Case Study: How Multipurpose Analytics Delivered Results for NHS

RAIDR: A Common Intelligence Platform for NHS Organizations

The growth and success of the NHS's RAIDR business intelligence initiative (Reporting Analysis and Intelligence Delivering Results) are intrinsically linked to its birth and development within the NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS).

With its tagline "by the NHS for the NHS," the heavy involvement of users – both those involved in the planning and management and the clinical delivery of healthcare – has been instrumental to its success.

The building blocks for RAIDR – self-service analytics, data aggregation from multiple sources, strong data governance, and a flexible technology core – are common to those present in successful analytics deployments in healthcare organizations with very different structures and cultures.

Many lessons can be learned from the development and use of this "uber" analytics service, utilized by 41 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and 1500 GP practices. It stands out in what has historically been a highly fragmented analytics landscape. Built on Qlik, RAIDR's early emphasis on self-service analytics has been instrumental in fueling strong uptake and expanding functionality. RAIDR's benefits are important at a time when healthcare reform is emphasizing performance improvement and smarter care planning. These benefits are wide-ranging, from identifying errors in coding and data duplication to flagging patients at risk of hospital readmission.

This case study examines RAIDR's development, differentiation, impact, and road map in the context of healthcare improvement and analytics best practice.

Note: the NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit was awarded an SSON Excellence Award at the European 2015 Shared Services and Outsourcing Week, in recognition of the outstanding results it has achieved. This whitepaper was written by analyst firm OVUM.