Ambulatory Primary Care Implementation Group

The Ambulatory Primary Care Implementation Group (APCIG) focuses on research and training that improves health care delivery in ambulatory primary care settings in our own community as well as across the country. APCIG members develop and evaluate novel strategies to optimize disease diagnosis and management, including the use of new diagnostic pathways, tools to enhance cardiovascular health and diabetes self-care, strategies to improve reproductive health planning, and personalized medicine and genomics. Through these efforts, we strive to produce research findings that are relevant and easily assimilated into everyday primary care practice.  

APCIG achieves this aim through a two-fold mission:

• Driving Quality Innovation
  We develop, test and disseminate novel approaches for improving quality of care in primary care in collaboration with leaders in specialty medicine, inpatient medicine, informatics and clinical operations. These strategies address a wide variety of problems, representing both organizational and national quality priorities.
• Developing Leaders in Medical Quality
  Offering a Quality and Patient Safety Fellowship program at NorthShore, APCIG helps prepare the next generation of clinical quality and safety leaders in the NorthShore Medical Group. Our fellowship enrolls six-full time clinicians from any clinical specialty annually for a one-year didactic and practicum experience focused on a quality or safety project that is aligned with organizational priorities. Fellows work with existing quality teams in the NorthShore Medical Group to develop clinical policies, enhance workflows and create new EMR builds. They also educate their peers regarding quality initiatives and continue in leadership roles after completing the fellowship.

APCIG features a multidisciplinary group of health services researchers at NorthShore, the University of Chicago and at multiple regional and national collaborating sites. NorthShore, for example, is an integral member of the Chicago Area Clinical Research Data Network (CAPriCorn), an extraordinary partnership of diverse Chicagoland research institutions, clinicians, patients and patient advocates. CAPriCorn is one of 13 clinical data research networks (CDRNs) funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). CAPriCORN allows PCORnet to engage in sustainable, population-wide, and patient-centered outcomes research.

Key APCIG Components

At NorthShore, a dedicated core research group regularly participates in APCIG research, training and administrative activities. They include:

The APCIG network is registered as a practice-based research network (PBRN) with the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).