Comparison of Methods to Improve Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Rates in the Primary Care Setting.

Standard of care dictates that eligible patients should receive an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening ultrasound. At present, different military primary care physicians utilize different methods at their discretion to ensure their patients get screened-telephone contact; mail-out reminders; referring patients for ultrasound directly from an office visit; as well as other methods-which we will refer to as "usual care". The purpose of this study is to improve screening rates for AAA and determine what notification methods are best at improving screening rates.

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Key information

Conditions

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Aneurysm Aortic Aneurysm Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal Aortic Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Vascular Diseases

Age range

65 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Michael O'Callaghan Federal Hospital/Nellis Air Force Base

Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 89191, United States

About this study

Approximately 1700 male patients (DoD beneficiaries) between the ages of 65-75 will be selected from their medical records. The information on the attached abstracted data sheet will be collected. As part of standard patient care operations, the Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Departments will inform patients on the need to receive a AAA screening ultrasound, based on their primary care manager's (PCM) preference for clinical notification:

Nurse initiated Telephone Consult (T-Con) (see attached)
Mail-0ut Letter to the patient (see attached)
Provider, Nurse and Technician Education with point-of-care patient referrals , Exam Room Flyer
Control group (i.e. usual care)

The Provider, Nurse and Technician Education will consist of a presentation given by the Principal Investigator (see attached PowerPoint) to the Family Medicine and Internal Medicine clinic staff and the posting of Exam Room Flyers in each Family Medicine and Internal Medicine exam room to prompt and encourage patient referrals for a AAA screening ultrasound.

Information requested on the attached abstracted data sheet will be used for initial identification of patients that should have a AAA screening ultrasound and again 3-4 months later to see if these same individuals received the procedure. All informational data sets will be totally de-identified by the Research Coordinator, Nellis Air Force Base, prior to releasing to the Principle Investigator.

The data will then be analyzed by Dr. Anneke Bush (WHMC statistician) and the results will be provided to the Principal Investigator for analysis.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion:

Tricare Insurance Beneficiary (military insurance) receiving care at Nellis AFB
Male patients (DoD beneficiaries) between the ages of 65-75 years old.

Exclusion:

Female patients.
Non-English speaking.
Patients who have already had abdominal CT scan, abdominal MRI, aortography or aortic ultrasound.
Patients already diagnosed with AAA

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

improving screening rates for AAA

Time frame: 1 year

Will the concerted use of (1) a nurse-initiated telephone consult (T-Con), (2) mail out reminder or (3) provider, nurse and technician education with point-of-care reminders be more successful than usual care at improving screening rates for AAA?

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Mike O'Callaghan Military Hospital

Fed

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2010
Primary completion: 2012
Study completion: 2012
First posted: Feb 23, 2011
Registry last updated: Nov 25, 2013

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed