Evaluation of the Personal Health Budget Pilots
Researchers: Caroline Glendinning, Jacqueline Davidson, Annie Irvine, Kate Baxter SPRU
Julien Forder, Karen Jones, James Caiels, Karen Windle (PSSRU, Kent)
Paul Dolan, Dominic King (Imperial, London)
Funder: Department of Health
Duration: November 2009 – October 2012
Background
Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) aim to make transparent the resources available for an individual’s care and to maximise patients’ choice on how best to achieve desired outcomes. PHBs are likely to be particularly suitable for people with long-term conditions who are frequent users of healthcare. PHBs are being piloted in around 70 English Primary Care Trusts from 2009.
Aims
The evaluation aims to establish whether personal health budgets ensure better health and social care outcomes, compared with conventional healthcare delivery. To achieve this, the evaluation will:
- Explore the processes of implementing PHBs for patients and carers
- Investigate the impacts of PHBs on different groups of patients and carers
- Investigate the impacts of PHBs on healthcare professionals
- Assess the cost-effectiveness of implementing PHBs for different health conditions, compared to conventional service delivery
- Assess the impact of implementing PHBs on NHS organisations, staff and the wider health and social care systems
- Assess the impacts of PHBs on the wider NHS and NHS values (especially underpinning equity principles).
Methodology
The evaluation will use a comparative, quasi-experimental design; outcomes for specific groups of patients receiving PHBs will be compared with those using standard healthcare. Structured baseline and outcome data will be collected from patient interviews; patients’ medical notes; patient care plans; and from a wide range of NHS staff involved in implementing PHBs.
SPRU will contribute to the evaluation by conducting and analyse semi-structured interviews with subsamples of PHB holders, at 3 months to assess early experiences of receiving a PHB; and 9 months to assess longer-term outcomes. Patients to be included are:
- those receiving NHS Continuing Care
- those with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or mental health problems
- those suffering from stroke
- people with long-term neurological conditions.
One-off semi-structured interviews will also be conducted with PHB holders using maternity services and with carers of people who received a PHB for end-of-life care. Interim reports on these interviews will be delivered.
Policy and practice aims
PHBs represent a major change to NHS practice. The evaluation will determine whether PHBs should replace or supplement traditional ways of allocating resources and delivering health care services. The evaluation will also inform options for the wider implementation PHBs beyond the pilots.
Publications and presentations
2011
Personal budgets and personal health budgets - learning from the evidence
Glendinning, C., Brain Injury Social Work Group Study Day, Manchester, 5 April 2011.
Personal Health Budgets: Early experiences of budget holders: Fourth interim report, 2011
Irvine, A., Davidson, J., Glendinning, C., Jones, K., Forder, J., Caiels, J., Welch, E., Windle, K., Dolan, P. and King, D., Department of Health.
The Cost of Implementing Personal Health Budgets: [Third interim report], 2011
Jones, K., Forder, J., Caiels, J., Welch, E., Windle, K., Davidson, J., Dolan, P., Glendinning, C., Irvine, A. and King, D., PSSRU Discussion Paper.
2010
What value is qualitative research?
Glendinning, C., Training Day for Personal Health Budgets Evaluation Research Sites, King's Fund, London, 5 March 2010.
What value is qualitative research?
Glendinning, C., Training Day for Personal Health Budgets Evaluation Research Sites, Manchester, 11 March 2010.
Early Experiences of Implementing Personal Health Budgets: [First interim report ], 2010
Jones, K., Caiels, J., Forder, J., Windle , K., Welch, E., Dolan, P., Glendinning, C. and King, D., PSSRU Discussion Paper, 2726/2.
Experiences of Implementing Personal Health Budgets: 2nd interim report, 2010
Jones, K., Welch, E., Caiels, J., Windle, K., Forder, J., Davidson, J., Dolan, P., Glendinning, C., Irvine, A. and King, D., PSSRU Discussion Paper, 2747/2.
If you require further information about SPRU's contribution to the project, please contact Caroline Glendinning 
