MedPath

Informational Nudge to Improve Heart Failure Prescribing

Not Applicable
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Heart Failure
Interventions
Behavioral: Alert
Behavioral: Peer comparison report
Registration Number
NCT05986695
Lead Sponsor
VA Office of Research and Development
Brief Summary

This study addresses a critical gap of care for Veterans with heart failure (HF). Only 1/3 or fewer eligible Veterans are receiving recommended SGLT2 and MRA therapies that save lives and prevents HF hospitalizations. The investigators will compare the effect of clinician directed nudges as strategies to improve the health of Veterans with HF.

Detailed Description

This study addresses a critical gap in quality of care for Veterans with heart failure (HF). Only 1/3 or fewer eligible Veterans are receiving SGLT2 inhibitors and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, both medications that save lives and prevents HF hospitalizations. The investigators will combine insights from behavioral science and quality improvement science to create two types of 'nudges' - informational alerts and peer comparison feedback - to increase prescribing of these medications. The investigators will create two types of 'nudges' - informational alerts and peer comparison feedback - to increase prescribing of these medications. The investigators will compare the effect of these two nudge strategies alone and in combination compared to usual care. This project will develop simple, scalable, and low-cost strategies to improve the health of Veterans with HF.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
89
Inclusion Criteria
  • Primary care and cardiology clinicians at Southern AZ VA Health Care System working in outpatient clinic setting
Exclusion Criteria
  • Clinicians who are in training status (resident, fellow) will be excluded.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
FACTORIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Alert and Peer ComparisonPeer comparison reportThe combined alert and peer comparison arm will receive both interventions.
Peer Comparison ReportPeer comparison reportClinicians assigned to peer comparison, will receive messages by secure email every two weeks regarding their SGLT2i and MRA prescribing performance.
AlertAlertClinicians in the alert arm will receive an alert two business days prior to a patient's upcoming appointment. Clinicians will receive approximately two alerts per week.
Alert and Peer ComparisonAlertThe combined alert and peer comparison arm will receive both interventions.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Effectiveness30 days

The primary effectiveness outcome is the proportion of SGLT2 or MRA prescriptions in eligible HF patients in the three intervention groups compared with the control group within 30 days of appointment. Thirty days is a common time interval for HF outcomes assessment and allows for chart documentation, care coordination, laboratory testing, and medication prescribing that may occur days after a patient encounter. The investigators will record all SGLT2 or MRA prescriptions, including those from non-targeted clinicians, given that nudge interventions, especially the informational alert, may impact other clinicians directly (e.g., view alert in EHR) or indirectly (e.g., referral from targeted clinician).

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Reach-Clinician6 months

Reach will be measured at the clinician level as the number of unique clinicians who received an informational alert or peer comparison.

Implementation-Acceptability6 months

Implementation will be assessed by clinician-directed survey of Acceptability of intervention Measure. Likert Scale: minimum 1 and maximum 5. 5 being the highest.

Implementation-Feasibility6 months

Implementation will be assessed by clinician direct survey of Feasibility of Intervention Measure. Likert scale: minimum 1 and maximum 5. 5 being the highest.

Incidence of Treatment Emergent Adverse Events30 days

The investigators will measure safety as the number of discontinued prescribed medicine due to suspected adverse effects within 30 days of the nudge interventions.

Reach-Comparison of Strategies6 months

the investigators will measure the proportion of alerts relative to the total number of eligible patients with HF; this denominator will allow for comparisons of representativeness of the alert strategy.

Reach-Patient6 months

At the patient level, Reach will be measured as the number of informational alerts delivered for unique patient visits and unique patients.

Implementation-Appropriateness6 months

Implementation will be assessed by clinician direct survey of Intervention Appropriateness Measure. Likert scale: minimum 1 and maximum 5. 5 being the highest.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ

🇺🇸

Tucson, Arizona, United States

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