Tuesday Night Jazzfest

Monday -- Happy Birthday, NAPCRG!

 Monday we sang Happy Birthday to NAPCRG and toasted 40 successful years.  For the plenary, esteemed NAPCRG greats took us through the years of NAPCRG and primary care research from the beginning in 1972 to the what lies ahead for the discipline. Jerry Kruse gave a lively rendition of the Saga of Michael Klein...a hoot indeed!  And that was just the start of the day!  Poster presentations, paper sessions and workshops filled the remainder of a productive day.

Sunday in Pictures

T.R. Reid Wows the Crowd

  

The first official day of the Annual Meeting kicked off with a plenary session by T.R. Reid, American author, well-known reporter, documentary filmmaker and commentator on NPR's Morning Edition.  T.R.'s presentation was both lighthearted and thought-provoking as he recanted his experiences with health care around the world while completing his book, "The Healing of America" and PBS documentary "Sick Around the World".   T.R. compared four different health care models, their characteristics, pros and cons, and what his experiences were with each.  He pointed out the myriad downfalls of the current U.S. system, most notably that the U.S. spends the most on health care and Americans have the worst health of industrialized nations. From his vast experiences and research, T.R. concluded that the best system is one that covers health care for all individuals from cradle to grave.  This in turn makes preventative care something that heath care providers are invested in, therefore driving down costs and improving health in the long term.  As T.R. concluded his speech, he kindly summed up his book for the audience in one sentence: "If we could find the will to provide health care for everyone, the other countries could show us the way".  This conclusion brought the audience to their feet...a great way to start the week!

Evaluating Practice Transformation PreCon Kicks off Annual Meeting

The Evaluating Practice Transformation Preconference took place today as the precursor to the start of the larger Annual Meeting on Sunday.  Nearly 70 attendees gathered to explore the emerging science of evaluating practice transformation.  Attendees collaborated with one another and shared ideas, challenges, and successes in measuring the effects of changes in practice.  A mix of presentations from presenters of a variety of disciplines including anthropology, economics, and organizational psychology demonstrated the importance of taking into consideration other viewpoints when looking at how to evaluate practice change.  

The attendees also participated in small group work to develop evaluations for case studies.  This small group collaboration fostered the exchange of ideas and sharing of best practices.  Learning from one another:  what a concept!

Five additional workshops on Evaluating Practice Transformation are embedded in the Annual Meeting programming and will go into greater detail on specific elements of the topic.  For the embedded session schedule and descriptions, see page 6 of the onsite program.

Standing Room Only at NAPCRG Clinical Pearls Presentations

NAPCRG’s Clinical Pearls presentations have been gaining traction for the past two years, and reached a defining moment at the Family Medicine Forum (FMF) in Toronto recently.  The room was so packed full of people, the group was required to change rooms by the fire marshal.  As shown by this success, clinicians are obviously interested in the latest research that is relevant to their practice. Clinical Pearls presentations are NAPCRG taking the best of the best research that will have an impact on primary care clinical practice and presenting it to clinicians.  The presentations leave out the methodology, and are presented in a digestible format that is relevant to the clinician audience.   Clinicians at the 2011 FMF, the AAFP’s 2011 Scientific Assembly, and again at this year’s 2012 FMF have responded with only positive feedback and each year continue to grow in popularity. A well-deserved ‘Bravo!’ goes out to those who have made this program a success.  This was the vision of Past President, Jeannie Haggerty, who also was a presenter at the presentation at FMF in 2011 along with Val Gilchrist and Rick Glazier.   Vanessa Diaz has been integral to the program’s success and presented at the 2011 Scientific Assembly with Bernard Ewigman.  Last week in Toronto, Rick Glazier, Martin Dawes, and David White brought down the house with their presentation. Way to go to all involved in this important program!

2012 Trainee Award Winners, 2012 -- Works in Progress Posters

2012 Trainee Award Winners

 

for Works-in-Progress Posters

presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting

Primary Care in the ACO: The Role of Primary Care in the Future Healthcare System
Erica Brode, MPH; Kevin Grumbach, MD; Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH

The Incidence of Malignant and Premalignant Cutaneous Lesions Undetected By Patients Prior to Undergoing Total Body Skin Examination (TBSE) at a North Florida Dermatology Clinic
Sanam Zahedi,FSU Med; Stephen Richardson, MD

Decreasing Medication and Medical Supply Shortage and Waste in North Texas 
Jennifer Rossen,UT Southwestern; Kristin D'Silva; Georgia Saniuk; Ian Walker; Nora Gimpel, MD; Patti Pagels, MPAS, PA-C

Congratulations!

The Research Advocacy Workgroup

The Research Advocacy Workgroup includes:
Jack Westfall, Chair
Fred Burge
Jen Devoe
Perry Dickinson
Rick Glazier
Kevin Grumbach
Paul James
Alan Katz
Dan Merenstein
Bob Phillips

The workgroup wants to hear from you.  If you prefer not commenting "live" below, email Angela Broderick at abroderick@napcrg.org.

Research Advocacy -- your ideas for the next chapter

The Research Advocacy Workgroup was formed in 2010 to develop NAPCRG's advocacy priorities. 

They worked hard and accomplished this, and now they are beginning the process of updating them.   In the spirit of transparency, and of getting members' ideas and reactions early, they'd like your input.

At this point the draft is not really even a draft, but more of a wish list.  Please share your comments or additional ideas below, or email Angela Broderick at abroderick@napcrg.org.

Proposed Agenda for Primary Care Research Advocacy

2013- 2014  DRAFT
1.        Continue dissemination of “Key Messages” for primary care research.*
a.       Request CAFM organizations to share with their members.
b.      Include in NAPCRG’s “Clinical Pearls” information and stories about primary care research to better educate clinicians on what primary care research is and how they (and their patients) can benefit from it.
c.       NAPCRG officer lead presentation at Working Party on primary care research.
*developed in Seattle, Nov 2010, by this workgroup

2.       Support and partner with PCORI.
 
3.       Build strong partnerships with organizations that could collaborate, sponsor or fund our efforts in primary care research advocacy.   
a.       Meet with key individuals in organizations that could help advance the efforts of NAPCRG’s research advocacy agenda.
                                                               i.      Laskar Foundation
                                                             ii.      Commonwealth Fund
                                                            iii.      AcademyHealth
                                                           iv.      CTSA
                                                             v.      IOM

4.       Maintain relationship with CIHR and key Canadian funding agencies.
a.       Offer to continue to provide reviewers.
b.      Invite CIHR key people to NAPCRG meetings and discuss options for collaboration.

5.       Financially support lobbying and advocacy activities that support the advancement of primary care research and primary care research funding.
a.       Provide support to the US Council on Academic Family Medicine (CAFM/AFMAC)
  i.      Request that AFMAC review NAPCRG’s research advocacy priorities and make recommendations on what legislative actions or partnerships could be pursued.
  ii.      Request annual report of contribution or progress on NAPCRG’s priorities.
b.      Provide support for Canadian advocacy by contributing financially to CFPC Section of Researchers advocacy efforts
c.       Investigate consulting relationship with other experts

Send us your feedback!   These priorities will be discussed by the Workgroup and the Board of Directors at our upcoming meeting in New Orleans.

2012 NAPCRG Practice-based Research Conference

Thoughts of a PBRN Conference Pro

Here’s what Mort Wasserman, PBRN Conference Steering Committee member, had to say about the PBRN conferences he’s attended in the past. It gives a glimpse into what to expect from this year’s conference. Mort is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont and is a Director at the American Academy of Pediatrics in Pediatric Research in Office Settings. We are thrilled to have him as part of the committee that will make this year’s conference the best yet!

“I’ve attended every AHRQ PBRN conference since they began in 2000. As a pediatrician, the conference gives me access to my practice-based research colleagues in family medicine and internal medicine – folks with whom I don’t normally interact. Attendance has regularly provided me with new ideas for our own network’s research. Relationships traceable to the PBRN conference have developed into funded innovative collaborations with researchers from other PBRNs. I’ve also had the satisfaction of contributing (I hope) to the work of others. This conference is invaluable both for practice-based research newbies and for old hands.”
-Mort Wasserman, MD, MPH

PBRN Conference Plenary Speaker – Joe Selby, MD, MPH

We are thrilled to host Joe Selby, MD, MPH, as one of our plenary speaker at the PBRN conference. He is the first Executive Director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent organization created to help people make informed health care decisions and improve health care delivery. PCORI commissions research that is guided by patients, caregivers and the broader health care community and produces high integrity, evidence-based information.

Dr. Selby will discuss primary care quality improvement via collaborative partnerships; conducting research that not only informs service delivery but also facilitates sustainable quality improvement at the practice and systems level.

A press release on Dr. Selby describes him well: “Dr. Selby is a rare combination of innovative research leader and tireless patient advocate, who is passionate about PCORI’s work to ensure that the patient perspective is incorporated throughout the health research and dissemination process,” said Dr. Eugene Washington, M.D., M.Sc., chair of the PCORI Board of Governors and vice chancellor of Health Sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Selby is a family physician, clinical epidemiologist and health services researcher. He joined PCORI from Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, where he was director of the Division of Research for 13 years and oversaw a department of more than 50 investigators and 500 research staff working on more than 250 ongoing studies. An accomplished researcher, he has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and continues to conduct research, primarily in the areas of diabetes outcomes and quality improvement.

Dr. Selby’s plenary will be on Thursday of the conference (June 21) and is sure to impress.

For more about PCORI go to www.pcori.org.

PBRN Conference June 20-21

You may have seen or heard that due to a grant from AHRQ, we are excited to be hosting the 8^th annual Practice Based Research Network Conference.

We’re busy putting together two days of sessions that not only address the science of research and operation of PBRNs, but also provide for the presentation of studies focusing on practice improvement, behavioral health, diagnosis and treatment issues encountered in primary care practice, and the efficacy of interventions and prevention modalities.

Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) Executive Director will be the first plenary speaker. He’ll discuss primary care quality improvement via collaborative partnerships and conducting research that not only informs service delivery but also facilitates sustainable quality improvement at the practice and systems level.

We have also put together an exciting plenary panel featuring Larry Green, MD, Jon Kerner, PhD, Jack Westfall, MD, MPH, and James W. Mold, MD, MPH. The panelists will give a brief overview of the IOM Report on the intersection between Public Health and Primary Care with each panelist presenting examples on how to make the interface.

We hope you’ll join us. Registration is open at www.napcrg.org.

A big thank you to our Steering Committee:

Chair: James W. Mold, MD, MPH, Professor and Director of the Research Division in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geriatrics.

Rowena Dolor, MD, MHS, Director, Primary Care Research Consortium, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, Duke University

Ardis Olson, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School and Director of the Clinicians Enhancing Child Health Network

Jack Westfall, MD, MPH, Associate Dean of Rural Health, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and Director of the High Plains Research Network

Donna Manca, MD, MCLSC, Assistant Professor and Director of Research, University of Alberta Department of Family Medicine; Clinical Director, Alberta Practice Research Network

R. "Mort" Wasserman, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Vermont, Director, Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS), American Academy of Pediatrics