National Occupational Standards

Summary
This workforce competence is about managing risks to the organisation’s information. It covers identifying, evaluating and responding to risks. Risks may be to the confidentiality, integrity, availability and transmission of information.You will need to be able to ensure that risks are effectively managed and take the necessary actions to respond to risks. This may mean that you are delegating activities in relation to risk management, but ultimately you have responsibility for the overall management of these information risks.

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This workforce competence is about developing models for processing new data and information. These models could be data models, database models or mathematical models. Data and information may be raw, intermediate or processed. You will need to be able to identify the requirements for new data and information. These requirements will be around the organisational need to process new data and information. You will also need to select existing and/or new sources of data and information. Finally, you will need to develop and test the model so that it meets the needs of the audience, as well as legal and organisational requirements.

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This workforce competence is about identifying and specifying data and information requirements. The work covered in this workforce competence could be carried out on a routine basis or could be for ad hoc requirements. The workforce competence covers data and information that is raw, intermediate and processed, and already available though not in a collated form. Audiences for such data and information may be managerial, public, clinicians, other NHS organisations and non-NHS organisations. You will need to be able to identify the data and information requirements through consulting with colleagues and the target audience. You will also need to identify the variables that affect the data and information and agree reporting relationships.

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This workforce competence is about collecting and validating data and information. Data and information may be raw, intermediate or processed. You will need to be able to collect and collate data and information using appropriate tools and techniques. You will also need to validate the quality of the data and information you have collected.

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This workforce competence is about analysing data and information, and presenting the outputs of the analysis. Data and information may be raw, intermediate or processed. You will need to be able to select and use appropriate tools and techniques to analyse data and information. Tools and techniques will vary according to the data and information that is being analysed and your area of work. You will also need to be able to present the outputs of data and information analysis using suitable methods. Presentation methods will depend on the needs of the audience and the type of data and information that is being presented.

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This workforce competence is about monitoring, evaluating and recommending improvements to the management of data and information. The work carried out in data administration is relevant to this workforce competence, as is the work done to audit the validity of data and information. You will need to be able to establish and use monitoring methods, including interviewing, as well as recommend improvements to the management of data and information. This workforce competence has a strong relationship to information governance, managing risks to information and information security.

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This workforce competence is about complying with an external audit of data and information. The workforce competence does not cover carrying out an audit, which is dealt with in a separate workforce competence. You will need to be able to support auditors to carry out an audit and maintain effective working relationships with them. This will involve preparing colleagues and others for the audit, providing auditors with necessary information and advice, and referring auditors to others. You will also need to be able to respond appropriately to the results of the audit. This will involve handling the recommendations of the audit, agreeing courses of action, communicating the response to the audit and recording the response.

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This workforce competence is about producing coded clinical data that can be used to support local and national initiatives, and inform the development of future plans for the delivery of health and care. You will need to be able to search for the evidence to support code assignment and accurately extract the correct clinical data from health records. Clinical data will relate to diagnosis including; diseases, symptoms and related health problems, investigations, interventions, procedures, treatments, procedures within an episode of care. You will also need to establish the appropriate level of detail of clinical data as assigned by the health care professional, and record your decisions accurately and completely. You will need to assign codes to clinical data identified as relevant to the episode of health and care. This requires a significant depth of knowledge and understanding in relation to national clinical coding standards, medical terminology, human anatomy, the nature of disease processes and how they are treated, according to clinical coding rules and conventions. You will need to apply the clinical coding rules in accordance with national standard methodology.

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This workforce competence is about conducting a clinical coding audit. You will need to be able to prepare for the audit by carrying out pre-audit interviews, analysing pre-audit questionnaires and agreeing aims and objectives with health professionals. You will then need to implement agreed audit methodologies looking at both the clinical coding and the supporting operational processes that facilitate the coding function. Subsequent analysis of the audit findings will inform the outline of conclusions and recommendations. Following on from this you will need to be able to produce a final report detailing your findings, conclusions and recommendations.

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This workforce competence is about capturing, organising and disseminating information and knowledge to improve the delivery of care. The workforce competence covers explicit (e.g. published and grey literature) and tacit (e.g. practice and procedures) information and knowledge. You will need to be able to capture and organise information and knowledge. This will involve identifying the needs that individuals, groups and organisations have for information and knowledge. It will also involve collaborative working and recording the results of your work. You will also need to be able to selectively disseminate information and knowledge to the target audience. This will involve selecting channels for disseminating information and knowledge, disseminating information and knowledge and reviewing the process involved. Dissemination may be by electronic means or through printed materials.

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This workforce competence is about appraising health related information and knowledge resources. The appraisal is in connection with the validity, reliability, applicability, timeliness, authority and relevance of these resources. This work could be done in relation to, for example, product evaluation or the critical appraisal of clinical literature. You will need to be able to define the requirements for appraisal, select the appropriate processes and techniques, consult with any relevant clients or end users and make the results available for decision making.

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This workforce competence is about promoting and facilitating the use of information and knowledge across boundaries. Boundaries may be, for example, professional, organisational, geographical, sectoral, internal (e.g. inter-departmental), legal, technological or ethical. The process covered in this workforce competence is an important part of knowledge management, and concerns the improvement of information sharing. You will need to be able to identify, implement and review processes that will promote the use of information and knowledge. Such processes may involve collaborative working, research, training of staff or electronic based activities (e.g. information boards).

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This workforce competence is about identifying the needs of clinicians, patients and the public for communication, information and knowledge systems. It is relevant to individuals who are working with a variety of stakeholders to develop the clinical application of communication, information and knowledge systems.

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This workforce competence is about developing a specification for communication, information and knowledge systems to meet the needs of clinicians, patients and the public. The audience for the specification may include; clinicians, ICT staff, suppliers, managers, funders and patients.

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This workforce competence is about facilitating, and clinically validating, the development of communication, information and knowledge systems to meet the needs of an agreed specification. The work described here may be carried out on an on-going basis or as a ‘one off’ piece of work.

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This workforce competence is about facilitating, and clinically validating, the implementation, evaluation and improvement of communication, information and knowledge systems to meet the needs of clinicians, patients and the public. The work described here may be carried out on an on-going basis or as a ‘one off’ piece of work.

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This workforce competence is about facilitating the clinical audit process. It covers the technical support that is provided to individuals and teams who are responsible for carrying out audits. Individuals and teams may include clinicians and/or non-clinicians.

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This workforce competence covers conducting a structured search for clinical information and evidence (and related policy and regulations), and documenting the methods and results. It involves formulating questions, developing a robust search strategy, conducting the search and producing documentation on the search methods and results.

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This workforce competence covers critically appraising clinical information and evidence. It includes the documentation of the critical appraisal process and results. You will need to identify the type and quality of evidence, identify a suitable critical appraisal method, extract the information required for critical appraisal, conduct the critical appraisal and document the methods and results.

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This workforce competence covers the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines. It involves identifying clinical information and evidence, articulating the clinical recommendations, engaging with stakeholders, and producing accurate and clear documentation to support the clinical recommendation. The involvement of stakeholders is an important part of the development process. In particular, the patient’s perspective should be taken into account.

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