| AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange ► Improving Quality and Performance in Primary Care Practices

| AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange

Improving Quality and Performance in Primary Care Practices

Primary care physicians often lack the time and support needed to evaluate their practices and implement new initiatives and technologies to improve care. Evidence-based strategies including practice facilitation and the use of data and performance feedback can help target quality improvement efforts that lead to better patient outcomes.

This issue’s featured Innovations describe a program in which external facilitators worked with primary care practices to build their quality improvement capacity, an internal medicine practice that used an electronic medical record system to assess performance and increase the provision of recommended care, and a primary care management program that used informatics tools to provide physicians with reminders on best practices.

The featured QualityTools include resources and tools to support primary care practice facilitation and a set of searchable databases designed to advance primary care research and evaluation.

Featured Innovations:

• Practice Enhancement Assistants Improve Quality of Care in Primary Care Practices
• Unobtrusive, Actionable Reminders and Performance Feedback Improve Physician Performance on Standardized Quality Measures
• Primary Care Managers Supported by Information Technology Systems Improve Outcomes, Reduce Costs For Patients With Complex Conditions

Featured QualityTools:

• Practice Facilitation Handbook: Training Modules for New Facilitators and Their Trainers
• Developing and Running a Primary Care Practice Facilitation Program: A How-to Guide
• Integrating Chronic Care and Business Strategies in the Safety Net: A Practice Coaching Manual
• Resources for Primary Care Research and Evaluation

Featured Perspectives:

• New Curriculum Aims to Expand Access to Primary Care Practice Facilitation