The project is managed by the Danish Regions.
The NIP-secretariat:
Running and administration of the project is managed by the NIP-secretariat. The NIP-secretariat is placed in the Central Denmark Region and so coordinates all central activities in NIP. (See: "Contact Us")
The clinical epidemiological units:
To support the indicator groups cooperation with clinical epidemiological experts is established. The purpose is to assist in the determination of standards and indicators, and to develop an over-all uniform frame for data collection, data analyses, and data presentation.
The indicator groups:
Each indicator group is established across health professions in coordination with the Scientific Societies, The Danish Medical Association, The Danish Nursing Association etc. The indicator groups reflect all relevant health professions in relation to the given disease, including physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others.
In the work of the indicator groups there are two basic principles:
- Providers determine evidence based standards, indicators and prognostic factors in relation to the clinical problems.
- Providers interpret results before they are publically released.
The composition of the indicator groups will secure a high scientific level. This should promote a good working process in the group. The members of the group must reflect the specific disease area both clinically and scientifically as well as on central hospital- and university terms. If necessary specialities such as anaesthesia, radiology, clinical chemistry and pathology can be attached to the indicator group ad hoc. Each indicator group consists of 8 to 15 members.
There is compulsory attendance to the meetings in the indicator groups. Each member of the group is attached to the project with a contract that secures economical compensation for participation in the meetings.
Each indicator group is assisted by a staff consisting of the Project Manager and the Healthcare Consultant from the secretariat, a clinical epidemiologist and a documentalist. The documentalist collects and review literature relating to standards and indicators. The literature's strength of evidence is graded.
The Project Manager has the over-all responsibility for the organizational process in the indicator groups. The Healthcare Consultant is the scientific facilitator for the groups and works as the academical secretary. The Project Manager and the Healthcare Consultant are to make sure that the work process in the group is stringent as a prerequisite for the work being evidence based and reproducible. The clinical epidemiologist is responsible for the clinical epidemiological advising, planning of the clinical epidemiological task, developing of the for registration form for data collection, analyses and the interpretation of data regarding the work of each indicator group.
The work in the indicator groups:
The work in the indicator groups follows these 8 phases:
Phase 1: Introduction to the work
At the first meeting for the whole indicator group the disease area is defined and the concrete work in the group is organised. Temporary standards and matching indicators and prognostic factors are determined.
Phase 2: Forming of a general view of knowledge and practise
The project's documentalist presents the existing knowledge in relation to the temporary standards and indicators. The groups discusses preliminary suggestions for indicators and concretizes the clinical epidemiological task and the ongoing work of the documentalist.
Phase 3: Determination of standards and indicators
On the base of the work of the documentalist evidence based standards and indicators are determined. The matching prognostic factors are also determined. The indicator group determines in co-operation with the clinical epidemiologist the method for collection of data.
Phase 4: Data collection
When the standards, indicators and matching prognostic factors have been determined the nation wide collection of data is initiated. Before this a structured process of implementation has taken place in the five regions and coordinated by the NIP-secretariat.
Phase 5: Data analyses
When the data have been collected they are assessed and analysed by the clinical epidemiologist and afterwards reported to the indicator group, clinical departments and regions.
Phase 6: Clinical audit
Clinical audit takes place nationally, regionally and locally. At the national level the indicator group interprets the results.
Phase 7: Implementation of the results and quality improvement
On the base of the audit process a national, regional and local implementation of the results is prepared and improvement of quality is initiated.
Phase 8: Public release of data
When the results of the project have been interpreted and undergone a nationally, regionally and locally the above mentioned audit process, the results will be publically released at the Internet (www.sundhed.dk).
