CEPACT

The Center for Evaluation of PACT (CEPACT) is one of five Demonstration Labs funded by the VA to evaluate the implementation of the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model.

Our work will support existing evidence and provide new knowledge that can help the VA and other organizations improve health care through changes in how primary care is delivered.

Some key questions we are addressing:
  How are elements of PACT being defined and implemented in different locations? Why? What are the results?
  What helps or hinders implementation of PACT in different settings?
  What are meaningful measures of PACT implementation and how do they influence care and outcomes?
  How do we improve clinical practices through PACTs?

Our Approach
No single approach to enhancing care will be right for all Veterans, and not all Veterans need the same help. We are evaluating PACT in a number of ways.

We are measuring the effects of PACT on the health of Veterans. Over the next few years, we will be examining medical data and talking to Veterans about their experiences with PACT. PACT's effects will be different for different Veterans. We are focusing on these differences to learn what works for different Veterans.

Although many of the components of PACT are already implemented in the VA's primary care clinics, PACT is merging all the pieces into an organized system. We want to understand what it takes to create and sustain such a change in the VA. We are surveying staff and visiting medical centers across VISN 4 to hear about their experiences with PACT. This will help us understand what challenges primary care staff have as they roll out the PACT model and what strengths and assets they use to overcome these challenges.

We have also funded a number of small-scale projects to study clinical innovations for providing care to vulnerable populations, such as Veterans with dementia. These projects will help tailor PACT strategies to the unique needs and barriers faced by specific patient populations.

We expect to learn and share lessons for the future, both in and out of the VA. Our work will help shape the next innovations the VA will introduce. We will share what we learn with VA staff around the country. We hope this new knowledge will help ongoing efforts to achieve the goals of PACT.