RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Clinician Perspectives on the Benefits of Practice Facilitation for Small Primary Care Practices
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP S17
OP S23
DO 10.1370/afm.2427
VO 17
IS Suppl 1
A1 Erin S. Rogers
A1 Allison M. Cuthel
A1 Carolyn A. Berry
A1 Sue A. Kaplan
A1 Donna R. Shelley
YR 2019
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/17/Suppl_1/S17.abstract
AB PURPOSE Small independent primary care practices (SIPs) often lack the resources to implement system changes. HealthyHearts NYC, funded through the EvidenceNOW initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, studied the effectiveness of practice facilitation to improve cardiovascular disease– related care in 257 SIPs. We sought to understand SIP clinicians’ perspectives on the benefits of practice facilitation.METHODS We conducted in-depth interviews with 19 SIP clinicians enrolled in HealthyHearts NYC. Interviews were transcribed and coded using deductive and inductive approaches. To understand whether the perceived benefits of practice facilitation differ based on the availability of internal staff for quality improvement (QI), we compared themes pertaining to benefits between practices with 3 or fewer office staff vs more than 3 office staff.RESULTS Clinicians perceived 2 main benefits of practice facilitation. First, facilitators served as a connection to the external health care environment for SIPs, often through teaching and information sharing. Second, facilitators provided electronic health record (EHR)/data expertise, often by teaching functionality and completing technical assistance and tasks. SIPs with more than 3 office staff felt that facilitators provided benefits primarily through teaching, whereas SIPs with 3 or fewer staff felt that facilitators also provided hands-on support. At the intersections of these benefits, there emerged 3 central practice facilitation benefits: (1) creating awareness of quality gaps, (2) connecting practices to information, resources, and strategies, and (3) optimizing the EHR for QI goals.CONCLUSIONS SIP clinicians perceived practice facilitation to be an important resource for connecting their practice to the external health care environment and resources, and helping their practice build QI capacity through teaching, hands-on support, and EHR-driven solutions.