The Dartmouth/ Northern New England Primary Care Cooperative Research Network (The Dartmouth COOP Project) is the oldest primary care practice-based research network in the country. The Dartmouth COOP Project looks forward to participating in the Phase One Survey activities proposed by AHRQ for two reasons: 1) the NAMCS will provide participating practices/physicians with standard comparisons to national and PBRN derived benchmarks, as well as providing practice/ physician specific data and COOP-based aggregate data. The Dartmouth COOP Project proposes to contribute information from at least 120 physicians as part of the AHRQ-PBRN survey effort. The Dartmouth COOP Project also proposes to augment this physician- based survey with patient-reported information using either a paper- based or web-based survey. (Special Project, Phase Two.) The blending of the physician-dependent survey with information from patients will be used to address these specific objectives, which are to 1) Link And Compare The Patient Perspective To The Encounter Data Recorded By The Physician; 2) Compare Results Of A Paper-Based And Internet- Based Survey Method; 3) Compare Patient Consent To Identification Of Theii Responses Using Paper Or Internet Survey; and 4) Augment Physician Data With Practice Improvement Data. The comparison data will be based on a random sample of patients within stratified samples of physicians (internists, family practitioners, and pediatricians). The methods for performing the patient and practice improvement surveys are already in place: the patient-based surveys (in paper or on the Internet) are based on more than five years of development and international use; a sample of COOP clinicians completed a pilot practice improvement data survey in January, 2001. Additionally, The Dartmouth COOP Project has become closely affiliated with an emerging Network serving minority populations in southern Alabama (DeltaNet) in planning pilot tests of interaction technology to benefit interorganizational collaboration, information transfer, clinical improvement efforts, and practice-based research. An administrative supplement is requested for Phase One and Phase Two to continue to build on our collaborative work with DeltaNet, on research relevant to African-American minority populations. The methodology will be exactly the same as described in the COOP Project full submission. DeltaNet will provide The Dartmouth COOP Project with four practices and seven physicians.
