Case study / Transforming the PLICS landscape

Providers of NHS services have increasingly large amounts of data about their service users and patients, with the roll-out of patient-level costing (PLICS) across the NHS. The challenge is how to make the most of PLICS data to support improvements in patient care and deliver efficiencies. What is clear is the importance of clinicians and finance staff working more closely together to support improvements in value.

The Costing Team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals have always believed that the potential of PLICS and their capabilities stretch far beyond simply creating costed patient episodes, and since 2017 they have expanded the use of both costing and clinical data through pioneering collaborations with a wide range of clinical services. 

They have tried to make the most of the unique position that costing teams have with their access to large volumes of data, and have created bespoke tools that mine, transform and maximise the benefits of this information to support services to identify opportunity and waste.

This case study describes three initiatives where PLICS data and collaborations with costing professionals have significantly supported clinical teams to improve service delivery:

• identifying variation in the use of theatre consumables
• improving the management of anaemia in surgical patients
• ensuring the Trust has enough PPE to protect frontline staff.

While the examples in the case study come from an acute trust, costing staff and clinical teams from both mental health and community services will benefit from reading the case study and considering how they might adapt Leeds’ approach for their own services.