Clinical practice visits: a rapid review.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Medical Education
• Peer Review in Medicine

Background:

• Practice visits are a peer review activity where healthcare providers observe and review another's practice.
• The primary goal is to provide constructive feedback to improve practice quality and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature on practice visits and identify effective strategies.
• To determine the impact of practice visits on professional practice and patient care.

Main Methods:

• A rapid review of three biomedical databases was conducted up to April 2018.
• Literature search included no limits on publication date or type.
• Study selection and data extraction were performed by two authors using predefined criteria.

Main Results:

• Nine publications reporting on eight study groups were included.
• Practice visits were found useful for identifying areas of improvement, though the rate of elicitation varied.
• Both hosts and visitors reported positive experiences and gained insights.

Conclusions:

• Recommendations for effective practice visits can be made based on the reviewed literature.
• The quality and age of the existing literature should be considered when interpreting findings.