Value, in this context, is defined as outcomes (or quality) relative to costs (or resources). The focus is firmly on prioritising the health outcomes for patients using the resources available.

The NHS has a wealth of documented programs that have successfully used patient-level information costing systems (PLICS) data to drive improvement, including the Clinical Practice Groups at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, The WAVE Programme at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Waste Reduction Programme at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. EVO was inspired by the potential of this data set to provide specialty/service level teams with an evidence base from which measurable and meaningful improvements can be made.

A successful pilot of the framework, initially developed by Future-Focused Finance and the HFMA’s Healthcare Costing for Value Institute, took place in 2019 with four trusts, covering acute, mental health and community services. Case studies from these pilot sites can be found at the bottom of this page.

Since the pilot, EVO has undergone significant development as part of the One NHS Finance initiative, with the support of the Finance Leadership Council and EVO Collaborators.