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There are limited data evaluating chronic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) exposure and decline in kidney function in primary care practice where rates of NSAID prescribing are high (1,2). The majority of published observational studies have evaluated the association of prescription NSAID use with AKI using claims data in focused geographic areas outside of the United States (1). It is estimated that >36 million Americans use over-the-counter (OTC) NSAIDs and data suggest that many users, regardless of age, exceed the recommended dose (1,3,4). Education materials for prescription ( e.g ., Food and Drug Administration Medication Guide) and OTC (label) NSAIDs have also been noted to have content that is not aligned with the universal precautions for health literacy. Poor literacy around NSAID education materials has been documented among primary care patients with CKD (5). This study sought to evaluate eGFR changes associated with chronic NSAID exposure in a large, geographically vast, primary care cohort using data from the DARTNet Practice Performance Registry receiving prescription and OTC NSAIDs (6). This project was determined to not require oversight by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board. This determination was based on the fact that the data set analyzed had no protected health information. Eligible patients were ≥18 years old and had at least two eGFR measurements (between 29 ml/min per 1.73 m2) at least 3 months apart. Baseline was defined as the first qualifying eGFR during the study period of January 1, …

The Advancing the Patient Experience (APEX) in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) registry (https://www.apexcopd.org/) is the first primary care health system-based COPD registry in the United States. While its ultimate goal is to improve the care of patients diagnosed with COPD, the registry is also designed to describe real-life experiences of people with COPD, track key outcomes longitudinally, and assess the effectiveness of interventions. It will retrospectively and prospectively collect information from 3000 patients enrolled in 5 health care organizations. Information will be obtained from electronic health records, and from extended annual and brief questionnaires completed by patients before clinic visits. Core variables to be collected into the APEX COPD registry were agreed on by Delphi consensus and fall into 3 domains: demographics, COPD monitoring, and treatment. Main strengths of the registry include: 1) its size and scope (in terms of patient numbers, geographic spread and use of multiple information sources including patient-reported information); 2) collection of variables which are clinically relevant and practical to collect within primary care; 3) use of electronic data capture systems to ensure high-quality data and minimization of data-entry requirements; 4) inclusion of clinical, database development, management and communication experts; 5) regular sharing of key findings, both at international/national congresses and in peer-reviewed publications; and 6) a robust organizational structure to ensure continuance of the registry, and that research outputs are ethical, relevant and continue to bring value to both patients and physicians.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is commonly managed by family physicians, but little is known about specifics of management and how this may be improved. The Advancing the Patient Experience in COPD (APEX COPD) registry will be the first U.S. primary care, health system-based registry following patients diagnosed with COPD longitudinally, using a standardized set of variables to investigate how patients are managed in real life and assess outcomes of various management strategies.Objective: Gaining expert consensus on a standardized list of variables to capture in the APEX COPD registry.Methods: A modified, Delphi process was used to reach consensus on which data to collect in the registry from electronic health records (EHRs), patient-reported information (PRI) and patient-reported outcomes (PRO), and by physicians during subsequent office visits. The Delphi panel comprised 14 primary care and specialty COPD experts from the United States and internationally. The process consisted of 3 iterative rounds. Responses were collected electronically.Results: Of the initial 195 variables considered, consensus was reached to include up to 115 EHR variables, 34 PRI/PRO variables and 5 office-visit variables in the APEX COPD registry. These should include information on symptom burden, diagnosis, COPD exacerbations, lung function, quality of life, comorbidities, smoking status/history, treatment specifics (including side effects), inhaler management, and patient education/self-management.Conclusion: COPD experts agreed upon the core variables to collect from EHR data and from patients to populate the APEX COPD registry. Data will eventually be integrated, standardized and stored in the APEX COPD database and used for approved COPD-related research.

Background: Despite the current evidence of preventive screening effectiveness, rates of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in the United States fall below national targets. We evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of combining practice facilitation and academic detailing quality improvement (QI) strategies to help primary care practices increase breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening among patients. Methods: Practices received a 1-hour academic detailing session addressing current cancer screening guidelines and best practices, followed by 6 months of practice facilitation to implement evidence-based interventions aimed at increasing patient screening. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance compared screening rates before and after the intervention, provider surveys, and TRANSLATE model scores. Qualitative data were gathered via participant focus groups and interviews. Results: Twenty-three practices enrolled in the project: 4 federally qualified health centers, 10 practices affiliated with larger health systems, 4 physician-owned practices, 4 university hospital clinics, and 1 nonprofit clinic. Average screening rates for breast cancer increased by 13% (P = .001), and rates for colorectal cancer increased by 5.6% (P = .001). Practices implemented a mix of electronic health record data cleaning workflows, provider audits and feedback, reminder systems streamlining, and patient education and outreach interventions. Practice facilitators assisted practices in tailoring interventions to practice-specific priorities and constraints and in connecting with community resources. Practices with resource constraints benefited from the engagement of all levels of staff in the quality improvement processes and from team-based adaptations to office workflows and policies. Many practices aligned quality improvement interventions in this project with patient-centered medical home and other regulatory reporting targets. Conclusions: Combining practice facilitation and academic detailing is 1 method through which primary care practices can achieve systems-level changes to better manage patient population health.

Introduction: As chronic kidney disease (CKD) is among the most prevalent chronic diseases in the world with various rate of progression among patients, identifying its phenotypic subtypes is important for improving risk stratification and providing more targeted therapy and specific treatments for patients having different trajectories of the disease progression.Problem Definition and Data: The rapid growth and adoption of electronic health records (EHR) technology has created a unique opportunity to leverage the abundant clinical data, available as EHRs, to find meaningful phenotypic subtypes for CKD. In this study, we focus on extracting disease severity profiles for CKD while accounting for other confounding factors.Probabilistic Subtyping Model: We employ a probabilistic model to identify precise phenotypes from EHR data of patients who have chronic kidney disease. Using this model, patient’s eGFR trajectory is decomposed as a combination of four different components including disease subtype effect, covariate effect, individual long-term effect and individual short-term effect.Experimental Results: The discovered disease subtypes obtained by Probabilistic Subtyping Model for CKD are presented and their clinical relevance is analyzed.Discussion: Several clinical health markers that were found associated with disease subtypes are presented with suggestion for further investigation on their use as risk predictors. Several assumptions in the study are also clarified and discussed.Conclusion: The large dataset of EHRs can be used to identify deep phenotypes retrospectively. Directions for further expansion of the model are also discussed.

We examined the use of automated voice recognition (AVR) messages targeting smokers from primary care practices located in underserved urban and rural communities to promote smoking cessation. We partnered with urban and rural primary care medical offices (n = 7) interested in offering this service to patients. Current smokers, 18 years and older, who had completed an office visit within the previous 12 months, from these sites were used to create a smoker's registry. Smokers were recruited within an eight county region of western New York State between June 2012 and August 2013. Participants were contacted over six month intervals using the AVR system. Among 5812 smokers accrued 1899 (32%) were reached through the AVR system and 55% (n = 1049) continued to receive calls. Smokers with race other than white or African American were less likely to be reached (OR = 0.71, 0.57–0.90), while smokers ages 40 and over were more likely to be reached. Females (OR = 0.78, 0.65–0.95) and persons over age 40 years were less likely to opt out, while rural smokers were more likely to opt out (OR = 3.84, 3.01–4.90). Among those receiving AVR calls, 30% reported smoke free (self-reported abstinence over a 24 h period) at last contact; smokers from rural areas were more likely to report being smoke free (OR = 1.41, 1.01–1.97). An AVR-based smoking cessation intervention provided added value beyond typical tobacco cessation efforts available in these primary care offices. This intervention required no additional clinical staff time and served to satisfy a component of patient center medical home requirements for practices.

Background: Primary care physicians (PCPs) are optimally situated to identify and manage early stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nonetheless, studies have documented suboptimal PCP understanding, awareness, and management of early CKD. The TRANSLATE CKD study is an ongoing national, mixed-methods, cluster randomized control trial that examines the implementation of evidence-based guidelines for CKD into primary care practice. Methods: As part of the mixed-methods process evaluation, semistructured interviews were conducted by phone with 27 providers participating in the study. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Thematic content analysis was used to identify themes. Themes were categorized according to the 4 domains of Normalization Process Theory (NPT). Results: Identified themes illuminated the complex work undertaken to manage CKD in primary care practices. Barriers to guideline implementation were identified in each of the 4 NPT domains, including (1) lack of knowledge and understanding around CKD (coherence), (2) difficulties engaging providers and patients in CKD management (cognitive participation), (3) limited time and competing demands (collective action), and (4) challenges obtaining and using data to monitor progress (reflexive monitoring). Conclusions: Addressing the barriers to implementation with concrete interventions at the levels at which they occur, informed by NPT, will ultimately improve the quality of CKD patient care.

While health information technology (HIT) efforts are beginning to yield measurable clinical benefits, more is needed to meet the needs of patients and clinicians. Primary care researchers are uniquely positioned to inform the evidence-based design and use of technology. Research strategies to ensure success include engaging patient and clinician stakeholders, working with existing practice-based research networks, and using established methods from other fields such as human factors engineering and implementation science. Policies are needed to help support primary care researchers in evaluating and implementing HIT into everyday practice, including expanded research funding, strengthened partnerships with vendors, open access to information systems, and support for the Primary Care Extension Program. Through these efforts, the goal of improved outcomes through HIT can be achieved.

This study applies qualitative research methods to explore perspectives on cessation among smokers/former smokers recruited from an area of Northern Appalachia. Six focus groups, stratified by age group (18-39 years old and 40 years and older), were conducted among participants (n = 54) recruited from community settings. Participants described varied interest in and challenges with quitting smoking. Smokers 40 years and older more readily endorsed the health risks of smoking and had greater interest in quitting assistance. Participants expressed frustration with the US government for allowing a harmful product (e.g., cigarettes) to be promoted with minimal regulation. Use of social media was robust among both age groups; participants expressed limited interest in various social media/technology platforms for promoting smoking cessation. Findings from this understudied area of northern Appalachia reflect the heterogeneity of this region and contribute novel information about the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of current and formers smokers with regard to cessation.

Objective This report assesses the impact of a series of education sessions delivered to office staff on the delivery of smoking cessation services among patients seeking care at a community-based women’s health center. Methods A quasi-experimental design was used to examine the delivery of smoking cessation services to patients in a medical office before and after office staff attended a series of 3 educational sessions intended to increase their knowledge and self-efficacy to address cessation. Delivery of smoking cessation services was documented through a systematic review of medical records using a structured abstraction form. Results While nearly all smokers (93%) were asked about smoking status at their last office visit, few smokers at baseline or follow-up were assessed for interest in setting a quit date or offered pharmacotherapy. Referrals to the smokers quit line increased from

Context: Care continuity during transitions between the hospital and home requires reliable communication between providers and settings and an understanding of social determinants that influence recovery.Case Description: The coordinating transitions intervention uses real time alerts, delivered directly to the primary care practice for complex chronically ill patients discharged from an acute care setting, to facilitate nurse care coordinator led telephone outreach. The intervention incorporates claims-based risk stratification to prioritize patients for follow-up and an assessment of social determinants of health using the Patient-centered Assessment Method (PCAM). Results from transitional care are stored and transmitted to qualified healthcare providers across the continuum.Findings: Reliance on tools that incorporated interoperability standards facilitated exchange of health information between the hospital and primary care. The PCAM was incorporated into both the clinical and informational workflow through the collaboration of clinical, industry, and academic partners. Health outcomes improved at the study practice over their baseline and in comparison with control practices and the regional Medicaid population.Major Themes: Current research supports the potential impact of systems approaches to care coordination in improving utilization value after discharge. The project demonstrated that flexibility in developing the informational and clinical workflow was critical in developing a solution that improved continuity during transitions. There is additional work needed in developing managerial continuity across settings such as shared comprehensive care plans.Conclusions: New clinical and informational workflows which incorporate social determinant of health data into standard practice transformed clinical practice and improved outcomes for patients.

Purpose of the Study: While smoking represents the leading preventable cause of premature morbidity and mortality in the U.S., research has demonstrated that only a limited scope of cessation services are delivered to patients in many medical offices. We examined the use of an automated voice recognition (AVR) messaging intervention among smokers from primary care practices located in underserved urban and rural communities as a strategy to promote smoking cessation. Methods: We utilized community-based participatory research (CBPR) involving smokers as a foundation for creating AVR messaging and partnered with urban and rural primary care medical office sites (n=7), including community clinics and federally qualified health centers. Current smokers, 18 years and older, who had an office visit within the previous 12 months, from these sites were used to create a smoker's registry (n=5,872). Between 2012 and 2014 participants were contacted over six month intervals using the AVR system. Smoker's registry data including demographic variables, medical office, and phone contact information. AVR results from each practice were aggregated and analyzed to assess cessation outcomes. Results: Of the seven practice sites, a total of 5,872 smokers were accrued of whom 1,899 (32%) were reached through the AVR system. The average number of calls to smokers was 44 (median 51). 28% of the smokers reached were African American, 79% were age 40 and over, and 57% were female. Self-reported quit rates among reached smokers were 30%; quit rates were variable across selected variables. Conclusions: An AVR based smoking cessation intervention provided added value beyond typical tobacco cessation efforts available in these primary care offices. This intervention required no additional clinical staff time and served to satisfy a component of patient center medical home requirements for many of these practices. Building partnerships with primary care medical offices can aid in the development and testing of community-based interventions such as smoking cessation delivered to medically underserved and diverse patient populations. Citation Format: Frances G. Saad-Harfouche, Elisa M. Rodriguez, Annamaria Masucci Twarozek, Christy A. Widman, Deborah O. Erwin, Willie Underwood, III, Chester Fox, Martin C. Mahoney. Leveraging technology to promote smoking cessation in primary care medical offices. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A08.