Improving the quality of healthcare: a cross-sectional study of the features of successful clinical networks

The EXpert PANel Decision (EXPAND) method: a way to measure the impact of diverse quality improvement activities of clinical networks

“…To reduce response bias, documentary evidence was required for each clinical network impact; the validation substudy demonstrated that the self-reported network impacts were accurate and that the networks played an important role in achieving the impacts. 6,7 However, the quality of the documentary evidence of network impact was highly variable across clinical impact were those that had a defined and commonly held purpose; a strategy to address priorities and evaluate impact; and patients, community groups, health services and hospital management who were inclusively involved in program development and rollout. These results have been fed back to the agency responsible for commissioning and supporting NSW clinical networks.…”

“…These networks were involved in a retrospective cross-sectional study ( Figure 1) designed to investigate the external support, organisational and program factors associated with successful clinical networks. 1,[3][4][5][6] NSW clinical networks have similarities to clinical networks that operate in the UK, other parts of Europe and the US in that they are linked, voluntary groups of health professionals working in a coordinated manner to support provision of high-quality and effective clinical services. These state-funded clinical networks have a system-wide focus; clinicians identify and advocate for models of service delivery (e.g.…”

Clinical networks: enablers of health system change

“…Clinical networks have been defined as "networks of clinicians and consumers that aim to improve clinical care and service delivery using a collegial approach to agree on and implement a range of strategies." 4 A systematic review of clinical networks in 2016 identified 22 studies that assessed the impact of clinical networks in 7 countries. 3 We used this as a starting point to determine which regions or countries were supporting systemwide clinical networks.…”

“…Therefore, a combined top-down and bottom-up approach to the design of clinical networks has been suggested. 4 Scotland has the longestestablished clinical networks, all of which operate according to a set of defined principles, ensuring they meet certain goals. 8…”

“…Since publication of the 2016 systematic review, 3 a comprehensive high-quality review was published in 2018, on the impact of 19 networks within New South Wales operating from 2006 to 2008. 4 This study assessed the impact of the networks on quality of care (e.g., guideline-recommended care, health system access) and systemwide change (e.g., new service or model of care) across a variety of areas using independent longitudinal health system data. An independent expert panel used a comprehensive 3-phase approach to determine whether the impact was low, moderate or high, including determining if it was a result of the clinical network.…”