Readiness and Implementation of Quality Improvement Strategies Among Small and Medium-Sized Primary Care Practices: An Observational Study

The study by Soylu et al. tested the hypothesis that practices with higher readiness for change would be more likely to implement quality improvement (QI) strategies. The study included 175 small and medium-sized practices in Virginia that, as part of the national EvidenceNOW initiative, received individualized coaching on QI strategies to improve cardiovascular care. The authors measured practice readiness by surveying staff about their commitment to—and confidence in being able to—execute QI strategies. Practice coaches counted the number of QI strategies implemented in three domains: cardiovascular risk reduction, care coordination, and organizational improvement. The study did not find a relationship between readiness and QI strategy implementation in any domain. However, as in the EvidenceNOW initiative overall, independent practices were more likely than those owned by hospitals to implement QI strategies.