SPECIAL COMMUNICATION
C.J. Peek, PhD; Frank M. Reed, MD; Ned Calonge, MD, MPH; Paul A Nutting, MD, MSPH; John Hickner, MD, MS; Wilson D. Pace; Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH; Linda Niebauer; Larry A. Green
Corresponding Author: C.J. Peek, PhD; Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School
Email: cjpeek@umn.edu
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2023.230271R2
Keywords: Practice-Based Research; Practice-Based Research Networks
Dates: Submitted: 07-19-2023; Revised: 02-06-2024; 02-19-2024; Accepted: 02-26-2024
FINAL PUBLICATION: |HTML| |PDF|
This paper looks back on the story of the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network (ASPN) and its successor, the National Research Network (NRN), through the eyes of its leaders during the first 40 years. Facilitated conversations over two years Iteratively coalesced key facts and patterns in this collective account of what they had observed. Time-durable patterns observed are distilled for interpretation and application by contemporary PBRN leaders as they move forward. Looking back is done via developmental eras: 1) Proposed in 1978 as a set of change strategies for primary care research, ASPN gathered momentum through efforts of individuals, institutions, and small grants that mobilized enthusiasm and commitment in the face of headwinds. 2) Expansion into the research mainstream from 1988, addressing large socially important questions with greater acceptance and volume of PBRN research. 3) Scaling up and adapting to huge technological, organizational, and business shifts and a growing emphasis on patient and community engagement, safety, and disparities. Archetypal dilemmas and balances that emerged and re-emerged across these eras are distilled, along with ways they were addressed at the time. The authors then project their 40-year experience to future vistas they believe the PBRN value proposition can be adapted and extended; what they regard as promising directions future leaders to take.