Randomization
BLIND
Active FPs during 2009 in the province were eligible to receive the UAC portrait intervention. Physicians were included in the study if they met all of the following criteria: did not opt out of the program via their registration package; had evidence of medical practice in the form of Medical Services Plan billings in the most recent quarter of data available; were available in the BC Ministry of Health database with a valid, encrypted, and linkable MSP billing number; and were categorized as a ‘Private Practice General Practitioner” in the MSP Registration & Billing information system. Pairs of practice community locations were randomized into two groups using a random number generator. Blind to this allocation, the EQIP Working Group Chair flipped a coin to determine which group received the early intervention and which received the delayed intervention. Physicians in both groups who had zero patients diagnosed with a UAC in the prior year, resulting in an empty prescribing graph on the portrait, were sent a sample portrait with the delayed mailing, but excluded from the evaluation.