Coaching strategies for enhancing practice transformation.

BACKGROUND: Current research on primary care practice redesign suggests that outside facilitation can be an important source of support for achieving substantial change. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the specific sequence of strategies used by a successful practice facilitator during the American Academy of Family Physicians' (AAFP) National Demonstration Project (NDP). METHODS: This secondary analysis describes a sequence of strategies used to produce change in family medicine practices attempting to adopt a new model of care. The authors analysed qualitative data generated by one facilitator and six practices by coding facilitator field notes, site visit reports, qualitative summaries, depth interviews and email strings. RESULTS: The facilitator utilized practice member coaching in addition to consulting, negotiating and connecting approaches. Coaching strategies encouraged: (i) expansive, multi-directional, attentive styles of communication; (ii) solving practical problems together; (iii) modelling facilitative leadership and (iv) encouraging an expanded vision of care. Practice members who received consistent coaching reported internal shifts and new ways of conceptualizing work, not just success at implementing model components. They indicated that their facilitator had helped them think and behave in new ways while helping them achieve benchmarks. CONCLUSIONS: It was once believed that the transition from traditional models of family medicine practice to new models of care meant implementing new technological components, suggesting that outside facilitators should act as technological and care delivery consultants. However, coaches may be especially useful in helpful in practices undertake substantial changes.

Effectiveness of 2 methods of promoting physical activity, healthy eating, and emotional well-being with the americans in motion--healthy interventions approach.

PURPOSE: An increasing number of Americans are putting their health at risk from being overweight. We undertook a study to compare patient-level outcomes of 2 methods of implementing the Americans In Motion-Healthy Interventions (AIM-HI) approach to promoting physical activity, healthy eating, and emotional well-being. METHODS: We conducted a randomized trial in which 24 family medicine practices were randomized to (1) an enhanced practice approach in which clinicians and office staff used AIM-HI tools to make personal changes and created a healthy environment, or (2) a traditional practice approach in which physicians and staff were trained and asked to use the tools with patients. Of the 610 patients enrolled, 331 were in healthy practices, and 279 were in traditional practices. At 0, 4, and 10 months we assessed blood pressure, body mass index, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels, nuclear magnetic resonance lipoprotein profiles, fitness, dietary intake, physical activity, and emotional well-being. Outcome data were analyzed using linear, mixed-effects multivariate models, adjusting for practices as a random effect. RESULTS: Regardless of patient group, 16.2% of patients who completed a 10-month visit (n = 378 patients, 62% of enrollees) and 10% of all patients enrolled lost 5% or more of their body weight; 16.7% of patients who completed a 10-month visit (10.3% of all enrollees) had a 2-point or greater increase in their fitness level; and 29.2% of 10-month completers (18.0% of all enrollees) lost 5% or more of their body weight and/or increased their fitness level by 2 or more points. There were no significant differences in these outcomes between groups. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference between the 2 groups in the primary and most secondary outcomes. Both patient groups were able to show significant before-after improvements in selected patient-level outcomes.

Off the hamster wheel? Qualitative evaluation of a payment-linked patient-centered medical home (PCMH) pilot.

CONTEXT: Many primary care practices are moving toward the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model and increasingly are offering payment incentives linked to PCMH changes. Despite widespread acceptance of general PCMH concepts, there is still a pressing need to examine carefully and critically what transformation means for primary care practices and their patients and the experience of undergoing such change in a practice. METHODS: We used a qualitative case study approach to explore the underlying dynamics of change at five practices participating in PCMH transformation efforts linked to payment reform. The evaluation consisted of structured site visits, interviews, observations, and artifact reviews followed by a structured review of transcripts and documents for patterns, themes, and insights related to PCMH implementation. FINDINGS: We describe both the detailed components of each practice's transformation efforts and a grounded taxonomy of eight insights stemming from the experiences of these medical homes. We identified specific contextual factors related to wide variations in change tactics. We also observed widely varying approaches to catalyzing change using (or not) external consultants, specific challenges regarding health information technology implementation, team and staff role restructuring, compensation, and change fatigue, and several unexpected potential confounders or alternative explanations for practice success. CONCLUSIONS: Our evaluation affirms the value and necessity of qualitative methods for understanding primary care practice transformation, and it should encourage ongoing and future pilots to include assessments of the PCMH change process beyond clinical markers and claims data. The results raise insights into the heterogeneity of medical home transformation, the central but complex role of payment reform in creating a space for change, the ability of small practices to achieve substantial change in a short time period, and the challenges of sustaining it.

Context for understanding the National Demonstration Project and the patient-centered medical home.

This article introduces a journal supplement evaluating the country's first national demonstration of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) concept. The PCMH is touted by some as a linchpin for renewing the foundering US health care system and its primary care foundation. The National Demonstration Project (NDP) tested a new model of care and compared facilitated and self-directed implementation approaches in a group-randomized clinical trial. The NDP asked what a national sample of 36 highly motivated family practices could accomplish in moving toward the PCMH ideal during 2 years within the current US health care payment and organizational system. Our independent evaluation used a multimethod approach that integrated qualitative methods to tell the NDP story from multiple perspectives and quantitative methods to assess and compare aspects that could be measured. The 7 scientific reports presented in this supplement explain the process, outcomes, lessons, and implications of the NDP. This introductory article provides context for making sense of the NDP. Important context includes the evolution of the PCMH concept and movement, the roots of the NDP and how it developed, and both what is valuable and what is problematic about family medicine and primary care. Together, the articles in this supplement show how primary care practices and the concept of the PCMH can continue to evolve. The evaluation depicts some of the early effects of this evolution on patients and practices, and shows how the process of practice development can be understood and how lessons from the NDP can inform ongoing and future efforts to transform primary care and health care systems.

Implementing the patient-centered medical home: observation and description of the national demonstration project.

PURPOSE: We provide an overall description of the National Demonstration Project (NDP) intervention to transform family practices into patient-centered medical homes. METHODS: An independent evaluation team used multiple data sources and methods to describe the design and implementation of the NDP. These included direct observation of the implementation team and project meetings, site visits to practices, depth interviews with practice members and implementation team members, access to practice communications (eg, telephone calls, e-mails), and public domain materials (eg, the NDP Web site). RESULTS: The American Academy of Family Physicians created a new division called TransforMED, which launched the 24-month NDP in June 2006. From 337 family medicine practices completing an extensive online application, 36 were selected and randomized to a facilitated group, which received tailored, intensive assistance and services from TransforMED, or a self-directed group, which received very limited assistance. Three facilitators from diverse backgrounds in finance, practice management, and organizational psychology used multiple practice change strategies including site visits, e-mails, metrics, and learning sessions. The self-directed practices worked primarily on their own, but self-organized a retreat midway through the project. The intervention model for the project evolved to be consistent with the emerging national consensus principles of the patient-centered medical home. The independent evaluation team studied the NDP and provided ongoing feedback to inform the implementation process. CONCLUSIONS: The NDP illustrates that complex practice change interventions must combine flexibility in the intervention model, implementation strategy, and the evaluation, in order to maximize ongoing learning.

Effect of facilitation on practice outcomes in the National Demonstration Project model of the patient-centered medical home.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of facilitation on practice outcomes in the 2-year patient-centered medical home (PCMH) National Demonstration Project (NDP) intervention, and to describe practices' experience in implementing different components of the NDP model of the PCMH. METHODS: Thirty-six family practices were randomized to a facilitated intervention group or a self-directed intervention group. We measured 3 practice-level outcomes: (1) the proportion of 39 components of the NDP model that practices implemented, (2) the aggregate patient rating of the practices' PCMH attributes, and (3) the practices' ability to make and sustain change, which we term adaptive reserve. We used a repeated-measures analysis of variance to test the intervention effects. RESULTS: By the end of the 2 years of the NDP, practices in both facilitated and self-directed groups had at least 70% of the NDP model components in place. Implementation was relatively harder if the model component affected multiple roles and processes, required coordination across work units, necessitated additional resources and expertise, or challenged the traditional model of primary care. Electronic visits, group visits, team-based care, wellness promotion, and proactive population management presented the greatest challenges. Controlling for baseline differences and practice size, facilitated practices had greater increases in adaptive reserve (group difference by time, P = .005) and the proportion of NDP model components implemented (group difference by time, P=.02); the latter increased from 42% to 72% in the facilitated group and from 54% to 70% in the self-directed group. Patient ratings of the practices' PCMH attributes did not differ between groups and, in fact, diminished in both of them. CONCLUSIONS: Highly motivated practices can implement many components of the PCMH in 2 years, but apparently at a cost of diminishing the patient's experience of care. Intense facilitation increases the number of components implemented and improves practices' adaptive reserve. Longer follow-up is needed to assess the sustained and evolving effects of moving independent practices toward PCMHs.

Journey to the patient-centered medical home: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of practices in the National Demonstration Project.

PURPOSE: We describe the experience of practices in transitioning toward patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in the National Demonstration Project (NDP). METHODS: The NDP was launched in June 2006 as the first national test of a model of the PCMH in a diverse sample of 36 family practices, randomized to facilitated and self-directed intervention groups. An independent evaluation team used a multimethod evaluation strategy, analyzing data from direct observation, depth interviews, e-mail streams, medical records, and patient and practice surveys. The evaluation team reviewed data from all practices as they became available and produced interim summaries. Four 2- to 3-day evaluation team retreats were held during which case summaries of all practices were discussed and patterns were described. RESULTS: The 6 themes that emerged from the data reflect major shifts in individual and practice roles and identities, as well as changes in practices' management strategies. The themes are (1) practice adaptive reserve is critical to managing change, (2) developmental pathways to success vary considerably by practice, (3) motivation of key practice members is critical, (4) the larger system can help or hinder, (5) practice transformation is more than a series of changes and requires shifts in roles and mental models, and (6) practice change is enabled by the multiple roles that facilitators play. CONCLUSIONS: Transformation to a PCMH requires more than a sequence of discrete changes. The practice transformation process may be fostered by promoting adaptive reserve and local control of the developmental pathway.

Patient outcomes at 26 months in the patient-centered medical home National Demonstration Project.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient outcomes in the National Demonstration Project (NDP) of practices' transition to patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). METHODS: In 2006, a total of 36 family practices were randomized to facilitated or self-directed intervention groups. Progress toward the PCMH was measured by independent assessments of how many of 39 predominantly technological NDP model components the practices adopted. We evaluated 2 types of patient outcomes with repeated cross-sectional surveys and medical record audits at baseline, 9 months, and 26 months: patient-rated outcomes and condition-specific quality of care outcomes. Patient-rated outcomes included core primary care attributes, patient empowerment, general health status, and satisfaction with the service relationship. Condition-specific outcomes were measures of the quality of care from the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance (ACQA) Starter Set and measures of delivery of clinical preventive services and chronic disease care. RESULTS: Practices adopted substantial numbers of NDP components over 26 months. Facilitated practices adopted more new components on average than self-directed practices (10.7 components vs 7.7 components, P=.005). ACQA scores improved over time in both groups (by 8.3% in the facilitated group and by 9.1% in the self-directed group, P <.0001) as did chronic care scores (by 5.2% in the facilitated group and by 5.0% in the self-directed group, P=.002), with no significant differences between groups. There were no improvements in patient-rated outcomes. Adoption of PCMH components was associated with improved access (standardized beta [Sbeta]=0.32, P = .04) and better prevention scores (Sbeta=0.42, P=.001), ACQA scores (Sbeta=0.45, P = .007), and chronic care scores (Sbeta=0.25, P =.08). CONCLUSIONS: After slightly more than 2 years, implementation of PCMH components, whether by facilitation or practice self-direction, was associated with small improvements in condition-specific quality of care but not patient experience. PCMH models that call for practice change without altering the broader delivery system may not achieve their intended results, at least in the short term.

Summary of the National Demonstration Project and recommendations for the patient-centered medical home.

This article summarizes findings from the National Demonstration Project (NDP) and makes recommendations for policy makers and those implementing patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) based on these findings and an understanding of diverse efforts to transform primary care. The NDP was launched in June 2006 as the first national test of a particular PCMH model in a diverse sample of 36 family practices, randomized to facilitated or self-directed groups. An independent evaluation team used a multimethod evaluation strategy, analyzing data from direct observation, depth interviews, e-mail streams, medical record audits, and patient and clinical staff surveys. Peer-reviewed manuscripts from the NDP provide answers to 4 key questions: (1) Can the NDP model be built? (2) What does it take to build the NDP model? (3) Does the NDP model make a difference in quality of care? and (4) Can the NDP model be widely disseminated? We find that although it is feasible to transform independent practices into the NDP conceptualization of a PCMH, this transformation requires tremendous effort and motivation, and benefits from external support. Most practices will need additional resources for this magnitude of transformation. Recommendations focus on the need for the PCMH model to continue to evolve, for delivery system reform, and for sufficient resources for implementing personal and practice development plans. In the meantime, we find that much can be done before larger health system reform.

Methods for evaluating practice change toward a patient-centered medical home.

PURPOSE: Understanding the transformation of primary care practices to patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) requires making sense of the change process, multilevel outcomes, and context. We describe the methods used to evaluate the country's first national demonstration project of the PCMH concept, with an emphasis on the quantitative measures and lessons for multimethod evaluation approaches. METHODS: The National Demonstration Project (NDP) was a group-randomized clinical trial of facilitated and self-directed implementation strategies for the PCMH. An independent evaluation team developed an integrated package of quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the process and outcomes of the NDP for practices and patients. Data were collected by an ethnographic analyst and a research nurse who visited each practice, and from multiple data sources including a medical record audit, patient and staff surveys, direct observation, interviews, and text review. Analyses aimed to provide real-time feedback to the NDP implementation team and lessons that would be transferable to the larger practice, policy, education, and research communities. RESULTS: Real-time analyses and feedback appeared to be helpful to the facilitators. Medical record audits provided data on process-of-care outcomes. Patient surveys contributed important information about patient-rated primary care attributes and patient-centered outcomes. Clinician and staff surveys provided important practice experience and organizational data. Ethnographic observations supplied insights about the process of practice development. Most practices were not able to provide detailed financial information. CONCLUSIONS: A multimethod approach is challenging, but feasible and vital to understanding the process and outcome of a practice development process. Additional longitudinal follow-up of NDP practices and their patients is needed.

Initial lessons from the first national demonstration project on practice transformation to a patient-centered medical home.

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is emerging as a potential catalyst for multiple health care reform efforts. Demonstration projects are beginning in nearly every state, with a broad base of support from employers, insurers, state and federal agencies, and professional organizations. A sense of urgency to show the feasibility of the PCMH, along with a 3-tiered recognition process of the National Committee on Quality Assurance, are influencing the design and implementation of many demonstrations. In June 2006, the American Academy of Family Physicians launched the first National Demonstration Project (NDP) to test a model of the PCMH in a diverse national sample of 36 family practices. The authors make up an independent evaluation team for the NDP that used a multimethod evaluation strategy, including direct observation, in-depth interviews, chart audit, and patient and practice surveys. Early lessons from the real-time qualitative analysis of the NDP raise some serious concerns about the current direction of many of the proposed PCMH demonstration projects and point to some positive opportunities. We describe 6 early lessons from the NDP that address these concerns and then offer 4 recommendations for those assisting the transformation of primary care practices and 4 recommendations for individual practices attempting transformation.

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in elementary school children.

AIM: To determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) and its related components in elementary-aged school children. METHODS: Three hundred and seventy-five 7-9-y-old boys (n=182) and girls (n=193) in the eastern Kansas area served as participants. Criteria for the MS were the presence of three or more of the following components: 1) central obesity (waist circumference>or=90th percentile in males and females); 2) elevated triglyceride concentrations (>or=1.13 mmol/l); 3) low HDL-C concentrations (or=90th percentile, age and gender specific); or 5) elevated fasting glucose levels (>or=6.10 mmol/l). RESULTS: The prevalence of the MS in this sample was 5%, and was similar across gender and race. Fifty percent of the children had no components and 15% had at least two components, with elevated blood pressure the most common component (37%). CONCLUSION: The MS is prevalent even in young children at rates similarly reported in adolescents.