There has been increasing emphasis on actively taking a population approach to the commissioning (planning and securing) of health services in England. Commissioning and a Population Approach to Health Services Decision-Making is a valuable tool for those working in health services commissioning at any level, public health professionals, students and trainees, or anyone looking to learn about the process of commissioning for health services.
The focus of this book is on real-life relevance and application. Based on over two decades of experience in the field, it explores what commissioning is really about, its role in improving the population’s health, and the practical opportunities to move the effort in that direction. It brings together fundamental topics to health services decision-making for populations, with a fresh emphasis on a practical commissioning perspective. Core concepts, or ‘navigation tools’, help to unlock day to day commissioning challenges such as the scoping of a health issue from a population perspective, making sense of different types of evidence, purposeful use of health intelligence, effective preventive opportunities, prioritisation, and many other topics. This book covers the key opportunities for applying a population perspective to the nuts and bolts of commissioning as well as to the more strategic level challenges in commissioning practice. Whilst each topic provides a pertinent component in itself, in combination the collection forms a comprehensive armoury for commissioning for health gain and decision-making for populations.