your local discussions about how to improve the integration of services to improve value and outcomes

Each pack is bespoke to each of the 211 CCGs in England.

To support CCGs and their local partners to improve outcomes for patients, NHS England, NHS Right Care and Public Health England are holding a series of five events in March 2015. Each event is aimed at CCG clinical leads and senior commissioning, finance, contracting and business intelligence officers; NHS England regional teams; Health and Wellbeing Boards; public health teams; and commissioning support services. Book your place to avoid disappointment.

Commissioning for Value is a partnership between NHS England, Public Health England and NHS Right Care. It is about identifying priority areas which offer the best opportunities to improve healthcare for populations – improving the value that patients receive from their healthcare and improving the value that populations receive from investment in their local health system. It works with the planning round for CCGs and supports the vision for transformation set out in the recent Five Year Forward View.

Of particular interest to those CCG leads with responsibility for finance, performance, improvement and health outcomes; area team leads; and CSU teams supporting CCGs in this work, the information comes with a range of free support including online tools, case studies, videos and workbooks.