Engaging Primary Care Practices in Studies of Improvement: Did You Budget Enough for Practice Recruitment?

Purpose: The methods and costs to enroll small primary care practices in large, regional quality improvement initiatives are unknown. We describe the recruitment approach, cost, and resources required to recruit and enroll 500 practices in the Northwest and Midwest regional cooperatives participating in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded initiative, EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care.

Methods: The project management team of each cooperative tracked data on recruitment methods used for identifying and connecting with practices.