The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Research Network (MAFPRN) is one of the oldest established primary care practice-based research networks in the country. Established in 1979, the network currently has over 200 physician members, and has contributed to 23 community-based research studies over the last 10 years. This application seeks both category-I and category-II funding. Category-I funding develops and enhances the existing MAFPRN infrastructure. Specific objectives include: 1) Evaluation of the demographics of the MAFPRN clinician-researchers, their practice settings, and their patient populations using the Primary Care Network Survey (PRINS). 2) Enhanced support for recruitment of additional MAFPRN clinician-researchers, with a specific emphasis on recruiting members that serve populations with greater ethnic or racial diversity, or that practice in underserved areas. 3) Enhancement of procedures involving human subjects, including additional training of clinicians and key clinical staff, identification and coverage of unaffiliated practices, and coordination of reciprocal reviews. 4) Initiation of a 128-bit encrypted and authenticated website for secure member communication and data entry not requiring advanced encryption. Category-II funding proposes an exploratory study examining strategies for assuring that recommendations concerning colon cancer screening and diabetes care are translated into practice. Category II introduces a sophisticated HIPAA-compliant registry that supports the introduction of a patient reminder system, a patient-specific physician reminder system, and identification of high-risk patients. A local prevention-research team led by the MAFPRN local site investigator, and facilitated by the site research coordinator, reviews and improves implementation of the intervention elements through a rapid-cycle improvement process. Quantitative analysis of the effects on clinical process measures and qualitative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the intervention provide a rich foundation for the development of subsequent translation activities.
