Practice visits as a tool in quality improvement: acceptance and feasibility

Area of Science:

• Medical Practice Management
• Quality Improvement in Healthcare
• Physician Education

Background:

• Assessing practice management is crucial for healthcare quality.
• Different methods exist for practice assessment, including peer feedback and non-physician observation.
• The Visit Instrument to Assess Practice Management and Organisation (VIP) is a validated tool for this purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the feasibility and acceptance of two practice assessment programs: peer feedback versus non-physician observer feedback.
• To evaluate the acceptance of the VIP tool within these programs.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, randomized intervention study involving general practitioners (GPs) in the Netherlands.
• Two assessment programs were compared: mutual peer visits and visits by non-physician observers.
• Data collected included appreciation, acceptance, feasibility, and practicality scores, with a one-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• Visits by non-physician observers were significantly more appreciated than peer visits.
• Participants preferred feedback from non-physician observers over peers.
• Feedback from the practice visit and the VIP tool was well-received at the one-year follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Practice visits and feedback delivered by non-physician observers are more favorably received than those by peers.
• The VIP tool, when used with non-physician observers, offers a simple, easy, and well-accepted approach to assessing practice management.