Quality Enhancement Research Initiative Implementation Roadmap: Toward Sustainability of Evidence-based Practices in a Learning Health System

Learning Health Systems strive to continuously integrate innovations and evidence-based practices (EBPs) into routine care settings. Few models provide a specified pathway to accelerate adoption and spread of EBPs across diverse settings. OBJECTIVE: The US Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) Implementation Roadmap facilitates uptake of EBPs in routine practice by aligning research and health system priorities. METHODS: The Roadmap is based on earlier iterations of the QUERI translational research pipeline, incorporating recent advancements in quality improvement and implementation science. Progressive, dynamic phases were operationalized to form an implementation process that promoted a participatory approach which enables stakeholders (health care consumers, clinicians, administrators, and leaders) to systematically plan, deploy, evaluate, and sustain EBPs using implementation strategies within a Learning Health System framework. RESULTS: The Roadmap consists of Preimplementation, Implementation, and Sustainment phases. Preimplementation identifies a high-priority need, selects EBPs to address the need, engages stakeholders to build implementation capacity, specifies needed EBP adaptions and evaluation goals, and activates leadership support. During Implementation, clinical and research leaders use implementation strategies to promote EBP technical competency and adaptive skills to motivate providers to own and sustain EBPs. Sustainment includes evaluation analyses that establish the EBP business case, and hand-off to system leadership to own EBP implementation maintenance over time. CONCLUSIONS: The QUERI Implementation Roadmap systematically guides identification, implementation, and sustainment of EBPs, demystifying implementation science for stakeholders in a Learning Health System to ensure that EBPs are more rapidly implemented into practice to improve overall consumer health.