Current Projects
The Rural Access to MAT in Pennsylvania (RAMP) Project
Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Project RAMP will implement medication assisted treatment (MAT) and other support services within primary care practices across 23 counties in Pennsylvania. MAT involves the use of pharmacotherapy provided to patients struggling with opioid dependency by primary care physicians, as well as addiction and mental health services provided by specialty substance use disorder and mental health providers. The PERU and Project RAMP teams are providing implementation and organizational health support via the Systems Transformation Framework, webinars and one-on-one mentoring with a clinical expert, direct and regular communications and site visits, and telepsychiatry services.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Culture Change
Funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH), this project will create training materials and deliver training for healthcare systems and practices throughout the Commonwealth to create culture change around prescriber use of the Pennsylvania PDMP. The PERU team has developed comprehensive training and assessment materials based on a framework created by Dr. Janice Pringle. PERU will be using these materials to conduct organizational health assessments on healthcare entities and train these entities on how to conduct their own organizational health assessments and improve readiness to implement PDMP. Trainings and assessments will be conducted with healthcare sites across all 67 Pennsylvania counties.
Previous Projects
Morehouse School of Medicine National Center for Primary Care Strategic Planning
Funded by the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), this project was a continuation of the MSM Organizational Health Evaluation. PERU utilized the results of the evaluation, collaborated with MSM, and developed a strategic plan for its National Center for Primary Care (NCPC). This strategic plan leveraged the NCPC as a national resource for primary care providers, payers, and policy makers in order to achieve equitable and optimal healthcare for all. NCPC continues to work to strengthen the primary care system through research, education, and training to improve health outcomes while advancing and sustaining health equity.
MyVA Access Evaluation
Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), this study analyzed the impact of the MyVA Access program on Veteran access to care across the entire Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system. The study also examined the effect of organizational health factors on patient access outcomes and made recommendations for how the VHA can best report patient access data internally and externally.
Veterans Affairs Access to Care Evaluation
Funded by the VA, this project utilized the Systems Transformation Framework to evaluate the VA’s capacity to implement access improvement initiatives in a cohesive program. A critical component of the Access to Care Program (now MyVA Access) was a systematic focus on quality improvement and safety coupled with the development of improved capacity through organizational assessment.
Morehouse School of Medicine National Center for Primary Care Organizational Health Assessment
Funded by MSM, this study involved conducting an organizational health assessment of MSM’s NCPC using the Systems Transformation Framework.