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OpenTrials
Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT07290478

Encouraging Older Adults and Adults With Serious Illness to Designate a Health Care Proxy

This study is a Stage III randomized trial to encourage patients in advance of a health care appointment to designate a healthcare proxy. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive a mailer containing information about designating a healthcare proxy, or to not receive any mailer. For patients assigned to receive a mailer, the mailer will differ by the presence or absence of a patient pre-commitment prompt, and contain a personalized provider request or a generic health system request. The work will evaluate the randomized trial and identify factors that predict intervention effectiveness.

Enrolling by Invitation

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Key information

Conditions

Designating a Healthcare Proxy

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center

Martinez, California, 94553, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • No EHR-documented healthcare proxy at enrollment
  • Age ≥ 55 years OR age ≥ 18 years and listed in the health system's cancer, CHF, or CKD registries

Exclusion criteria

  • None

Treatment and study plan

Mailer

Behavioral

Patient mailers will ask the patient to name a healthcare proxy at their next primary care visit.

Provider Request

Behavioral

Patient mailers will be sent from and signed by the patient's provider for their next scheduled primary care visit.

Pre-commitment prompt

Behavioral

Patient mailers will contain a box that asks the patient to bring a form with their choice for a healthcare proxy to their next primary care visit.

Primary outcomes

  1. Proportion of patients with EHR-documented healthcare proxy

    Time frame: Within 30 days of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Documentation in the electronic health record of a healthcare proxy

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of patients with legal advance care planning documentation

    Time frame: Within 30 days of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Documentation in the electronic health record of any legal advance care planning document, including an advance directive or power of attorney

  2. Proportion of patients that attended scheduled visit

    Time frame: On the date of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Patient attended the scheduled primary care visit

  3. Proportion of patients with EHR-documented healthcare proxy within 90 days

    Time frame: Within 90 days of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Documentation in the electronic health record of a healthcare proxy

  4. Proportion of patients with legal advance care planning documentation within 90 days

    Time frame: Within 90 days of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Documentation in the electronic health record of any legal advance care planning document, including an advance directive or power of attorney

  5. Proportion of patients with primary care visit within 90 days

    Time frame: Within 90 days of the patient's first scheduled primary care visit

    Patient attended a primary care visit

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Southern California

Other

Collaborators

  • Contra Costa Health
  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Trial to Encourage Older Adults and Adults With Serious Illness to Designate a Health Care Proxy

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Dec 18, 2025
Registry last updated
Jun 15, 2026

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.