Tailored psychological intervention for anxiety or depression in COPD (TANDEM): a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The TANDEM multicentre, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial evaluated whether a tailored psychological intervention based on a cognitive behavioural approach for people with COPD and symptoms of anxiety and/or depression improved anxiety or depression compared with usual care (control). METHODS: People with COPD and moderate to very severe airways obstruction and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale subscale scores indicating mild to moderate anxiety (HADS-A) and/or depression (HADS-D) were randomised 1.25:1 (242 intervention and 181 control). Respiratory health professionals delivered the intervention face-to-face over 6-8 weeks. Co-primary outcomes were HADS-A and HADS-D measured 6 months post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes at 6 and 12 months included: HADS-A and HADS-D (12 months), Beck Depression Inventory II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire, social engagement, the EuroQol instrument five-level version (EQ-5D-5L), smoking status, completion of pulmonary rehabilitation, and health and social care resource use. RESULTS: The intervention did not improve anxiety (HADS-A mean difference -0.60, 95% CI -1.40-0.21) or depression (HADS-D mean difference -0.66, 95% CI -1.39-0.07) at 6 months. The intervention did not improve any secondary outcomes at either time-point, nor did it influence completion of pulmonary rehabilitation or healthcare resource use. Deaths in the intervention arm (13/242; 5%) exceeded those in the control arm (3/181; 2%), but none were associated with the intervention. Health economic analysis found the intervention highly unlikely to be cost-effective. CONCLUSION: This trial has shown, beyond reasonable doubt, that this cognitive behavioural intervention delivered by trained and supervised respiratory health professionals does not improve psychological comorbidity in people with advanced COPD and depression or anxiety.

Does pay-for-performance improve patient outcomes in acute exacerbation of COPD admissions?

BACKGROUND: The COPD Best Practice Tariff (BPT) is a pay-for-performance scheme in England that incentivises review by a respiratory specialist within 24 hours of admission and completion of a list of key care components prior to discharge, known as a discharge bundle, for patients admitted with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). We investigated whether the two components of the COPD BPT were associated with lower 30-day mortality and readmission in people discharged following AECOPD. METHODS: Longitudinal study of national audit data containing details of AECOPD admissions in England and Wales between 01 February 2017 and 13 September 2017. Data were linked with national admissions and mortality data. Mixed-effects logistic regression, using a random intercept for hospital to adjust for clustering of patients, was used to determine the relationship between the COPD BPT criteria (combined and separately) and 30-day mortality and readmission. Models were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, length of stay, smoking status, Charlson comorbidity index, mental illness and requirement for oxygen or noninvasive ventilation during admission. RESULTS: 28 345 patients discharged from hospital following AECOPD were included. 37% of admissions conformed to the two COPD BPT criteria. No relationship was observed between BPT conforming admissions and 30-day mortality (OR: 1.09 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.29)) or readmissions (OR: 0.96 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.02)). No relationship was observed between either of the individual COPD BPT components and 30-day mortality or readmissions. However, a specialist review at any time during admission was associated with lower inpatient mortality (OR: 0.69 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.81)). CONCLUSION: Completion of the combined COPD BPT criteria does not appear associated with a reduction in 30-day mortality or readmission. However, specialist review was associated with reduced inpatient mortality. While it is difficult to argue that discharge bundles do not improve care, this analysis questions whether the pay-for-performance model improves mortality or readmissions.

Development and first validation of a patient-reported experience measure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PREM-C9).

We developed a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient-reported experience measure (PREM-C9). 174 patients with COPD (86 [49%] with a confirmed diagnosis and 88 [51%] with a self-reported diagnosis of COPD) completed a 38-item list, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Hierarchical and Rasch analysis produced a 9-item list (PREM-C9). It demonstrated fit to the Rasch model (χ² p=0.33) and correlated moderately with CAT (r=0.42), HAD-anxiety (r=0.30) and HAD-depression (r=0.41) (p<0.05). A substudy confirmed its ability to detect change prepulmonary and postpulmonary rehabilitation. The PREM-C9 is a simple, valid measure of experience of patients living with COPD, validated in this study population with mild to very severe disease; it may be a useful measure in research and clinical audits.

Socioeconomic deprivation and the outcome of pulmonary rehabilitation in England and Wales.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves exercise capacity and health status in patients with COPD, but many patients assessed for PR do not complete therapy. It is unknown whether socioeconomic deprivation associates with rates of completion of PR or the magnitude of clinical benefits bequeathed by PR. METHODS: PR services across England and Wales enrolled patients to the National PR audit in 2015. Deprivation was assessed using Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) derived from postcodes. Study outcomes were completion of therapy and change in measures of exercise performance and health status. Univariate and multivariate analyses investigated associations between IMD and these outcomes. RESULTS: 210 PR programmes enrolled 7413 patients. Compared with the general population, the PR sample lived in relatively deprived neighbourhoods. There was a statistically significant association between rates of completion of PR and quintile of deprivation (70% in the least and 50% in the most deprived quintiles). After baseline adjustments, the risk ratio (95% CI) for patients in the most deprived relative to the least deprived quintile was 0.79 (0.73 to 0.85), p<0.001. After baseline adjustments, IMD was not significantly associated with improvements in exercise performance and health status. CONCLUSIONS: In a large national dataset, we have shown that patients living in more deprived areas are less likely to complete PR. However, deprivation was not associated with clinical outcomes in patients who complete therapy. Interventions targeted at enhancing referral, uptake and completion of PR among patients living in deprived areas could reduce morbidity and healthcare costs in such hard-to-reach populations.

Risk of death and readmission of hospital-admitted COPD exacerbations: European COPD Audit.

Studies report high in-hospital and post-discharge mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations varying depending upon patient characteristics, hospital resources and treatment standards. This study aimed to investigate the patient, resource and organisational factors associated with in-hospital and 90-day post-discharge mortality and readmission of COPD exacerbations within the European COPD Audit. The audit collected data of COPD exacerbation admissions from 13 European countries.On admission, only 49.7% of COPD patients had spirometry results available and only 81.6% had blood gases taken. Using logistic regression analysis, the risk associated with in-hospital and post-discharge mortality was higher age, presence of acidotic respiratory failure, subsequent need for ventilatory support and presence of comorbidity. In addition, the 90-day risk of COPD readmission was associated with previous admissions. Only the number of respiratory specialists per 1000 beds, a variable related to hospital resources, decreased the risk of post-discharge mortality.The European COPD Audit identifies risk factors associated with in-hospital and post-discharge mortality and COPD readmission. Addressing the deficiencies in acute COPD care such as making spirometry available and measuring blood gases and providing noninvasive ventilation more regularly would provide opportunities to improve COPD outcomes.

Variability of hospital resources for acute care of COPD patients: the European COPD Audit.

Studies have suggested that larger hospitals have better resources and provide better care than smaller ones. This study aimed to explore the relationship between hospital size, resources, organisation of care and adherence to guidelines. The European COPD Audit was designed as a pilot study of clinical care and a survey of resources and organisation of care. Data were entered by clinicians to a multilingual web tool and analysed centrally. Participating hospitals were divided into tertiles on the basis of bed numbers and comparisons made of the resources, organisation of care and adherence to guidelines across the three size groups. 13 national societies provided data on 425 hospitals. The mean number of beds per tertile was 220 (lower), 479 (middle), and 989 (upper). Large hospitals were more likely to have resources and increased numbers of staff; hospital performance measures were related in a minority of indicators only. Adherence to guidelines also varied with hospital size, but the differences were small and inconsistent. There is a wide variation in the size, resources and organisation of care across Europe for hospitals providing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care. While larger hospitals have more resources, this does not always equate to better accessibility or quality of care for patients.

Differences in content and organisational aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes.

The aim was to study the overall content and organisational aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes from a global perspective in order to get an initial appraisal on the degree of heterogeneity worldwide. A 12-question survey on content and organisational aspects was completed by representatives of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes that had previously participated in the European Respiratory Society (ERS) COPD Audit. Moreover, all ERS members affiliated with the ERS Rehabilitation and Chronic Care and/or Physiotherapists Scientific Groups, all members of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and all American Thoracic Society Pulmonary Rehabilitation Assembly members were asked to complete the survey via multiple e-mailings. The survey has been completed by representatives of 430 centres from 40 countries. The findings demonstrate large differences among pulmonary rehabilitation programmes across continents for all aspects that were surveyed, including the setting, the case mix of individuals with a chronic respiratory disease, composition of the pulmonary rehabilitation team, completion rates, methods of referral and types of reimbursement. The current findings stress the importance of future development of processes and performance metrics to monitor pulmonary rehabilitation programmes, to be able to start international benchmarking, and to provide recommendations for international standards based on evidence and best practice.

European hospital adherence to GOLD recommendations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation admissions.

Understanding how European care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) admissions vary against guideline standards provides an opportunity to target appropriate quality improvement interventions. In 2010-2011 an audit of care against the 2010 'Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease' (GOLD) standards was performed in 16 018 patients from 384 hospitals in 13 countries. Clinicians prospectively identified consecutive COPD admissions over a period of 8 weeks, recording clinical care measures on a web-based data tool. Data were analysed comparing adherence to 10 key management recommendations. Adherence varied between hospitals and across countries. The lack of available spirometry results and variable use of oxygen and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) are high impact areas identified for improvement.

European COPD Audit: design, organisation of work and methodology.

Clinical audit has an important role as an indicator of the clinical practice in a given community. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) audit was designed as a pilot study to evaluate clinical practice variability as well as clinical and organisational factors related to outcomes for COPD hospital admissions across Europe. The study was designed as a prospective observational noninterventional cohort trial, in which 422 hospitals from 13 European countries participated. There were two databases: one for hospital's resources and organisation and one for clinical information. The study was comprised of an initial 8-week phase during which all consecutive cases admitted to hospital due to an exacerbation of COPD were identified and information on clinical practice was gathered. During the 90-day second phase, mortality and readmissions were recorded. Patient data were anonymised and encrypted through a multi-lingual web-tool. As there is no pan-European Ethics Committee for audits, all partners accepted the general ethical rules of the ERS and ensured compliance with their own national ethical requirements. This paper describes the methodological issues encountered in organising and delivering a multi-national European audit, highlighting goals, barriers and achievements, and provides valuable information for those interested in developing clinical audits.

National audit of supported discharge programmes for management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2008.

The 2008 U.K. national chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) audit examined the use of supported discharge programmes (SDPs) in clinical practice against British Thoracic Society guidelines. 98% of acute U.K. trusts participated. SDPs were available in 142 of 239 (59%) units. 1630 of 8971 (18%) patients with COPD were treated within SDPs. Median (IQR) stay in hospital for patients within SDPs and those not accepted for SDPs was 3 (1-6) days and 6 (3-11) days (p<0.001), and mortality within 90 days of admission was 4.3% and 6.7%, respectively. SDPs within the U.K. are safe and effective and reduce length of hospital stay without adverse effects on mortality.

Managing patients with COPD exacerbation: does age matter?

INTRODUCTION: there is little information about the relationship between age and management of COPD exacerbation (AECOPD), although older persons are known to be at a greater risk of hospital admission. METHODS: we have investigated responses from the clinical and patient questionnaire elements of the 2008 UK COPD audit, splitting the data into age decile. RESULTS: age ranged from 27 to 102. Patient-reported data suggested older patients had inferior knowledge of COPD, undertook less self-care and were less likely to recognise symptoms of exacerbation prior to hospitalisation. Clinician-reported data showed that although older patients had severe disease and symptoms, greater co-morbidity at presentation and higher mortality, fewer were seen in hospital or followed up subsequently by respiratory specialists. Older patients were more likely to have a DNR order signed within 24 h of admission, irrespective of co-morbidities or performance status. The observations were particularly applicable to those aged 80 or above. CONCLUSIONS: clinicians should consider increasing age as a specific risk factor in the management of COPD. Acute units and community teams should review carefully their protocols and pathways for how they assess, manage, discharge and follow-up older patients with COPD exacerbation.

Perceptions of changes in practice following peer review in the National Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Resources and Outcomes Project.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of local service change and concepts of change amongst participants in a UK nationwide randomised controlled trial of informal, structured, reciprocated, multidisciplinary peer review with feedback to promote quality improvement: the National Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Resources and Outcomes Project (NCROP). DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper takes the form of a qualitative study, involving semi-structured interviews with 43 hospital respiratory consultants, nurses and general managers at 24 intervention and 11 control NCROP sites. Thematic analysis resulted in adoption of Joss and Kogan's quality indicators as an analytic framework. FINDINGS: The paper finds that peer review was associated with positive changes, which may lead to sustained service improvement. Differences existed in perceptions of change among clinicians and between clinicians and managers. "Generic changes" (e.g. changes in interpersonal relations or cultural changes), were often not perceived as change. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The study highlights the significance of generic change in evaluations of change processes. Most participants were clinicians limiting inter-professional comparisons. Some clinical staff failed to recognise changes they accomplished or their significance, perceiving change differently to others within their professional group. These findings have implications for policy and research. They should be considered when developing frameworks for assessing quality improvements and staff engagement with change. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This is the first qualitative study exploring participants' experience of peer review for quality improvement in healthcare. The study adds to previous research into UK health service improvement, which has had a more restricted focus on inter-professional differences.

"NEWS2" as an Objective Assessment of Hospitalised COPD Exacerbation Severity.

Introduction: There is currently no accepted way to risk-stratify hospitalised exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We hypothesised that the revised UK National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) calculated at admission would predict inpatient mortality, need for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and length-of-stay. Methods: We included data from 52,284 admissions for exacerbation of COPD. Data were divided into development and validation cohorts. Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between admission NEWS2 and outcome measures. Predictive ability of NEWS2 was assessed using area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). We assessed the benefit of including other baseline data in the prediction models and assessed whether these variables themselves predicted admission NEWS2. Results: 53% of admissions had low risk, 24% medium risk and 23% a high risk NEWS2 in the development cohort. The proportions dying as an inpatient were 2.2%, 3.6% and 6.5% by NEWS2 risk category, respectively. The proportions needing NIV were 4.4%, 9.2% and 18.0%, respectively. NEWS2 was poorly predictive of length-of-stay (AUC: 0.59[0.57-0.61]). In the external validation cohort, the AUC (95% CI) for NEWS2 to predict inpatient death and need for NIV were 0.72 (0.68-0.77) and 0.70 (0.67-0.73). Inclusion of patient demographic factors, co-morbidity and COPD severity improved model performance. However, only 1.34% of the variation in admission NEWS2 was explained by these baseline variables. Conclusion: The generic NEWS2 risk assessment tool, readily calculated from simple physiological data, predicts inpatient mortality and need for NIV (but not length-of-stay) at exacerbations of COPD. NEWS2 therefore provides a classification of hospitalised COPD exacerbation severity.

U.K. National COPD Resources and Outcomes Project 2008: patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations who present with radiological pneumonia have worse outcome compared to those with non-pneumonic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations.

BACKGROUND: Limited comparative data exist on the outcomes of patients presenting with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations with or without radiological pneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To examine the outcome differences amongst these patients. METHODS: We analysed 2008 U.K. National COPD audit data to examine the characteristics, management and outcomes, inpatient- and 90-day mortality and length of stay of patients admitted with COPD exacerbations. RESULTS: Of 9,338 admissions, 16% (1,505) had changes consistent with pneumonia indicated on the admission chest X-ray. They tended to be older (mean ages 75 vs. 72 years), male (53 vs. 50%), more likely to come from care homes, with more disability, higher BMI and co-morbidity, lower albumin but higher urea levels, and less likely to be current smokers. COPD exacerbations with pneumonia were associated with worse outcomes: inpatient mortality was 11 and 7% and 90-day mortality was 17 and 13% for pneumonia and non-pneumonia patients, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjusting for factors that are significantly different between the 2 groups, including age, sex, place of residence, level of disability, co-morbidity, albumin and urea levels, estimated risk ratios for inpatient and 90-day mortality for pneumonia compared to non-pneumonia cases in this series were 1.19 (1.01,1.42) and 1.09 (0.96,1.23), respectively. The adjusted risk ratio of a prolonged acute hospital stay of more than 7 days was 1.15 (1.07, 1.23). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who present with radiological pneumonia have worse outcomes compared to those admitted without pneumonia in exacerbation of COPD.

Predictors of pulmonary rehabilitation completion in the UK.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary rehabilitation has been shown to improve dyspnoea, fatigue, quality of life and exercise capacity in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our aim was to determine the characteristics of people with COPD associated with completion of pulmonary rehabilitation. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 7060 people with COPD enrolled in pulmonary rehabilitation between January 1, 2017 and March 31, 2017. Data were from a UK national audit of COPD care. Factors associated with pulmonary rehabilitation completion were determined using mixed effects logistic regression with a random intercept for pulmonary rehabilitation service. Factors chosen for assessment based on clinical judgement and data availability were age, sex, country, socioeconomic status, body mass index, referral location, programme type, start within 90 days, smoking status, oxygen therapy, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage, Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea grade, any exercise test and any health status questionnaire. RESULTS: 4635 (66%) people with COPD completed a pulmonary rehabilitation programme. People that were aged ≥60 years, resident in Wales, referred within 90 days, an ex- or never-smoker, received an exercise test, or received a health status questionnaire had significantly greater odds of completing pulmonary rehabilitation. People that were in the most deprived quintile, underweight or very severely obese, enrolled in a rolling rather than a cohort programme, had a higher GOLD stage and had a higher MRC grade had significantly lower odds of completing pulmonary rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: People with COPD were more likely to complete pulmonary rehabilitation when best practice guidelines were followed. People with more severe COPD symptoms and those enrolled in rolling rather than cohort programmes were less likely to complete pulmonary rehabilitation. Referring people with COPD in the earlier stages of disease, ensuring programmes follow best practice guidelines and favouring cohort over rolling programmes could improve rates of pulmonary rehabilitation completion.

Improving antibiotic prescribing for community-acquired pneumonia in a provincial hospital in Northern Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES: To test the effectiveness of a quality improvement programme to promote adherence to national quality standards (QS) for patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), exploring the factors that hindered improvements in clinical practice. METHODS: An improvement bundle aligned to the QS was deployed using plan-do-study-act methodology in a 600 bed hospital in northern Vietnam from July 2018 to April 2019. Proposed care improvements included CURB65 score guided hospitalization, timely diagnosis and inpatient antibiotic treatment review to limit the spectrum and duration of IV antibiotic use. Interviews with medical staff were conducted to better understand the barriers for QS implementation. RESULTS: The study found that improvements were made in CURB65 score documentation and radiology results available within 4 h (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the other elements of the QS studied. We documented institutional barriers relating to the health reimbursement mechanism and staff cultural barriers relating to acceptance and belief as significant impediments to implementation of the standards. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions led to some process changes, but these were not utilized by clinicians to improve patient management. Institutional and behavioural barriers documented may inhibit wider national uptake of the QS. National system changes with longer term support and investment to address local behavioural barriers are likely to be crucial for future improvements in the management of CAP, and potentially other hospitalized conditions, in Vietnam.

The patient safety collaborative programme: opportunities for physician engagement.

Driving improvements in patient safety has been a core goal of the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) in England since their inception in 2013. The National Patient Safety Collaborative Programme, nested within the 15 geographically located AHSNs, was established in 2014 in response to the Berwick review. In 2019, the new NHS national patient safety strategy was published, which placed the AHSNs as a key vehicle for delivering its ambitions. This paper explores the achievements of, and opportunities presented by, the collaborative in addressing some of the key patient safety challenges facing physicians and their wider teams. Case studies illustrate the AHSNs' contribution to support national ambitions, including the adoption of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2, and the impact of regionally-led work on patient outcomes, such as reducing mortality from sepsis and acute kidney injury. We set out current activities, opportunities for physician engagement and plans for future work.

Validation of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recording in electronic health records: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience a sustained worsening in symptoms termed an acute exacerbation (AECOPD). AECOPDs impact on patients' quality of life and lung function, are costly to health services and are an important topic for research. Electronic health records (EHR) are increasingly being used to study AECOPD, requiring accurate detection of AECOPD in EHRs to ensure generalisable results. The aim of this protocol is to provide an overview of studies that validate AECOPD definitions used in EHRs and administrative claims databases. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Medline and Embase will be searched for terms related to COPD exacerbation, EHRs and validation. All studies published between 1 January 1990 and 30 September 2019 written in English that validate AECOPD in EHRs and administrative claims databases will be considered. INCLUSION CRITERIA: EHR data must be routinely collected; the AECOPD detection algorithm must be compared against a reference standard; and a measure of validity must be calculable. Two independent reviewers will screen articles for inclusion, extract study details and assess risk of bias using QUADAS-2. Disagreements will be resolved by consensus or arbitration by a third reviewer. This protocol has been developed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols checklist. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This will be a review of previously published literature therefore no ethical approval is required. Results from this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. The results can be used in future research to identify occurrences of AECOPD. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019130863.

National clinical audit for hospitalised exacerbations of COPD.

INTRODUCTION: Exacerbations of COPD requiring hospital admission are burdensome to patients and health services. Audit enables benchmarking performance between units and against national standards, and supports quality improvement. We summarise 23 years of UK audit for hospitalised COPD exacerbations to better understand which features of audit design have had most impact. METHOD: Pilot audits were performed in 1997 and 2001, with national cross-sectional audits in 2003, 2008 and 2014. Continuous audit commenced in 2017. Overall, 96% of eligible units took part in cross-sectional audit, 86% in the most recent round of continuous audit. We synthesised data from eight rounds of national COPD audit. RESULTS: Clinical outcomes were observed to change at the same time as changes in delivery of care: length of stay halved from 8 to 4 days between 1997 and 2014, alongside wider availability of integrated care. Process indicators did not generally improve with sequential cross-sectional audit. Under continuous audit with quality improvement support, process indicators linked to financial incentives (early specialist review (55-66%) and provision of a discharge bundle (53-74%)) improved more rapidly than those not linked (availability of spirometry (40-46%) and timely noninvasive ventilation (21-24%)). CONCLUSION: Careful piloting and engagement can result in successful roll-out of cross-sectional national audit in a high-burden disease. Audit outcome measures and process indicators may be affected by changes in care pathways. Sequential cross-sectional national audit alone was not generally accompanied by improvements in care. However, improvements in process indicators were seen when continuous audit was combined with quality improvement support and, in particular, financial incentives.