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QUERI Highlights from the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

HSR&D and QUERI were both well-represented at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, which was held from June 24 through June 27 in Seattle, WA. Among the four days of conference programming, VA investigators delivered 47 presentations and three VA sponsored sessions, as well as several posters. QUERI investigators gave dynamic presentations covering a range of topics of importance to VA healthcare, such as research-operations partnerships and learning health systems. In addition, QUERI held an adjunct meeting to mark its 25^th anniversary.

QUERI Celebrates 25^th Anniversary

QUERI Director Amy Kilbourne, PhD, MPH, chaired a session that discussed QUERI’s 25-year history of driving the use of high-impact research, along with speakers Nicki Hastings, MD, MHS, who co-leads the Function QUERI Program and is director of HSR&D’s Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT); Bo Kim, PhD, who co-leads the Improving Access to Legal Services for Veterans (LSV) QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative and is part of HSR&D’s Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR); and Tanya Olmos-Ochoa, PhD, MPH, who is an MPI on the QUERI Leading Evaluations to Advance VA’s Response to National Priorities (LEARN) Evidence-based Policy Evaluation Center and is part of HSR&D’s Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy (CSHIIP). As the discussant, Brian Mittman, PhD, former QUERI director, provided his insights into how QUERI has innovated to meet the changing needs of Veterans and the VA healthcare system, while also making significant contributions to implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation sciences.

In addition, QUERI held a half-day meeting that was organized by QUERI’s Evidence, Policy, and Implementation Center (EPIC) to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of QUERI. This meeting brought together QUERI investigators and staff for peer learning and sharing of best practices in applying cutting-edge implementation, evaluation, and quality improvement methods to accelerate the translation of effective innovations into routine care in VA.

Breakout sessions were held on utilizing novel approaches in implementation science to address VA priorities, such as:

• Documenting Adaptations to Implementation Strategies, led by Christopher Miller, PhD, who co-leads Behavioral Health QUERI;
• Best Budget Analysis for Implementation Projects, led by Rebecca Raciborski, PhD, an economist with QUERI’s Evidence, Policy, and Implementation Center (EPIC); and
• Exploring the Untapped Potential of Electronic Health Records in Implementation Science, led by Seppo Rinne, MD, PhD, who co-leads EMPIRIC QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative and SCHOLAR QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative.

Concurrent breakout sessions on peer learning topics included:

• Developing and Conducting QUERI Rapid Response Team Projects, led by Allen Gifford, MD, who co-leads EPIC, and Bo Kim, PhD;
• Innovations in Implementation Science Training and Mentorship, led by Alison Hamilton, PhD, MPH, who co-leads EMPOWER QUERI, Christopher Miller, PhD, and Amanda Midboe, PhD, who co-leads Bridge QUERI; and
• Creation and Dissemination of Operational Products, led by Monica Matthieu, PhD, LCSW, who leads the Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative, and Timothy Hogan, PhD, who leads QUERI’s eHealth Partnered Evaluation Initiative.

VA-Supported Sessions

HSR&D/QUERI investigators led a session that discussed the importance of successful policy-practice research partnerships in a learning healthcare system. Participants provided case examples, practical strategies and hands-on activities exemplifying collaboration across a learning healthcare system. QUERI panelists included: Barbara Bokhour, PhD, who leads QUERI’s Center for Evaluating Patient-Centered Care (EPCC-VA) and co-directs HSR&D’s Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR); Nancy Donovan; Adam Gordon, MD, MPH, part of HSR&D’s Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center (IDEAS) and QUERI’s Consortium to Disseminate and Understand Implementation of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment (CONDUIT); Justeen Hyde, PhD, part of CHOIR; Tamara Schult, PhD, MPH; and Steven Zeliadt, PhD, MPH, who co-leads CONDUIT QUERI and is associate director of HSR&D’s Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care.

HSR&D/QUERI investigators also led a session that discussed developing and implementing a caregiver intervention from a single site randomized controlled trial to VA-wide adoption. Session panelists presented the arc of the intervention development, refinement to fit in real-world settings, and implementation in a diverse VA healthcare system. This session was led by Lynne Padgett, PhD, scientific program manager, HSR&D Central Office. QUERI panelists included Courtney Van Houtven, PhD, MSc, who is part of ADAPT and leads QUERI’s Caregiver Support Partnered Evaluation Center (VA CARES); she also co-leads Function QUERI.

Anita Vashi, MD, MPH, MHS, who co-leads QUERI’s Center for Policy Evaluation (CPE), and Ashok Reddy, MD, MS, with RIVET QUERI, were featured speakers in a session that discussed disruptions caused by the pandemic. This session focused on how we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare for future disruptions in healthcare by fostering a resilient health system.