March 14, 2016

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced last year a major initiative to improve the heart health of some 8 million Americans. EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care, is designed to help primary care practices in both urban and rural communities use the latest evidence to deliver standard cardiovascular prevention efforts into their patients' care.

OHSU School of Medicine faculty members are leading aspects of both the implementation and analysis needed for a national initiative of this scope.

First, Lyle (LJ) Fagnan, M.D. '71, director of OHSU's Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network and professor of family medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, is leading ORPRN's participation in the Northwest regional cooperative created to implement EvidenceNOW. Healthy Hearts Northwest (H2N) is an opportunity to build Quality Improvement (QI) infrastructure while working towards better heart health outcomes for patients. To date, ORPRN has enrolled nearly 100 practices across Oregon, representing multiple health systems, including Providence, Santiam Health, Samaritan Health System, Grand Ronde and more. Click on the map to read a poster describing ORPRN's role in H2N.

Designed for small- to medium-sized primary care practices, each practice works with a Practice Facilitator to tailor the program for their specific needs, and receives 15 months of structured support. Facilitators help practices identify areas for improvement, and introduce practices to new ideas, tools, and methods while guiding them to integrate a comprehensive QI structure into the existing framework of their medical practice. For more information about joining the H2N project, please visit www.healthyheartsnw.org or contact Project Manager Caitlin Dickinson.  

Simultaneously, Deborah Cohen, Ph.D., associate professor of family medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, is leading the evaluation of the work of the seven cooperatives, through a program called ESCALATES (Evaluating System Change to Advance Learning and Take Evidence to Scale).

Using qualitative and quantitative data, ESCALATES is working to ensure that successful interventions and supports are generalizable and scalable for all clinics, not just those participating in EvidenceNOW. ESCALATES also has an aggressive and broad dissemination plan for its evidence-based findings, offering the key information clinics, cooperatives, researchers and other stakeholders need to help fuel systemic change.

Read more about ESCALATES in this article from the Department of Family Medicine.

More

OHSU Family Medicine receives $13.4 million AHRQ award

ORPRN to lead implementation of EvidenceNOW initiative in Oregon to improve heart health

EvidenceNOW website and video: