3M has become a corporate partner of The King’s Fund, an influential charitable think-tank working to improve health and care in England by shaping policy and practice within the NHS. This collaboration demonstrates 3M’s commitment to helping the NHS achieve its strategic aim of delivering a more integrated, cost-effective service.

The NHS vision is to bring hospitals, community healthcare and social services closer together, removing the traditional fragmented provision of care. It also includes a payment model where healthcare providers, such as hospitals, are incentivised to deliver improved patient outcomes. This has the potential to improve quality and reduce overall costs.

3M’s Health Information Systems (HIS) business is a recognised leader in healthcare coding software and analytics, used by more than 100 NHS Trusts throughout the UK.

Using its expertise in patient data management, 3M has successfully supported a variety of care models in the US that have delivered real change. Key to this success has been the sharing of accurate patient data across all services to enable care providers to make informed, collaborative decisions.

Dermot Martin, UK HIS sales and marketing manager, explained: “Currently, much of the NHS’s focus is on efficiency savings when buying products and services. Our data and analytics technology can help to create care models with the potential to achieve far greater savings.”

Future care models could enable the NHS to target resources at people most at risk of becoming ill, and use early intervention to prevent hospital admissions. Chronic conditions, such as kidney and heart failure, could be managed in the community, improving the patient experience and releasing hospital beds. Promotion of preventative healthcare programmes in community settings could lead to improved overall health and wellbeing.

“3M is known for its culture of collaboration - finding innovative solutions to overcome today’s challenges,” added Dermot. “As a supporter of The King’s Fund we are able to share our expertise and contribute at a strategic level to healthcare progress in the UK. This has obvious synergy with our own company vision of improving every life.”

3M’s support for The King’s Fund includes sponsorship of key events that bring together thought leaders, NHS strategists and experts in health information systems.

Find out more about 3M's Health Information Systems business