The Primary Care Analytics Team: Integrating research and clinical care within the Veterans Health Administration Office of Primary Care

Karin Nelson; Ashok Reddy; Susan E Stockdale; Danielle Rose; Stephan Fihn; Ann-Marie Rosland; Gregory Stewart; Angela Denietolis; Idamay Curtis; Alaina Mori; Lisa Rubenstein

doi:10.1016/j.hjdsi.2020.100491

The Primary Care Analytics Team: Integrating research and clinical care within the Veterans Health Administration Office of Primary Care

Healthc (Amst). 2021 Jun:8 Suppl 1:100491. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2020.100491. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA; HSR&D Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound, Seattle, WA, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: karin.nelson@va.gov.
² VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA; HSR&D Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound, Seattle, WA, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Sepulveda, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Sepulveda, CA, USA.
⁵ Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁶ Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, USA.
⁷ Department of Management, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
⁸ Office of Primary Care, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC, USA.
⁹ VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁰ The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA; David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 34175100
DOI: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2020.100491

Abstract

By designing and evaluating health system improvements and providing evidence to clinical decision-makers, embedded researchers are a critical part of a Learning Health System (LHS). In this article, we describe the evolution and mission of the Primary Care Analytics Team (PCAT), an integrated research team within the Veterans Health Administration Office of Primary Care. We discuss challenges and strategies for success in working with clinical operations partners and provide recommendations for other Learning Health Systems units embedded in large integrated health care organizations.

Keywords: Embedded research; Learning health system; Primary care.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

MeSH terms

Government Programs
Humans
Organizations
Primary Health Care*
Research Personnel
Veterans Health*