Evidence-based decision making has become a benchmark of best practice. Sources of evidence are systematic reviews and meta-analyses. To support their decision making, health care managers and supervisors need to be able to critically read and interpret systematic reviews and meta-analyses. They also need to be able to determine the applicability of the evidence to their problems and settings. This 2-part series of articles aims to equip health care managers and supervisors with these skills. This article, part 1, explains the types of systematic reviews, defines key terms, and outlines the process of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Part 2 focuses on the additional procedures associated with meta-analyses, describes the potential shortcomings of both systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and finally, provides a way to appraise the applicability of their results.

The organization Community Partners HealthNet (CPH), Inc. is a so-called Health-Center-Controlled Networks (HCCNs) that provide health information technologies, in particular Electronic Health Records and Data Warehouse, to participating community health centers (CHC) and rural health clinics (RHC). All 16 member organizations (CHCs and RHCs) in CPH are non-profit health care organizations providing primary health care to individuals in medically underserved areas. To provide quality and accessible health care to those medically needed, CPH and member organization rely heavily on funding from federal and state governments as well as charitable foundations. The investment in system-wide Health Information Technologies has been financially limited given the nature of the organizations. CPH and member organizations, through visionary leadership and cost-effective execution, have been able to adopt and implement advanced information technologies like EHR and data warehouse since early 1990s. There has been software updates and EHR upgrades, but the original design of the system still serve the information needs of the organization. This case study describes CPH in the health care environment, discusses the collaboration of six original individual CHCs to create CPH, the EHR and Data Warehouse projects at CPH, and then explains CPH’s on-going operations and new challenges in the context of meaningful use and big data movement.

Health-Center-Controlled Networks (HCCNs) are collaborative ventures that provide health information technologies to Community Health Centers (CHCs). Community Partners HealthNet (CPH), Inc. is a HCCN. CPH’s member organizations are non-profit health care organizations that provide primary health care to individuals in medically underserved areas. As non-profits, they must regularly seek grant funding from foundations and state and federal agencies to provide quality, accessible health care. Consequently, initiatives to adopt and implement Health Information Technologies (HIT) require individual CHCs to carefully consider how best to incorporate HIT for improved patient care. This case study describes CPH, discusses the collaboration of six individual CHCs to create CPH, and then explains CPH’s on-going operations.

This article is a continuation of a 2-part series that seeks to build the skills of health care managers and supervisors in critically reading and interpreting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The first article, part I, defined the types of systematic reviews and outlined the process of conducting them. This article, part II, focuses on meta-analysis, a type of systematic review. This article explains the additional procedures associated with meta-analyses and describes the potential shortcomings of both systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Finally, this article provides a way for health care managers and supervisors to appraise systematic reviews and meta-analyses and to determine whether the evidence applies to their problems and settings.