An organizational framework and strategic implementation for system-level change to enhance research-based practice: QUERI Series

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The continuing gap between available evidence and current practice in health care reinforces the need for more effective solutions, in particular related to organizational context. Considerable advances have been made within the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VA) in systematically implementing evidence into practice. These advances have been achieved through a system-level program focused on collaboration and partnerships among policy makers, clinicians, and researchers.</p> <p>The Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) was created to generate research-driven initiatives that directly enhance health care quality within the VA and, simultaneously, contribute to the field of implementation science. This paradigm-shifting effort provided a natural laboratory for exploring organizational change processes. This article describes the underlying change framework and implementation strategy used to operationalize QUERI.</p> <p>Strategic approach to organizational change</p> <p>QUERI used an evidence-based organizational framework focused on three contextual elements: 1) cultural norms and values, in this case related to the role of health services researchers in evidence-based quality improvement; 2) capacity, in this case among researchers and key partners to engage in implementation research; 3) and supportive infrastructures to reinforce expectations for change and to sustain new behaviors as part of the norm. As part of a QUERI Series in <it>Implementation Science</it>, this article describes the framework's application in an innovative integration of health services research, policy, and clinical care delivery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>QUERI's experience and success provide a case study in organizational change. It demonstrates that progress requires a strategic, systems-based effort. QUERI's evidence-based initiative involved a deliberate cultural shift, requiring ongoing commitment in multiple forms and at multiple levels. VA's commitment to QUERI came in the form of visionary leadership, targeted allocation of resources, infrastructure refinements, innovative peer review and study methods, and direct involvement of key stakeholders. Stakeholders included both those providing and managing clinical care, as well as those producing relevant evidence within the health care system. The organizational framework and related implementation interventions used to achieve contextual change resulted in engaged investigators and enhanced uptake of research knowledge. QUERI's approach and progress provide working hypotheses for others pursuing similar system-wide efforts to routinely achieve evidence-based care.</p

Can computerized clinical decision support systems improve practitioners' diagnostic test ordering behavior? A decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Underuse and overuse of diagnostic tests have important implications for health outcomes and costs. Decision support technology purports to optimize the use of diagnostic tests in clinical practice. The objective of this review was to assess whether computerized clinical decision support systems (CCDSSs) are effective at improving ordering of tests for diagnosis, monitoring of disease, or monitoring of treatment. The outcome of interest was effect on the diagnostic test-ordering behavior of practitioners.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Ovid's EBM Reviews database, Inspec, and reference lists for eligible articles published up to January 2010. We included randomized controlled trials comparing the use of CCDSSs to usual practice or non-CCDSS controls in clinical care settings. Trials were eligible if at least one component of the CCDSS gave suggestions for ordering or performing a diagnostic procedure. We considered studies 'positive' if they showed a statistically significant improvement in at least 50% of test ordering outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-five studies were identified, with significantly higher methodological quality in those published after the year 2000 (<it>p </it>= 0.002). Thirty-three trials reported evaluable data on diagnostic test ordering, and 55% (18/33) of CCDSSs improved testing behavior overall, including 83% (5/6) for diagnosis, 63% (5/8) for treatment monitoring, 35% (6/17) for disease monitoring, and 100% (3/3) for other purposes. Four of the systems explicitly attempted to reduce test ordering rates and all succeeded. Factors of particular interest to decision makers include costs, user satisfaction, and impact on workflow but were rarely investigated or reported.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Some CCDSSs can modify practitioner test-ordering behavior. To better inform development and implementation efforts, studies should describe in more detail potentially important factors such as system design, user interface, local context, implementation strategy, and evaluate impact on user satisfaction and workflow, costs, and unintended consequences.</p

Ethnicity and diagnostic patterns in veterans with psychoses

Differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is a challenging but important task. These conditions often exhibit overlapping clinical symptomatology, but have different prognoses and pharmacological management strategies. Factors other than clinical presentation may influence diagnosis. Past studies suggest that ethnicity is one such factor, with variations observed in diagnostic rates of serious mental illness (SMI). With increasing attention paid to provider cultural competency, we investigate current diagnostic practices within a veteran population.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41739/1/127_2004_Article_824.pd

Processing speed and the relationship between Trail Making Test-B performance, cortical thinning and white matter microstructure in older adults

Part B of the Trail Making Test (TMT-B) is widely used as a quick and easy to administer measure of executive dysfunction. The current study investigated the relationships between TMT-B performance, brain volumes, cortical thickness and white matter water diffusion characteristics in a large sample of older participants, before and after controlling for processing speed. Four hundred and eleven healthy, community-dwelling older adults who were all born in 1936 were assessed on TMT-B, 5 tests of processing speed, and provided contemporaneous structural and diffusion MRI data. Significant relationships were found between slower TMT-B completion times and thinner cortex in the frontal, temporal and inferior parietal regions as well as the Sylvian fissure/insula. Slower TMT-B completion time was also significantly associated with poorer white matter microstructure of the left anterior thalamic radiation, and the right uncinate fasciculus. The majority of these associations were markedly attenuated when additionally controlling for processing speed. These data suggest that individual differences in processing speed contribute to the associations between TMT-B completion time and the grey and white matter structure of older adults

The Veterans Health Administration’s Promotion of Health Equity for Racial and Ethnic Minorities

The Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) Health Services Research and Development Service( HSRD) is proud to collaborate with the Journal to publish this special edition highlighting the Third Annual National Minority Health Leadership Summit. The summit, held in Pittsburgh, Pa, in January 2003, was titled “Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: The Role of Community- Based Participatory Research.” It was organized by the Center for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and was cosponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (Region III) and the VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. During a special VA panel session at the summit, we described the VA’s comprehensive response to the national initiative to eliminate disparities in health and health care among racial and ethnic minorities. The audience, a diverse group of health professionals, public health workers, and community service providers, was largely unaware of the leading role the VA has played in promoting equality in health and health care among these traditionally underserved populations

Geographic differences in the use of veterans administration hospitals

This study contrasts the determinants of community hospital utilization with Veterans Administration (VA) hospital utilization using traditional planning variables. The comparisons had some expected and some unanticipated findings. Regional differences in non-VA hospital admissions and bed days are fairly well explained by measures of medical need, provider supply, community alternatives, and sociodemographic characteristics (other than those used as proxies for case mix). However, regional variations in the VA are explained less well by the same classes of variables and the unexplained differences between the two systems do not correspond geographically. This suggests that the two systems have different reasons for regional variation. Further, contrary to expectation, when other predictors are held constant, excess bed capacity in the area does not correlate with lower VA utilization. The study is important as the VA comes under increasing pressure to contain costs. It may well be that the rational planning model attributed to the public sector is less likely to overcome maldistribution than the private sector 'invisible hand'. Policy analysts need to give more attention to the political, bureaucratic determinants of resource allocation before changing eligibility criteria or merging the two systems.small area variation veterans/civilian utilization resource distribution planning

Overview of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI)

The U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA)'s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) is an innovative integration of health services research, policy, and clinical care delivery designed to improve the quality, outcomes, and efficiency of VHA health care through the identification and implementation of evidence-based practices in routine care settings. A total of eight condition-specific QUERI centers are currently in operation, each pursuing an integrated portfolio of activities designed to identify and correct gaps in clinical quality and performance and to derive generalizable scientific knowledge regarding quality improvement processes and methods and their effectiveness. This overview article describes QUERI's mission, history, structure, and activities and provides a brief summary of key findings and impacts

Informatics Resources to Support Health Care Quality Improvement in the Veterans Health Administration

Information systems are increasingly important for measuring and improving health care quality. A number of integrated health care delivery systems use advanced information systems and integrated decision support to carry out quality assurance activities, but none as large as the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The VHA's Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) is a large-scale, multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative designed to ensure excellence in all areas where VHA provides health care services, including inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care settings. In this paper, we describe the role of information systems in the VHA QUERI process, highlight the major information systems critical to this quality improvement process, and discuss issues associated with the use of these systems