Attachment W- Provider Site Recruitment Letters 7-23-2013

Attachment W

Provider site RECRUITMENT letters

LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM STATE PROJECT DIRECTOR

Dear CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Participant,

Thank you so much for your continued participation and hard work as part of our demonstration project. In order to learn more about the work we are doing, the National Evaluation Team for this project would like to conduct focus groups in our state with [parents of Medicaid or CHIP beneficiaries/adolescent beneficiaries] who receive care at demonstration sites. I am writing to request that your practice or clinic serve as a recruitment sites for these focus groups.

The National Evaluation team (copied on this email) will follow-up with you to provide further details. Their team has much experience partnering with practices to conduct focus groups and will make every effort to ensure the burden on your staff is minimal. In brief, they want to work to minimize any burden on the practice or clinic, will be providing a small honorarium or incentive for you to participate, and will also produce a brief summary of their focus group findings [X] months after they are completed.

Thank you for your consideration – I hope you will partner with the team in this opportunity to learn more about the experience of your patients.

Sincerely,

[State CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Project Director]

LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM PHYSICIAN CHAMPION

Dear CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Participant,

You recently received an invitation to serve as a recruitment site for focus groups that are being conducted as part of the National Evaluation of the CHIPRA Quality Demonstrations. As a pediatrician active in efforts to improve the quality of health care for children in our state, I am excited about the opportunity this quality demonstration has provided. I understand there are an increasing number of requests made to practices to participate in both quality improvement and research projects. However, I am writing in hopes that you will seriously consider this opportunity.

The CHIPRA Quality Demonstrations represent an unprecedented investment in child health, and are an important initiative to ensure that children are not left out of the growing efforts to improve health care quality. It is crucial that the perspective of beneficiaries and their families are well represented in this evaluation, and these focus groups are an opportunity for their voices to be heard. Ultimately, I know it is their experience and well-being that motivates our hard work to improve child health. This is an important chance to both make sure they are heard as well as to receive feedback on how we are doing in our efforts to improve their experience.

The evaluation team will work to minimize any burden on your practice or clinic, will be providing a small honorarium or incentive for you to participate, and will also produce a brief summary of their focus group findings [X] months after they are completed. I hope you will partner with the evaluation team by serving as a recruitment site for these focus groups. Thank you for your consideration, as well as your continued effort to provide the best possible care for your patients.

Sincerely,

[Physician leader in the state for child health care quality]

INVITATION LETTER FROM NATIONAL EVALUATION TEAM

Dear CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Participant,

The National Evaluation Team for the CHIPRA Quality Demonstrations will be conducting focus groups with [parents of children covered by Medicaid or CHIP/adolescent Medicaid or CHIP beneficiaries] who receive care from sites that are participating in quality demonstration projects in spring/summer of 2014. We were referred to your practice by your state project staff as a potential recruitment site for these focus groups.

The findings from these focus groups will provide important information on the experiences of patients and their families who receive care from CHIPRA Quality Demonstration sites. We will be sharing a brief summary of findings with practices that serve as recruitment sites [X] months after they are conducted. In addition, each participating practice will be given a [$500] gift card to a local restaurant of your choice as a small token of our appreciation.

This study has been reviewed by the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at Mathematica Policy Research and at the Urban Institute and we will take every precaution to protect patients participating in this project. Patients will be informed participation is voluntary and will in no way affect their care at your institution. In addition, participants will be given a $25-$50 gift card for their time (for adolescents and parents, respectively).

If you are willing to partner with us for this project, we would ask for your assistance in the following ways:

1) Participate in a 30 minute phone call with us. During this call, we would ask for your help to identify a date and time for the focus groups that are convenient for your patients. In addition, we will discuss where we could hold the focus groups that would be convenient for your patients (this will be a location other than your practice to protect the privacy of your patients). We will also discuss the recruitment process and answer any questions you have about the project.

2) Help recruit participants for the focus group. We will provide recruitment materials. In the past, it has worked well for sites to display flyers advertising the focus groups in prominent places as well as to have a staff member handing them out to patients at the reception desk with any other materials. We suggest you display and distribute the flyers three to four weeks in advance of the focus group date. The flyers will include a number to call for those who are interested.

3) Provide logistical support for the focus group. We have found individuals are more willing to attend a group discussion if they know the discussion is held at convenient locations and times and we may need your help to prepare the location.

We greatly appreciate your consideration and hope you will be a part of our project. We know you have invested a lot of time and energy into improving the quality of care for your patients by participating in the CHIPRA quality demonstration, and believe these focus groups are an important opportunity to hear how these efforts have affected their experience of care. As noted, we will provide you with a summary of our focus group findings from your state in B months after we visit. Please let us know if you are willing to serve as a focus group recruitment site by replying to the email accompanying this letter and we will schedule the initial telephone call.

Sincerely,

Henry Ireys, PhD

Principal Investigator

National Evaluation for the CHIPRA Quality Demonstrations

Mathematical Policy Research

[Invitation may be co-signed by state project staff and/or other trusted sources such as their state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, or some other organization leading PCMH or SBHC efforts]