OBJECTIVE: To investigate if a national pediatric primary care quality improvement collaborative (QIC) could improve and sustain adherence with process measures related to diagnosis and management of children with genetic disorders. METHODS: Thirteen practices in 11 states from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Quality Improvement Innovation Networks participated in a 6-month QIC that included regular educational opportunities, access to genetic professionals, and performance feedback. The QIC identified 11 aims related to improving diagnosis and management of children with genetic disorders. The practices evaluated adherence by reviewing patient records at baseline, monthly for 6 months (active improvement period), and then once 6 months after the QIC’s conclusion to check for sustainability. Random intercept binomial regression models with practice level random intercepts were used to compare adherence over time for each aim. RESULTS: During the active improvement period, statistically significant improvements in adherence were observed for 4 of the 7 aims achieving minimal data submission levels. For example, adherence improved for family histories created/maintained at health supervision visits documenting all components of the family history (6% vs 60%, P < .001), and for patients with specific genetic disorders who received recommended care (58% vs 85%, P < .001). All 4 of these aims also demonstrated statistically significant improvements during the sustainability period. CONCLUSIONS: A national QIC reveals promise in improving and sustaining adherence with process measures related to the diagnosis and management of genetic disorders. Future research should focus on patient outcome measures and the optimal number of aims to pursue in QICs.

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The NJIPSP was successful in encouraging a group of small urban practices to adopt the use of immunization registry and to transform immunization delivery from a mechanistic well-child service to a visible, monitored process of care. The project represents a unique combination of technology, public-private collaboration, and well-established quality improvement techniques. The change process involved the whole office as a team in adopting new immunization delivery roles and services. The greatest barrier to acceptance of the registry was (and continues to be) the need for manual data entry as the primary source of data collection, rather than electronic data transfer from other systems. The manual entry of data was labor intensive for participating practices and affected data measurement. Despite this barrier, however, the majority of practices substantially improved the quality of their immunization delivery practices in multiple areas. The rapid movement of primary care practices toward some form of electronic record may reduce this barrier and increase the percentage of practices willing to use a community registry. Practices that engaged collectively in the change process gained momentum from the group effort. Equally important was the public health partnership that helped identify and reduce improvement obstacles. Sustainability of practice-based immunization changes will rely, in part, on the registry's ease of use and the continued visibility of public health at the practice level. Active practice level collaboration by public health adds great value to change efforts. We believe that the best possible immunization delivery relies on both technology (registries and the EMR) and effective office systems. Projects like the NJIPSP are models for systems that integrate technology, practice change, and quality improvement, and their success has the potential to foster the spread of this approach to other primary care practices (especially in New Jersey). The NJIPSP combination of office-based change approaches and an active partnership and hands on involvement with public health has the potential to support the delivery of consistently excellent immunization delivery.

A novel use of genograms in primary care practice is to identify processes and relationships among physicians and staff prior to implementing practice change. The authors hypothesized that the genogram would inform researchers and practice staff, participating in a child maltreatment prevention study, how practice members function in a practice. They describe the use of genograms and show how the genogram results are associated with intervention uptake. Researchers constructed genograms, collected baseline surveys, and conducted postintervention interviews with physicians. Data were analyzed to determine processes associated with intervention uptake. While survey results supported the relationships and conflicts observed in the genograms, the genogram provided more multilevel information that reflected practices' abilities to implement change. By providing a snapshot of the relationship and organizational dynamics within a practice, genograms can assess culture for practice change. Genograms describe organizational dynamics and are useful tools to use prior to initiating new programs.

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