Q&I focuses on interventional research. Whenever possible, our gold standard is a pragmatic trial.

Pragmatic trials are studies performed in real-world (instead of ideal) conditions, with the goal of testing an intervention in a way that makes its findings generalizable to everyday care delivery. We want to know which interventions work; but we also want to ensure that they work in the environment in which they will be implemented. We have three great strengths for pragmatic trials:

• Unparalleled partnerships with healthcare providers
• Deep research expertise
• Robust data infrastructure

In a pragmatic trial, we may, for example:

• Collaborate with providers to identify priority topics
• Recruit providers from across the country to participate in a study
• Randomize (when possible) sites to participate or to provide usual care, as control sites
• Support providers with implementing the intervention as a quality improvement project
• Use in-house data to compare outcomes at intervention vs. control sites

These methods allow us to efficiently and effectively determine whether improvement is due to an intervention, specifically, rather than concurrent programs, policies, or payment changes.