Design, rationale, and baseline characteristics of a cluster randomized controlled trial of pay for performance for hypertension treatment: study protocol

Table 1 Study site characteristics

VA hospital	City, State	Teaching facility*	US Census Division	ALLHAT study site	Primary care geographic integration†
VA Boston HCS	Boston, MA	X	New England		X
Providence VAMC	Providence, RI	X	New England	X	X
VA Connecticut HCS	Newington, CT		New England		X
Charlie Norwood VAMC	Augusta, GA	X	South Atlantic	X	X
Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	Charleston, SC	X	South Atlantic	X	X
Birmingham VAMC	Birmingham, AL	X	E. South Central		X
Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	Saginaw, MI		E. North Central
John D. Dingell VAMC	Detroit, MI	X	E. North Central	X	X
G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VAMC	Jackson, MS	X	E. South Central	X
Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	Houston, TX	X	W. South Central	X
Oklahoma City VAMC	Oklahoma City, OK	X	W. South Central	X	X
Minneapolis VAMC	Minneapolis, MN	X	W. North Central	X

ALLHAT = Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial; HCS = healthcare system; US = United States;
VA = Veterans Administration; VAMC = Veterans Affairs Medical Center
* Designated as a teaching facility if the facility was either listed in the Association of American Medical College's (AAMC) Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH) directory or if the American Medical Association's (AMA) Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) database listed the VA facility as having a 'major' affiliation with a medical school.
†Designated as geographically integrated if the primary care clinic layout was amenable to group cohesion (e.g., the primary care clinic offices located on the same floor at the study site).

ISSN: 1748-5908