Futuristic Building Retrofit

Retrofitting Healthcare: How to Adapt Proven Methods to Your Practice

Beau Callahan in Health & Wellness July 2025 • 4 min read.

"Discover the 'retrofitting' approach to integrating evidence-based interventions, enhancing your existing services for better patient outcomes and sustainable success."

In today's healthcare landscape, practitioners are increasingly encouraged to adopt evidence-based approaches (EBIs). Often, this push comes from funding requirements or a desire to improve patient outcomes. However, implementing these interventions isn't always a straightforward process. New practice settings often require modifications, leading to a complex challenge: how to adapt proven methods without compromising their effectiveness.

Program adaptation is a balancing act. On one hand, strict adherence to the original EBI is seen as crucial to maintain its proven efficacy, and deviating from this formula could lead to weaker results. On the other hand, tailoring an EBI to the specific needs of a local population or setting can enhance its impact and foster a sense of ownership among staff.

To navigate this challenge, healthcare providers can use 'retrofitting,' which involves altering existing services to align with EBI components, rather than changing the intervention to fit the new setting. This approach leverages existing infrastructure and expertise to sustainably integrate evidence-based practices.

What is Healthcare 'Retrofitting'?

The term 'retrofitting,' borrowed from construction, describes the process of installing new components into something already built. In healthcare, this means modifying existing services to incorporate elements of an EBI. Instead of starting from scratch, organizations adapt their current practices to better align with scientifically supported methods.

Imagine a homeowner adding insulation to an existing house to make it more energy-efficient. Similarly, healthcare providers might retrofit existing services to resemble those of an EBI, improving upon a solid foundation. This approach recognizes that many organizations already have valuable services in place.

Maintaining What Works: Retrofitting allows organizations to preserve successful aspects of their current programs.
Capitalizing on Existing Support: This approach leverages existing resources and buy-in for program activities.
Elevating Local Knowledge: Retrofitting recognizes the value of practice-based expertise and local insights.
Promoting Sustainability: By integrating with existing structures, retrofitting can enhance the long-term viability of effective innovations.

A study examining the implementation of pediatric asthma care coordination programs in urban community settings provides a real-world example of retrofitting. The researchers found that organizations adapted the evidence-based Yes We Can (YWC) model by modifying their existing services to incorporate YWC components. For example, school nurses formalized their asthma risk stratification process to align with YWC guidelines while still accounting for psychosocial factors they had previously considered informally.

Making Retrofitting Work for Your Organization

When implementing EBIs, healthcare organizations can benefit from actively assessing how existing services align with the EBI's components. Training and technical support should emphasize integrating EBI components into existing services rather than strictly adhering to the procedures used in the EBI's original trial.

By recognizing the potential for retrofitting, organizations can strategically leverage their strengths, adapt proven methods effectively, and promote the long-term success of healthcare innovations. Future research is needed to explore retrofitting in a systematic manner, using larger samples and mixed methods to learn more about its processes and effects.

Ultimately, the retrofitting approach offers a valuable framework for healthcare providers seeking to improve patient outcomes and create sustainable change. By embracing the concept of adapting existing services, organizations can build on their strengths and create a more effective and efficient healthcare system.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.5888/pcd13.160129, Alternate LINK

Title: The “Retrofitting” Approach To Adapting Evidence-Based Interventions: A Case Study Of Pediatric Asthma Care Coordination, United States, 2010–2014

Subject: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Journal: Preventing Chronic Disease

Publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Authors: Mary R. Janevic, Shelley C. Stoll, Marielena Lara, Gilberto Ramos-Valencia, Tyra Bryant-Stephens, Victoria Persky, Kimberly Uyeda, Julie Kennedy Lesch, Floyd J. Malveaux

Published: 2016-08-25

Everything You Need To Know

What does healthcare retrofitting actually mean?

Healthcare retrofitting involves modifying existing services to incorporate elements of an Evidence-Based Intervention (EBI), instead of creating something entirely new. It's about adapting current practices to align with scientifically supported methods. For example, an organization might formalize a process to match the guidelines of an EBI while still using their existing resources and understanding of the community.

What are the main advantages of using the retrofitting approach in healthcare?

The retrofitting approach allows organizations to preserve successful aspects of current programs, capitalize on existing support and resources, elevate local knowledge, and promote sustainability. For instance, using retrofitting, school nurses adapted the evidence-based Yes We Can (YWC) model by modifying existing services. They formalized their asthma risk stratification process to align with YWC guidelines while still accounting for psychosocial factors they had previously considered informally. This leverages what already works within the school system.

Why is retrofitting considered a sustainable approach to implementing Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs) in healthcare?

Retrofitting is a strategic approach to integrating Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs) into healthcare. Instead of a complete overhaul, retrofitting focuses on modifying existing services. The advantage lies in preserving successful aspects of current programs, leveraging existing support and resources, elevating local knowledge, and promoting sustainability, improving patient outcomes, and increasing the chances of long-term success.

How should healthcare organizations approach implementing Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs) through retrofitting?

The key is to actively assess how current services align with the components of the Evidence-Based Intervention (EBI). Training and technical support should emphasize integrating EBI components into those existing services. In the case of pediatric asthma care, organizations adapted the Yes We Can (YWC) model by modifying existing services to incorporate YWC components.

How does retrofitting help balance the need to strictly adhere to an EBI with the need to adapt it to a local setting?

Program adaptation balances strict adherence to the original Evidence-Based Intervention (EBI) to maintain its proven efficacy, with the need to tailor the EBI to the specific needs of a local population or setting to enhance its impact and foster a sense of ownership among staff. Healthcare providers can use 'retrofitting,' which involves altering existing services to align with EBI components, rather than changing the intervention to fit the new setting, because this leverages existing infrastructure and expertise to sustainably integrate evidence-based practices.