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QUERI Expands Partnered Evaluations through Collaborations with Regional and National VA Leaders

Since 2016, QUERI investigators have worked closely with 68 VA National Program Office and VISN partners to implement nearly 60 evidence-based practices and promising innovations across 18 VISNs, training 3,500 VA staff that have reached more than 100,000 Veterans. QUERI continues to reach out to VA stakeholders, including Veterans, for their expertise and input in order to accomplish its mission to improve Veteran health by accelerating evidence into practice.

Recently QUERI expanded its national Partnered Evaluation Initiatives (PEIs), which involve primary funding from an operations partner in order to conduct specific evaluations of initiatives with the potential to have high impact on VA national policy. Here is a list of additional QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiatives:

• Advance Care Planning: Based in Little Rock, AR and led by Monica Matthieu, PhD, LCSW, QUERI’s Evaluation of the National Implementation of the VA Diffusion of Excellence Initiative on Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) Partnered Evaluation Initiative is working to evaluate and determine best practices to facilitate a nationwide spread of one of VA’s Diffusion of Excellence Initiatives Gold Status Practice– Advance Care Planning via Group Visits. Operations partners include: VA’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) and Care Management, Patient Care Services’ National Chaplain Center, and Social Work
• Intensive Outpatient Management: Based in Palo Alto, CA and led by Jean Yoon, PhD, MHS, QUERI’s Effects of Intensive Outpatient Management Programs on Medication Related Outcomes for High-Risk Patients initiative seeks to understand whether PACT Intensive Management increased adherence and resolution of medication problems, which represent key pathways to better management of chronic conditions. The operations partners are VA Primary Care Services and Pharmacy Benefits Management Services.
• Stepped Care for MAT and OUD: Based in Seattle, WA and led by Eric Hawkins, PhD, QUERI’s Evaluating the Implementation of the VA Stepped Care for Opioid Use Disorder Train-the-Trainer initiative will evaluate the implementation of the SCOUTT program – a model that aims to improve access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and prevent intentional overdose deaths. The SCOUTT Program includes both VISN- and facility-level teams. The operation partner is VA’s Office of Mental Health and (include as part of hyperlink as below) Suicide Prevention.
• Suicide Risk Identification: Based in Denver, CO and led by Nazanin Bahraini, PhD, QUERI’s Examining the Effectiveness of an Adaptive Implementation Intervention to Improve Uptake of the VA Suicide Risk Identification Strategy initiative aims to improve the implementation of VA Risk ID among Veterans treated in ambulatory care settings. The operations partner is VA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
• Video Telehealth Tablets: Based in Palo Alto, CA and led by Donna Zulman, MD, QUERI’s Enhancing Veterans’ Access to Care through Video Telehealth Tablets initiative will evaluate the effectiveness of tablets on Veteran access, clinical outcomes, and experience. The operations partners are VA’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) and the Office of Connected Care.

For more information about QUERI, please contact QUERI Program Manager, Melissa Braganza, MPH, at Melissa.Braganza@va.gov or Faith Booker, MPH, at Faith.Booker@va.gov .