Table 1 List of project teams and their charges

Steering Committee

Create project timeline and milestones; monitor progress; review and vote on algorithms for starting or switching to thiazides prepared by Clinician Liaison Team; keep project on track; review GMS and PrimeCare data on thiazide use and blood pressure goal attainment

None

Clinician Liaison Team

Using published literature (specifically the JNC7 national guidelines) create algorithms guiding clinicians on how to start or to switch a patient to thiazides. Review and present literature on effectiveness of "academic detailing" to change physician behavior.

Complexity

Patient and Administrator Liaison Team

Provide informational materials to patients and answer their questions; conduct focus groups of patients to determine how they would feel about the use of thiazides, or about changing their antihypertensive regimens to switch to a thiazide. Inform key VA medical center leaders about the project and serve as their point of contact.

Complexity

Communication Team

Using information provided by the Clinician Liaison Team and Steering Committee, format and produce all written materials concerning the project, including treatment-algorithm and drug-cost comparison pocket cards for clinicians, exam room posters and brochures for patients, conference room posters and brochures for clinicians, blood pressure measurement procedure for nurses, and project reports

Relative advantage

Performance Analysis Team

Devise conceptual and measurement models for tracking patient outcomes; and oversee computer programming algorithms to use with the medical center's data warehouse for the prevalence of hypertension, use of thiazides and other anti-hypertensives, and blood pressure goal attainment. Assess and establish data quality. Review and format GMS and PC data on study outcomes.

Observability; trialability