Register Now for Webinar on Using Health Information Technology To Improve Primary Care

Registration is open for a June 22 webinar that will highlight how primary care practices can use health information technology (IT) to improve quality and patient outcomes, especially related to heart health. The event is part of AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW program, a grant initiative dedicated to helping thousands of small- and medium-sized primary care practices use current evidence to improve cardiovascular care for millions of Americans nationwide. Despite its potential to improve care, health IT is currently underused in primary care practices. Webinar presenters will highlight incentives and effective tools that support the use of health IT in quality improvement, as well as challenges that may arise in implementation. In addition, an EvidenceNOW grantee will discuss how health IT can support adoption of the “ABCS” of heart health – aspirin use by high-risk individuals, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking cessation.

EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care

What is EvidenceNOW?

EvidenceNOW is an AHRQ grant initiative dedicated to helping thousands of small- and medium-sized primary care practices across the country use the latest evidence to improve the heart health of millions of Americans. This initiative aligns with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Million Hearts®, a national effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.

Learn more about the EvidenceNOW initiative and how it helps fulfill AHRQ’s commitment to help improve primary care.

What are the goals of EvidenceNOW?

The overarching goal of EvidenceNOW is to improve the delivery of heart health care at over 1,500 primary care practices across the country. Our aspirational goal is that each of these practices will meet the national target of 70 percent of all patients adopting the ABCS of cardiovascular disease prevention: Aspirin use by high-risk individuals,Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management, and Smoking cessation

However, there is more that we hope to accomplish. Our second goal is to understand what type of supports help primary care practices achieve these improved health outcomes. Local and national evaluations will study how best to deliver new patient-centered outcomes research to primary care practices and how to assist practices in using the research to deliver care to their patients. EvidenceNOW will create a blueprint of how our nation can build a primary care system that delivers high-quality, patient-centered health care for everyone.

Where is EvidenceNOW taking place?

EvidenceNOW established seven regional cooperatives composed of public and private health partnerships and multidisciplinary teams of experts:

Midwest Cooperative (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin )–Healthy Hearts in the Heartland
New York City Cooperative (New York City) –HealthyHearts NYC
North Carolina Cooperative (North Carolina) – Heart Health NOW!
Northwest Cooperative (Washington, Oregon, Idaho) – Healthy Hearts Northwest
Oklahoma Cooperative (Oklahoma)– Healthy Hearts for Oklahoma
Southwest Cooperative (Colorado, New Mexico) –EvidenceNOW Southwest
Virginia Cooperative (Virginia) – Heart of Virginia Healthcare

Each cooperative is recruiting and engaging 250-300 small- and medium-sized, independent primary care practices. The cooperatives then provide targeted support services to practices enrolled in the initiative.

Image of EvidenceNOW Quality Improvement Services.

The seven cooperatives have developed unique interventions designed to improve health care delivery. These interventions include a combination of five core services to help primary care practices improve quality of care—services that are typically not available to smaller practices because of their size:

On-site practice facilitation and coaching
Data feedback and benchmarking
Electronic health record support
Expert consultation
Shared learning collaboratives

Each cooperative’s approach to providing these services is tailored to their region and populations served.

How will AHRQ measure the success of EvidenceNOW?

Each cooperative will evaluate the success of their interventions in changing primary care practice and improving heart health. AHRQ also has awarded a grant to the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to conduct an independent national evaluation (PDF version - 1.4 MB) of the overall EvidenceNOW initiative. The national evaluation team, led by OHSU and comprised of researchers at multiple institutions, will study the impact of cooperatives’ interventions on practice improvement and the delivery of cardiovascular care. In addition, the evaluation team will study which practice support services and quality improvement strategies are most effective in improving the implementation of new medical evidence.

Learn more about the EvidenceNOW evaluation.

What is the timeline for this initiative?

EvidenceNOW launched in May 2015 and will continue through May 2018.

The timeline for the EvidenceNOW initiative began with a funding announcement in March 2014 followed by the launch of the initiative in May 2015. The practice recruitment period is May 2015 through January 2016, and baseline data are collected at the end of that period. Implementation of quality improvement initiatives and ongoing data collection will take place starting in February 2016, ending in November 2017. The post-intervention evaluation of the initiative will be completed from November 2017 through May 2018.

PDF Version (85 KB)

Page last reviewed February 2016

Internet Citation: EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care. February 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/primary-care/evidencenow.html