Clinical effectiveness in the UK: Definitions, history and policy trends

Abstract

In the last 5 years there has been a huge increase in interest in clinical effectiveness. Clinical effectiveness is often used loosely to describe health care that is based on scientific evidence, but properly refers to population based approaches to quality improvement involving facilitation of evidence-based and cost effective practice. It overlaps with evidence-based medicine, which is individually and clinically based. The history of development of clinical effectiveness in the UK is reviewed, including the significant NHS policy initiatives of the last decade. Key components of clinical effectiveness programs are methods to inform clinicians of research evidence as to the effectiveness of interventions, methods to encourage practitioners to use this information to change practice, and methods to monitor changes to practice and clinical outcomes. The minimum requirements to use clinical effectiveness as an approach to quality improvement in mental health and psychotherapy are outlined.