Correlates of baseline performance do not predict results of an intervention to improve preventive care.

Background: Cross-sectional analyses of baseline performance often inform the development of interventions to improve care. An implicit assumption in these studies is that factors associated with better performance at baseline may also be useful in predicting change in performance over time.

Methods: We analyzed data collected from 1997-2002 at 77 practices in Northeast Ohio participating in an intervention to increase evidence-based preventive services delivery (PSD).