Back to resultsEMail Reminder to Follow up With Primary Physician
Primary Purpose
Act Code - Emergency
Status
Completed
Phase
Not Applicable
Locations
Study Type
Interventional
Intervention
Email Reminder of need to follow up with primary physician
Sponsored by
About this trial
This is an interventional supportive care trial for Act Code - Emergency
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- 1. Patients triaged to category 2, 3, and 4 and placed in a room for care at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital-Ann Arbor Emergency Department 2. Primarily English speaking. 3. >18 years of age 4. Have a primary physician who is part of Integrated Health Associates 5. Have access to an email account
Exclusion Criteria:
- 1. Patients triaged to category 1 or 5 placed in a room at Stl Joseph Mercy Hospital-Ann Arbor (category 1 patients are not typically discharged home from the hospital. Category 5 patients could potentially be interfered with if attempting implementation of the communication instrument. Category 5 patients are typically very straightforward visits with minimal requirement for follow-up appointments) 2. Patients < age 18 3. Prisoners or institutionalized persons 4. Patients with a mental-health related chief complaint 5. Not primarily English speaking (the potential language barriers could interfere with ability to communicate via email which will be written in English) 6. Under temporary or permanent custodianship (used as a surrogate for ongoing lack of mental competence or consciousness) 7. Prior participation in this study. (A patient may only participate once).
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm Type
Experimental
No Intervention
Arm Label
Email Group
Standard of Care
Arm Description
Includes receiving standard of care discharge instructions plus an email after being discharged home from the emergency department, reinforcing their discharge instructions. Included in the email is their physician's name and recommended timing of follow-up visit.
Includes standard of care discharge instructions after being discharged from the emergency department. This included receiving paper copies of their discharge instructions.
Outcomes
Primary Outcome Measures
Successful follow-up with primary care physician
Review of medical records at primary care physician's office by one of two physician investigators
Secondary Outcome Measures
Full Information
NCT ID
NCT02274831
First Posted
October 23, 2014
Last Updated
October 23, 2014
Sponsor
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
1. Study Identification
Unique Protocol Identification Number
NCT02274831
Brief Title
EMail Reminder to Follow up With Primary Physician
Official Title
You Have Got Got Mail....and Need Follow Up
Study Type
Interventional
2. Study Status
Record Verification Date
October 2014
Overall Recruitment Status
Completed
Study Start Date
August 2011 (undefined)
Primary Completion Date
March 2014 (Actual)
Study Completion Date
March 2014 (Actual)
3. Sponsor/Collaborators
Responsible Party, by Official Title
Sponsor
Name of the Sponsor
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
4. Oversight
Data Monitoring Committee
No
5. Study Description
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to see if patients who receive an email reinforcing their discharge instructions after being discharged from the emergency department will have an affect on follow-up care with their primary physician.
Detailed Description
When a patient is treated in the emergency department (ED), they experience a whirlwind of care involving multiple diagnostics and treatments. They are often discharged home with instructions to follow up with their primary care physician. This follow up care is crucial to ensuring optimal patient outcomes and re-establishing continuity of care. Despite efforts to communicate clearly and effectively, ED patients often have difficulty understanding their follow-up care instructions. Several different methods have been employed to attempt to improve the follow-up rates after emergency department care, including providing patients with an easily read, printed copy of discharge instructions, having a nurse or mid-level provider call patients days after discharge from the ED to ensure that they understood discharge instructions. One medium for communication that has become increasingly relevant in recent years is electronic mail (email). Because of its pervasiveness and relative ease of use, email offers a potentially valuable resource for augmenting and improving communication between physicians and patients. This study will assess whether an email reminder with follow up instructions one day after ED visit occurs will increase follow up rates and timely follow up rates.
6. Conditions and Keywords
Primary Disease or Condition Being Studied in the Trial, or the Focus of the Study
Act Code - Emergency
7. Study Design
Primary Purpose
Supportive Care
Study Phase
Not Applicable
Interventional Study Model
Parallel Assignment
Masking
InvestigatorOutcomes Assessor
Allocation
Randomized
Enrollment
577 (Actual)
8. Arms, Groups, and Interventions
Arm Title
Email Group
Arm Type
Experimental
Arm Description
Includes receiving standard of care discharge instructions plus an email after being discharged home from the emergency department, reinforcing their discharge instructions. Included in the email is their physician's name and recommended timing of follow-up visit.
Arm Title
Standard of Care
Arm Type
No Intervention
Arm Description
Includes standard of care discharge instructions after being discharged from the emergency department. This included receiving paper copies of their discharge instructions.
Intervention Type
Other
Intervention Name(s)
Email Reminder of need to follow up with primary physician
Primary Outcome Measure Information:
Title
Successful follow-up with primary care physician
Description
Review of medical records at primary care physician's office by one of two physician investigators
Time Frame
10 days
10. Eligibility
Sex
All
Minimum Age & Unit of Time
18 Years
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
1. Patients triaged to category 2, 3, and 4 and placed in a room for care at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital-Ann Arbor Emergency Department 2. Primarily English speaking. 3. >18 years of age 4. Have a primary physician who is part of Integrated Health Associates 5. Have access to an email account
Exclusion Criteria:
1. Patients triaged to category 1 or 5 placed in a room at Stl Joseph Mercy Hospital-Ann Arbor (category 1 patients are not typically discharged home from the hospital. Category 5 patients could potentially be interfered with if attempting implementation of the communication instrument. Category 5 patients are typically very straightforward visits with minimal requirement for follow-up appointments) 2. Patients < age 18 3. Prisoners or institutionalized persons 4. Patients with a mental-health related chief complaint 5. Not primarily English speaking (the potential language barriers could interfere with ability to communicate via email which will be written in English) 6. Under temporary or permanent custodianship (used as a surrogate for ongoing lack of mental competence or consciousness) 7. Prior participation in this study. (A patient may only participate once).
12. IPD Sharing Statement
Learn more about this trial
EMail Reminder to Follow up With Primary Physician
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