Trial reportPloS one2014
Effectiveness of improvement plans in primary care practice accreditation: a clustered randomized trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00791362 (Effects and Costs of a National Continuous Improvement Programme on Cardiovascular Diseases in Primary Care), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects and Costs of a National Continuous Improvement Programme on Cardiovascular Diseases in Primary Care
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of quality improvement interventions in improving cardiovascular disease-related outcomes in primary and tertiary care: A systematic review and meta-analyses.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Mediators of change in healthcare organisations subject to external assessment: a systematic review with narrative synthesis.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- HEARTS Accreditation: institutionalizing quality improvement of integrated cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic services in primary care.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Improving departmental Quality Improvement Plans through standardisation, structured peer-to-peer feedback and building improvement capacity and culture.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Accreditation of primary health care centres in the KSA: Lessons from developed and developing countries.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2023Article
- What GPs do to meet accreditation standards - implementation activities and perceived improvements attributed to general practice accreditation.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- The decline in physical activity in aging people is not modified by gender or the presence of cardiovascular disease.European journal of public health · 2020Article
- Efficiency of the implementation of cardiovascular risk management in primary care practices: an observational study.Implementation science : IS · 2016Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccreditation of healthcare organizations is a widely used method to assess and improve quality of healthcare. Our aim was to determine the effectiveness of improvement plans in practice accreditation of primary care practices, focusing on cardiovascular risk management (CVRM).
methodA two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial with a block design was conducted with measurements at baseline and follow-up. Primary care practices allocated to the intervention group (n = 22) were instructed to focus improvement plans during the intervention period on CVRM, while practices in the control group (n = 23) could focus on any domain except on CVRM and diabetes mellitus. Primary outcomes were systolic blood pressure <140 mmHg, LDL cholesterol <2.5 mmol/l and prescription of antiplatelet drugs. Secondary outcomes were 17 indicators of CVRM and physician's perceived goal attainment for the chosen improvement project.
resultsNo effect was found on the primary outcomes. Blood pressure targets were reached in 39.8% of patients in the intervention and 38.7% of patients in the control group; cholesterol target levels were reached in 44.5% and 49.0% respectively; antiplatelet drugs were prescribed in 82.7% in both groups. Six secondary outcomes improved: smoking status, exercise control, diet control, registration of alcohol intake, measurement of waist circumference, and fasting glucose. Participants' perceived goal attainment was high in both arms: mean scores of 7.9 and 8.2 on the 10-point scale.
conclusionsThe focus of improvement plans on CVRM in the practice accreditation program led to some improvements of CVRM, but not on the primary outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00791362.
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