Project Summary / Abstract
Academic detailing uses social marketing techniques to conduct outreach education with front-line
clinicians and improve health care quality and patient outcomes. Many organizations, including AHRQ
grantees, have implemented or are planning programs of academic detailing. The National Resource Center
for Academic Detailing (NaRCAD) provides support, training, and connection to colleagues for these groups. In
2013, NaRCAD initiated an AHRQ-supported annual conference series to disseminate knowledge and
encourage further development of this field within the evolving health care landscape.
We now propose to adapt and expand this conference series. Beginning in 2022, the annual
conference will be delivered in a hybrid format that incorporates positive aspects of both in-person and virtual
meetings. In particular, the availability of a virtual option will increase access for public health departments and
other potential participants who may face constrained budgets. We also will add a new annual offering: a mid-
year virtual summit based on a community needs assessment, focusing on developing skills and strategies
identified as useful by front-line health professionals developing academic detailing interventions
In hosting the conferences and summits, we will continue to provide a forum for the community of
health professionals working on academic detailing and clinical outreach education. The conferences will
showcase best practices in academic detailing, raise the visibility of academic detailing, and sustain and
expand NaRCAD’s network of academic detailing programs. The Conference Steering Committee will
collaborate with the NaRCAD team to choose conference themes, shape the agenda, and develop each year’s
call for proposals. Organizations and individuals from across the US and internationally submit their work for
presentation at the conference sessions. The summits will be especially valuable for the many newer members
of the academic detailing community seeking to initiate and sustain programs and for whom a focus on skills
and strategy will offer pragmatic and actionable lessons.
The conferences and summits will engage with a wide variety of stakeholders, including public and
private organizations using academic detailing, Medicaid agencies, policymakers, public health agencies,
academics, insurers, non-profits interested in health care improvement, and consumers. The conference
proceedings form a key component of NaRCAD’s growing library of resources, toolkits, and other content. As
the only established meeting of both national and international academic detailing organizations, our continued
conference series helps strengthen academic detailing practice and improve healthcare quality. Ultimately, the
sharing, deliberations, and lessons from these meetings lead to innovative practice changes for academic
detailing worldwide and improve the readiness of the healthcare system to enact change.
