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1.
J Gen Intern Med ; 35(5): 1435-1443, 2020 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31823314

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in the primary care setting. Early interventions may prevent progression of renal disease and reduce risk for cardiovascular complications, yet quality gaps have been documented. Successful approaches to improve identification and management of CKD in primary care are needed. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether implementation of a primary care improvement model results in improved identification and management of CKD DESIGN: 18-month group-randomized study PARTICIPANTS: 21 primary care practices in 13 US states caring for 107,094 patients INTERVENTIONS: To promote implementation of CKD improvement strategies, intervention practices received clinical quality measure (CQM) reports at least quarterly, hosted an on-site visit and 2 webinars, and sent clinician/staff representatives to a "best practice" meeting. Control practices received CQM reports at least quarterly. MAIN MEASURES: Changes in practice adherence to a set of 11 CKD CQMs KEY RESULTS: We observed significantly greater improvements among intervention practices for annual screening for albuminuria in patients with diabetes or hypertension (absolute change 22% in the intervention group vs. - 2.6% in the control group, p < 0.0001) and annual monitoring for albuminuria in patients with CKD (absolute change 21% in the intervention group vs. - 2.0% in the control group, p < 0.0001). Avoidance of NSAIDs in patients with CKD declined in both intervention and control groups, with a significantly greater decline in the control practices (absolute change - 5.0% in the intervention group vs. - 10% in the control group, p < 0.0001). There were no other significant changes found for the other CQMs. Variable implementation of CKD improvement strategies was noted across the intervention practices. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a primary care improvement model designed to improve CKD identification and management resulted in significantly improved care on 3 out of 11 CQMs. Incomplete adoption of improvement strategies may have limited further improvement. Improving CKD identification and management likely requires a longer and more intensive intervention.


Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus , Hypertension , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic , Humans , Mass Screening , Primary Health Care , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/diagnosis , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiology , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/therapy
2.
J Am Board Fam Med ; 28(3): 360-70, 2015.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25957369

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Submission of clinical quality measures (CQMs) data are 1 of 3 major requirements for providers to receive meaningful use (MU) incentive payments under the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Some argue that CQMs are the most important component of MU. Developing an evidence base for how practices can successfully use electronic health records (EHRs) to achieve improvement in CQMs is essential and may benefit from the study of exemplars who have successfully implemented EHRs and demonstrated high performance on CQMs. METHODS: Conducted in PPRNet, a national primary care practice-based research network, this study used a multimethod approach combining an EHR-based CQM performance assessment, a provider survey, and focus groups among high CQM performers. Practices whose providers had attested for stage 1 MU were eligible for the study. Performance on 21 CQMs included in the 2014 MU CQM set and a summary measure was assessed as of October 1, 2013, through an automated data extract and standard analytic procedures. A web-based provider survey, conducted in November to December 2013, assessed provider agreement, staff education, use of EHR reminders, standing orders, and EHR-based patient education related to the 21 CQMs. The survey also had more general questions about the practices' use of EHR functionality and quality improvement (QI) strategies. Statistical analyses using general linear mixed models assessed the associations between responses to the survey and CQM performance, adjusted for several practice covariates. Three focus groups, held in early 2014, provided an opportunity for clinicians to provide their perspectives on the validity of the statistical analyses and to provide context-specific examples from their practice that supported their assessment. RESULTS: Seventy-one practices completed the study, and 319 (92.1%) of their providers completed the survey. There was wide variability in performance on the 21 CQMs among the practices. Mean performance ranged from 89.8% for tobacco use screening and counseling to 12.9% for chlamydia screening. In bivariate analyses, more positive associations were found between CQM performance and staff education, use of standing orders, and EHR reminders than for provider agreement or EHR-based patient education. In multivariate analyses, EHR reminders were most frequently associated with individual CQM performance; several EHR, practice QI, and administrative variables were associated with the summary quality measure. CONCLUSIONS: Purposeful use of EHR functionality coupled with staff education in a milieu where QI is valued and supported is associated with higher performance on CQM.


Subject(s)
Electronic Health Records/organization & administration , Meaningful Use , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Focus Groups , Health Care Surveys , Humans , Linear Models , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Quality Indicators, Health Care , United States
3.
J Am Board Fam Med ; 26(5): 518-24, 2013.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24004703

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Multimorbidity (multiple chronic illnesses) greatly affects the delivery of health care and assessment of health care quality. There is a lack of basic epidemiologic data on multimorbidity in the United States. This article addresses the prevalence of 24 chronic illnesses and multimorbidity from primary care practices across the United States. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the PPRNet, a practice-based research network among 226 practices in 43 states that maintains a clinical database derived from a common electronic health record. Practices providing data as of October 1, 2011, and their active adult patients comprised the population used for analyses. The prevalence of each chronic illness and multimorbidity were calculated. RESULTS: Included in these analyses were 148 practices with 667,379 active patients. Median prevalence across practices ranged from 35.8% for hypertension to 0.23% for Parkinson disease, with wide variability among practices for all conditions. Multimorbidity increased steeply with age, leveling off at age 80; overall, 45.2% of patients had more than one chronic illness. CONCLUSION: Multimorbidity is a prevalent problem in primary care practice, a finding with implications for health care delivery and payment, quality assessment, and research.


Subject(s)
Chronic Disease/epidemiology , Comorbidity , Primary Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , United States/epidemiology , Young Adult
4.
Addict Behav ; 38(11): 2639-42, 2013 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23899425

ABSTRACT

Overconsumption of alcohol is well known to lead to numerous health and social problems. Prevalence studies of United States adults found that 20% of patients meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder. Routine screening for alcohol use is recommended in primary care settings, yet little is known about the organizational factors that are related to successful implementation of screening and brief intervention (SBI) and treatment in these settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate organizational attributes in primary care practices that were included in a practice-based research network trial to implement alcohol SBI. The Survey of Organizational Attributes in Primary Care (SOAPC) has reliably measured four factors: communication, decision-making, stress/chaos and history of change. This 21-item instrument was administered to 178 practice members at the baseline of this trial, to evaluate for relationship of organizational attributes to the implementation of alcohol SBI and treatment. No significant relationships were found correlating alcohol screening, identification of high-risk drinkers and brief intervention, to the factors measured in the SOAPC instrument. These results highlight the challenges related to the use of organizational survey instruments in explaining or predicting variations in clinical improvement. Comprehensive mixed methods approaches may be more effective in evaluations of the implementation of SBI and treatment.


Subject(s)
Alcohol-Related Disorders/prevention & control , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Adult , Aged , Attitude of Health Personnel , Communication , Cross-Over Studies , Decision Making , Early Diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Organizational Culture , Patient Care Team/organization & administration , Professional Practice , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Surveys and Questionnaires
5.
Ann Fam Med ; 11(4): 344-9, 2013.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23835820

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Whether patients with 1 or more chronic illnesses are more or less likely to receive recommended preventive services is unclear and an important public health and health care system issue. We addressed this issue in a large national practice-based research network (PBRN) that maintains a longitudinal database derived from electronic health records. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study as of October 1, 2011, of the association between being up to date with 10 preventive services and the prevalence of 24 chronic illnesses among 667,379 active patients aged 18 years or older in 148 member practices in a national PBRN. We used generalized linear mixed models to assess for the association of being up to date with each preventive service as a function of the patient's number of chronic conditions, adjusted for patient age and encounter frequency. RESULTS: Of the patients 65.4% had at least 1 of the 24 chronic illnesses. For 9 of the 10 preventive services there were strong associations between the odds of being up to date and the presence of chronic illness, even after adjustment for visit frequency and patient age. Odds ratios increased with the number of chronic conditions for 5 of the preventive services. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than a barrier, the presence of chronic illness was positively associated with receipt of recommended preventive services in this large national PBRN. This finding supports the notion that modern primary care practice can effectively deliver preventive services to the growing number of patients with multiple chronic illnesses.


Subject(s)
Chronic Disease/therapy , Community-Based Participatory Research/organization & administration , Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data , Preventive Health Services/organization & administration , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Adult , Chronic Disease/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Office Visits/statistics & numerical data , Patient-Centered Care/organization & administration , Quality of Health Care , United States/epidemiology , Young Adult
6.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs ; 74(4): 598-604, 2013 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23739024

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: At-risk drinking and alcohol use disorders are common in primary care and may adversely affect the treatment of patients with diabetes and/or hypertension. The purpose of this article is to report the impact of dissemination of a practice-based quality improvement approach (Practice Partner Research Network-Translating Research into Practice [PPRNet-TRIP]) on alcohol screening, brief intervention for at-risk drinking and alcohol use disorders, and medications for alcohol use disorders in primary care practices. METHOD: Nineteen primary care practices from 15 states representing 26,005 patients with diabetes and/or hypertension participated in a group-randomized trial (early intervention vs. delayed intervention). The 12-month intervention consisted of practice site visits for academic detailing and participatory planning and network meetings for "best practice" dissemination. RESULTS: At the end of Phase 1, eligible patients in early-intervention practices were significantly more likely than patients in delayed-intervention practices to have been screened (odds ratio [OR] = 3.30, 95% CI [1.15, 9.50]) and more likely to have been provided a brief intervention (OR = 6.58, 95% CI [1.69, 25.7]. At the end of Phase 2, patients in delayed-intervention practices were more likely than at the end of Phase 1 to have been screened (OR = 5.18, 95% CI [4.65, 5.76]) and provided a brief intervention (OR = 1.80, 95% CI [1.31, 2.47]). Early-intervention practices maintained their screening and brief intervention performance during Phase 2. Medication for alcohol use disorders was prescribed infrequently. CONCLUSIONS: PPRNet-TRIP is effective in improving and maintaining improvement in alcohol screening and brief intervention for patients with diabetes and/or hypertension in primary care settings.


Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control , Alcohol-Related Disorders/drug therapy , Diabetes Mellitus/therapy , Hypertension/therapy , Aged , Alcohol Deterrents/administration & dosage , Alcohol Drinking/adverse effects , Alcohol-Related Disorders/complications , Alcohol-Related Disorders/therapy , Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology , Humans , Hypertension/epidemiology , Male , Mass Screening/methods , Middle Aged , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/organization & administration , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/standards , Primary Health Care/methods , Primary Health Care/standards , Psychotherapy, Brief/methods , Quality Improvement , Time Factors
7.
Am J Med Qual ; 28(1): 16-24, 2013.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22679129

ABSTRACT

Reducing medication errors is a fundamental patient safety goal; however, few improvement interventions have been evaluated in primary care settings. The Medication Safety in Primary Care Practice project was designed to test the impact of a multimethod quality improvement intervention on 5 categories of preventable prescribing and monitoring errors in 20 Practice Partner Research Network (PPRNet) practices. PPRNet is a primary care practice-based research network among users of a common electronic health record (EHR). The intervention was associated with significant improvements in avoidance of potentially inappropriate therapy, potential drug-disease interactions, and monitoring of potential adverse events over 2 years. Avoidance of potentially inappropriate dosages and drug-drug interactions did not change over time. Practices implemented a variety of medication safety strategies that may be relevant to other primary care audiences, including use of EHR-based audit and feedback reports, medication reconciliation, decision-support tools, and refill protocols.


Subject(s)
Medication Errors/prevention & control , Primary Health Care/standards , Quality Improvement/organization & administration , Drug Incompatibility , Drug Therapy/methods , Drug Therapy/standards , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions/prevention & control , Humans , Medication Errors/statistics & numerical data , Partnership Practice/organization & administration , Partnership Practice/standards , Patient Safety , Primary Health Care/methods , Primary Health Care/statistics & numerical data
8.
J Am Board Fam Med ; 25(5): 594-604, 2012.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22956695

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A standing order (SO) authorizes nurses and other staff to carry out medical orders per practice-approved protocol without a clinician's examination. This study implemented electronic SOs into the daily workflow of primary care practices; identified methods and strategies; determined barriers and facilitators; and measured changes in quality indicators resulting from electronic SOs. METHODS: Within 8 practices using the Practice Partner® electronic health record (EHR), a customized health maintenance template provided SOs for screening, immunization, and diabetes measures. EHR data extracts were used to calculate the presence and use of these measures on health maintenance templates and performance over 21 months. Qualitative observation/interviews at practice site visits, network meetings, and correspondence enabled synthesis of implementation issues. RESULTS: Improvements in template presence, use, and performance were found for 14 measures across all practices. Median improvements in screening ranged 6% to 10%; immunizations, 8% to 17%, and diabetes, 0% to 18%. Two practices achieved significant improvement on 14 of the 15 measures. All practices significantly improved on at least 3 of the measures. CONCLUSIONS: A small sample of primary care practices implemented SOs for screening, immunizations and diabetes measures supported by PPRNet researchers. Technical competence and leadership to adapt EHR reminder tools helped staff adopt new roles and overcome barriers.


Subject(s)
Clinical Protocols , Electronic Health Records , Practice Patterns, Nurses' , Primary Health Care , Professional Autonomy , Humans , Program Development , Qualitative Research , United States
10.
Health Promot Pract ; 12(2): 229-34, 2011 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19297657

ABSTRACT

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Half of Americans older than age 50 are not current with recommended screening; research is needed to assess the impact of interventions designed to increase receipt of CRC screening. The Colorectal Cancer Screening in Primary Care (C-TRIP) study is a theoretically informed group randomized trial within 32 primary care practices. Baseline median proportion of active patients aged 50 years or older up-to-date with CRC screening among the 32 practices was 50.8% (N = 55,746). Men were more likely to have been screened than women (52.9% vs. 49.2%, respectively). Patients 50 to 59 years of age were less likely to be up-to-date with screening (45.4%) than those in the 60 to 69 years and 70 to 79 years groups (58.5% in both groups). Opportunities exist to increase the proportion of CRC screening received in adults aged 50 and older. C-TRIP evaluates the effectiveness of a model for improvement for increasing this proportion.


Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Early Detection of Cancer , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Sex Factors
11.
Med Care ; 48(10): 900-6, 2010 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20808257

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is recommended for all adults 50 to 75 years old, yet only slightly more than one-half of eligible people are current with screening. Because CRC screening is usually initiated upon recommendations of primary care physicians, interventions in these settings are needed to improve screening. OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a quality improvement intervention combining electronic medical record based audit and feedback, practice site visits for academic detailing and participatory planning, and "best-practice" dissemination on CRC screening in primary care practice. RESEARCH DESIGN: Two-year group randomized trial. SUBJECTS: Physicians, midlevel providers, and clinical staff members in 32 primary care practices in 19 States caring for 68,150 patients 50 years of age or older. MEASURES: Proportion of active patients up-to-date (UTD) with CRC screening (colonoscopy within 10 years, sigmoidoscopy within 5 years, or at home fecal occult blood testing within 1 year) and having screening recommended within past year among those not UTD. RESULTS: Patients 50 to 75 years in intervention practices exhibited significantly greater improvement (from 60.7% to 71.2%) in being UTD with CRC screening than patients in control practices (from 57.7% to 62.8%), the adjusted difference being 4.9% (95% confidence interval, 3.8%-6.1%). Recommendations for screening also increased more in intervention practices with the adjusted difference being 7.9% (95% confidence interval, 6.3%-9.5%). There was wide interpractice variation in CRC screening throughout the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: A multicomponent quality improvement intervention in practices that use electronic medical record can improve CRC screening.


Subject(s)
Colonoscopy/statistics & numerical data , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Colorectal Neoplasms/prevention & control , Mass Screening/organization & administration , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/organization & administration , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Colorectal Neoplasms/epidemiology , Confidence Intervals , Early Detection of Cancer , Female , Guideline Adherence , Health Plan Implementation , Humans , Male , Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Middle Aged , Odds Ratio , United States/epidemiology
12.
Contemp Clin Trials ; 30(2): 129-32, 2009 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18977314

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: When designing cluster randomized trials, it is important for researchers to be familiar with strategies to achieve valid study designs given limited resources. Constrained randomization is a technique to help ensure balance on pre-specified baseline covariates. METHODS: The goal was to develop a randomization scheme that balanced 16 intervention and 16 control practices with respect to 7 factors that may influence improvement in study outcomes during a 4-year cluster randomized trial to improve colorectal cancer screening within a primary care practice-based research network. We used a novel approach that included simulating 30,000 randomization schemes, removing duplicates, identifying which schemes were sufficiently balanced, and randomly selecting one scheme for use in the trial. For a given factor, balance was considered achieved when the frequency of each factor's sub-classifications differed by no more than 1 between intervention and control groups. The population being studied includes approximately 32 primary care practices located in 19 states within the U.S. that care for approximately 56,000 patients at least 50 years old. RESULTS: Of 29,782 unique simulated randomization schemes, 116 were determined to be balanced according to pre-specified criteria for all 7 baseline covariates. The final randomization scheme was randomly selected from these 116 acceptable schemes. CONCLUSIONS: Using this technique, we were successfully able to find a randomization scheme that allocated 32 primary care practices into intervention and control groups in a way that preserved balance across 7 baseline covariates. This process may be a useful tool for ensuring covariate balance within moderately large cluster randomized trials.


Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Mass Screening/methods , Primary Health Care/standards , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Algorithms , Cluster Analysis , Female , Humans , Male , Mass Screening/standards , Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Multivariate Analysis , Primary Health Care/statistics & numerical data
13.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf ; 34(7): 379-90, 2008 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18677869

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There is widespread evidence of inadequate translation of research findings into primary care practice. Theoretically sound demonstrations of how health care organizations can overcomes these deficiencies are needed. A demonstration project was conducted from January 1, 2003, through June 30, 2006, to evaluate the impact of a multicomponent intervention and improvement models intended to enhance adherence to clinical practice guidelines across eight broad clinical areas. METHODS: The demonstration project involving 530 clinicians and staff members from 99 primary practices in 36 states entailed practice performance reports (audit and feedback), practice site visits for academic detailing and participatory planning, and network meetings for sharing 4 of "best practice" approaches. Data from electronic medical records (EMRs) of 847,073 patients were abstracted to identify 31 process and 5 outcome quality measures for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, cancer screening, adult immunization, respiratory and infectious disease, mental health and substance abuse, obesity and nutrition, safe medication prescribing in the elderly, and a summary measure, the Summary Quality Index (SQUID). RESULTS: The yearly adjusted absolute improvement in the SQUID was 2.43% (95% confidence interval [C.I.], 2.24%-2.63%). Clinically and statistically significant improvements occurred for 29 of the 36 quality measures, including all 5 outcome measures. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that a multicomponent quality improvement intervention involving audit and feedback, academic detailing and participatory planning activities, and sharing of "best practice" approaches in practices with EMRs can have a robust impact in quality of care for Americans seen in primary care practices.


Subject(s)
Benchmarking , Medical Audit , Primary Health Care , Quality of Health Care , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Group Practice , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Organizational Case Studies , Pilot Projects , Private Practice
14.
Am J Geriatr Pharmacother ; 6(1): 21-7, 2008 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18396245

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in the elderly population is common. Interventions to decrease PIM use in primary care settings are needed. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the time trends in use of always inappropriate and rarely appropriate medications in primary care patients aged >or=65 years during a quality improvement project. METHODS: A 4-year, prospective demonstration project was delivered to 99 primary care practices that use a common electronic medical record and are members of the Practice Partner Research Network. Each participating practice received quarterly performance reports on the use of always inappropriate and rarely appropriate medications in the elderly. Optional interventions included biannual on-site visits and annual network meetings for performance review, academic detailing, and quality improvement planning. General linear mixed regression models were used to analyze the change in prescribing rates over time. RESULTS: Across 42 months of project exposure, 124,802 active patients (61% women, 39% men) aged >or=65 years were included in the analyses. Among the 33 practices that participated in all 42 months of the intervention, the proportion of patients with a prescription for an always inappropriate medication decreased from 0.41% to 0.33%, and the proportion of patients with a prescription for a rarely appropriate medication decreased from 1.48% to 1.30%. Across all 99 practices, the adjusted absolute annual declines for the comprehensive categories of always inappropriate medications (00.018%, P = 0.03) and rarely appropriate medications (0.113%, P = 0.001) were statistically significant. Propoxyphene was the only individual medication that decreased significantly in use over time (baseline proportion, 0.72%; adjusted absolute annual decline, 0.072% [P = 0.001]). CONCLUSIONS: Always inappropriate and rarely appropriate medication use decreased over time in this practice-based research network study. Additional studies of robust interventions for improving medication use in the elderly are warranted.


Subject(s)
Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data , Medication Errors/trends , Primary Health Care , Aged , Drug Prescriptions , Female , Humans , Male , Medication Errors/prevention & control , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Prospective Studies
15.
Addiction ; 103(8): 1271-80, 2008 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18422825

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To determine the effect of an intervention to improve alcohol screening and brief counseling for hypertensive patients in primary care. DESIGN: Two-year randomized, controlled trial. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-one primary care practices across the United States with a common electronic medical record. INTERVENTION: To promote alcohol screening and brief counseling. Intervention practices received site visits from study personnel and were invited to annual network meetings to review the progress of the project and share improvement strategies. MEASUREMENTS: Main outcome measures included rates of documented alcohol screening in hypertensive patients and brief counseling administered in those diagnosed with high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Secondary outcomes included change in blood pressure among patients with these diagnoses. FINDINGS: Hypertensive patients in intervention practices were significantly more likely to have been screened after 2 years than hypertensive patients in control practices [64.5% versus 23.5%; adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-38.2; P < 0.0087]. Patients in intervention practices diagnosed with high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence were more likely than those in control practices to have had alcohol counseling documented (50.5% versus 29.6%; adjusted OR = 5.5, 95% CI 1.3-23.3). Systolic (adjusted mean decline = 4.2 mmHg, P = 0.036) and diastolic (adjusted mean decline = 3.3 mmHg, P = 0.006) blood pressure decreased significantly among hypertensive patients receiving alcohol counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care practices receiving an alcohol-focused intervention over 2 years improved rates of alcohol screening for their hypertensive population. Implementation of alcohol counseling for high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence also improved and led to changes in patient blood pressures.


Subject(s)
Alcoholism/diagnosis , Counseling/methods , Hypertension , Alcoholism/therapy , Algorithms , Female , Humans , Hypertension/therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Odds Ratio , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Primary Health Care , Risk Assessment , United States
16.
Am J Med Qual ; 23(1): 39-46, 2008.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18187589

ABSTRACT

A number of sources publish health care quality reports in the United States, but there is limited information about achievable performance in primary care settings. The objective of this article is to report Achievable Benchmarks of Care (ABCs) for 54 quality indicators. Eighty-seven practices participating in a demonstration project in the Practice Partner Research Network (PPRNet), representing 35 US states and 711 969 patients, were included in the analyses. PPRNet practices use a common electronic medical record (Practice Partner, Seattle, Washington). ABCs ranged from 25% to 99%. High ABCs (> or =90%) were achieved for blood pressure screening, lipid screening, and avoiding antibiotics in upper respiratory infection. Some calculated ABCs may be lower than the actual ABCs due to incomplete data recording or abstracting. Primary care practices can achieve high performance across a number of quality indicators, and PPRNet ABCs can serve as benchmarks for primary care practitioners and payers.


Subject(s)
Benchmarking , Primary Health Care/standards , Quality Indicators, Health Care , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Medical Records Systems, Computerized , Middle Aged , Pilot Projects , Publishing , Quality Assurance, Health Care , United States
17.
J Nurs Care Qual ; 22(4): 343-9, 2007.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17873732

ABSTRACT

This research describes implementation strategies used by primary care practices using electronic medical records in a national quality improvement demonstration project, Accelerating Translation of Research into Practice, conducted within the Practice Partner Research Network. Qualitative methods enabled identification of strategies to improve 36 quality indicators. Quantitative survey results provide mean scores reflecting the integration of these strategies by practices. Nursing staff plays important roles to facilitate quality improvement within collaborative primary care practices.


Subject(s)
Diffusion of Innovation , Medical Records Systems, Computerized/organization & administration , Nursing Research/organization & administration , Nursing Staff/psychology , Primary Health Care/standards , Quality Indicators, Health Care/organization & administration , Attitude of Health Personnel , Cooperative Behavior , Evidence-Based Medicine/organization & administration , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Information Dissemination/methods , Interprofessional Relations , Models, Organizational , Nurse's Role/psychology , Nursing Records , Nursing Research/education , Nursing Staff/education , Nursing Staff/organization & administration , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care/organization & administration , Patient Care Team , Patient Education as Topic , Point-of-Care Systems/organization & administration , Qualitative Research , Surveys and Questionnaires , Total Quality Management/organization & administration
18.
Ann Fam Med ; 5(3): 233-41, 2007.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17548851

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Primary care practices use different approaches in their quest for high-quality care. Previous work in the Practice Partner Research Network (PPRNet) found that improved outcomes are associated with strategies to prioritize performance, involve staff, redesign elements of the delivery system, make patients active partners in guideline adherence, and use tools embedded in the electronic medical record. The aim of this study was to examine variations in the adoption of improvements among sites achieving the best outcomes. METHODS: This study used an observational case study design. A practice-level measure of adherence to clinical guidelines was used to identify the highest performing practices in a network of internal and family medicine practices participating in a national demonstration project. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative information derived from project documents, field notes, and evaluation questionnaires to develop and compare case studies. RESULTS: Nine cases are described. All use many of the same improvement strategies. Differences in the way improvements are organized define 3 distinct archetypes: the Technophiles, the Motivated Team, and the Care Enterprise. There is no single approach that explains the superior performance of high-performing practices, though each has adopted variations of PPRNet's improvement model. CONCLUSIONS: Practices will vary in their path to high-quality care. The archetypes could prove to be a useful guide to other practices selecting an overall quality improvement approach.


Subject(s)
Family Practice/organization & administration , Guideline Adherence , Internal Medicine/organization & administration , Practice Management, Medical/classification , Practice Management, Medical/organization & administration , Quality Indicators, Health Care , Adult , Humans , Medical Records Systems, Computerized , Middle Aged , Observation , Practice Guidelines as Topic
19.
Implement Sci ; 2: 11, 2007 Apr 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17407560

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Assessing the quality of primary care is becoming a priority in national healthcare agendas. Audit and feedback on healthcare quality performance indicators can help improve the quality of care provided. In some instances, fewer numbers of more comprehensive indicators may be preferable. This paper describes the use of the Summary Quality Index (SQUID) in tracking quality of care among patients and primary care practices that use an electronic medical record (EMR). All practices are part of the Practice Partner Research Network, representing over 100 ambulatory care practices throughout the United States. METHODS: The SQUID is comprised of 36 process and outcome measures, all of which are obtained from the EMR. This paper describes algorithms for the SQUID calculations, various statistical properties, and use of the SQUID within the context of a multi-practice quality improvement (QI) project. RESULTS: At any given time point, the patient-level SQUID reflects the proportion of recommended care received, while the practice-level SQUID reflects the average proportion of recommended care received by that practice's patients. Using quarterly reports, practice- and patient-level SQUIDs are provided routinely to practices within the network. The SQUID is responsive, exhibiting highly significant (p < 0.0001) increases during a major QI initiative, and its internal consistency is excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93). Feedback from physicians has been extremely positive, providing a high degree of face validity. CONCLUSION: The SQUID algorithm is feasible and straightforward, and provides a useful QI tool. Its statistical properties and clear interpretation make it appealing to providers, health plans, and researchers.

20.
Am J Med Qual ; 22(1): 34-41, 2007.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17227876

ABSTRACT

This article reports the impact of a multicomponent quality improvement intervention on adherence with 13 measures of diabetes care and a summary measure, the Diabetes Summary Quality Index (Diabetes-SQUID). The intervention was conducted between January 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, within 66 primary care practices in 33 states, including 372 providers and 24 250 adult patients with diabetes. Across all practices, the average Diabetes-SQUID was 50.6% (10th percentile 36.5%, 90th percentile 63.0%) on January 1, 2004, and 58.4% (10th percentile 47.6%, 90th percentile 69.7%) on July 1, 2005, with an average absolute improvement of 7.8% (95% confidence interval, 5.9%-9.7%). Significant improvements occurred for 12 of the 13 individual measures: blood pressure and urine microalbumin monitoring; HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and glycosylated hemoglobin measurements; prescription of antiplatelet therapy; and blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, and glycosylated hemoglobin control. The findings suggest that a multicomponent intervention can have a robust impact on quality of care for diabetes.


Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus/therapy , Models, Organizational , Quality Assurance, Health Care/organization & administration , Quality Indicators, Health Care , Family Practice , Guideline Adherence , Humans , United States
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