Efficiency – also described as allocative efficiency – means the best possible use of available funding in order to resource. Improved productivity is improving the quantity or quality of health outcomes with the same amount and type of resource (staff, hospitals and medical technology).
Despite the challenges it is facing, NHS productivity has increased at a higher rate than that of the wider UK economy. But, in the face of high projected spending growth and restricted funding, further increases in productivity are still required for a sustainable health and social care system.