Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04728620

Evaluation of a Patient Portal Intervention to Address Diabetes Care Gaps

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usability of a novel patient portal intervention designed to: (a) notify patients when selected, clinically meaningful, evidence-based diabetes monitoring & preventative care (e.g., annual diabetes eye exam) become due and (b) allow patients to initiate orders for the care. In addition, the investigators will assess pre-post change on secondary psychosocial outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy).

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Diabetes Mellitus Endocrine System Diseases Glucose Metabolism Disorders Metabolic Diseases Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Age range

18 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, 37212, United States

About this study

Up to 60 adult patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus will be enrolled and given access to a new feature within the patient portal at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The new feature will be available via the patient portal native app (i.e., My Health at Vanderbilt (MHAV) app) for mobile devices (smartphone or tablet). The new feature will allow patients to: (1) receive notifications when the patient is due for certain types of diabetes monitoring and preventative care and (2) initiate an order for the care.

Study participants will complete questionnaires electronically via email at three time points: baseline (T0), immediately after first use of the intervention (T1), and three-month follow-up (T2) to as assess study outcomes including usability and pre-post change in secondary psychosocial outcomes.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Established patient at participating primary care clinic
  • Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
  • Able to speak and read in English
  • Age 18 to 75 years old
  • Mobile device (smartphone or tablet) with internet access
  • Active MHAV account and willing and able to use the MHAV native app on a mobile device
  • Due (based on evidence-based guidelines) for any of the following: hemoglobin A1C, urine microalbumin, diabetes eye exam, and/or pneumococcal vaccination.

Exclusion criteria

  • Known cognitive deficits or functional impairment preventing the use of a mobile device
  • Pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study period
  • Severe difficulty seeing
  • Severe difficulty hearing
  • Medical condition that make it hard for people to understand what they are saying

Treatment and study plan

Diabetes Care Gaps Patient Portal Intervention

Other

The Diabetes Care Gaps Patient Portal Intervention involves a new feature embedded with the My Health At Vanderbilt (MHAV) native app (on Epic's MyChart platform) for mobile devices that allows patients to: (a) receive notifications when the patient is due for certain types of diabetes monitoring and preventative care and (b) initiate an order for the care. Automated notifications will be sent to patients if, according to the evidence-based guidelines, the patients are due for a hemoglobin A1C blood test, microalbumin urine test, diabetes eye exam, or pneumonia vaccination. Once notified patients can initiate orders for the care within the MHAV app. The patient will receive confirmation when the order has been processed and will be provided instructions to receive the relevant care.

Primary outcomes

  1. Usability

    Time frame: Immediately after first use T(1), at approximately 1 month

    The System Usability Scale (SUS) is a validated measure of usability. The ten items are scored on a five-point Likert scale. The item scores are summed and then converted to a score ranging from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). A score of above 68 indicative of "above average" usability.

  2. User Experience

    Time frame: 3-month follow up (T2)

    User experience will be assessed by study-specific survey items administered to all participants at the end of the study period (T2). The survey items will inquire about participants' perspectives on the acceptability of the intervention and on particular components of the intervention such as notifications.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Attitudes Toward Managing Diabetes in General

    Time frame: Enrollment (T0) and 3-month follow up (T2)

    The 5-item Manage Disease in General Scale of the Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Scales is a validated measure of self-efficacy (i.e., the confidence a person has in managing their own health and health care) and is closely related to patient activation. The items were adapted to be specific to diabetes rather than a generic condition or illness. Each item uses a 10-point Likert-type scale of response options ranging from 1 (not at all confident) to 10 (totally confident). The score for the scale is the mean of the items. Higher scores indicate greater self-efficacy.

  2. Change in Diabetes Distress

    Time frame: Enrollment (T0) and 3-month follow up (T2)

    The Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale (PAID-5) is a valid measure of diabetes distress. Total scores on the PAID-5 can range from 0 to 20, with higher scores suggesting greater diabetes-related emotional distress.

  3. Change in Understanding of Diabetes Monitoring and Preventative Care

    Time frame: Enrollment (T0) and 3-month follow up (T2)

    Unique study specific items to assess participants' understanding of measures of diabetes monitoring and preventative care (e.g., Diabetes Eye Exams) will be administered to all study participants.

  4. Patient Initiated Orders

    Time frame: 3-month follow up (T2)

    The investigators will collect data on the number of patient-initiated orders for evidence-based diabetes monitoring and preventative services (e.g., hemoglobin A1c). Participants with more than one diabetes care gap can initiated an order for more than one evidence-based diabetes monitoring and preventative service (e.g. hemoglobin A1c and diabetes eye exam).

  5. Order Completion

    Time frame: 3-month follow up (T2)

    The investigators will collect data on the number of completed (i.e., care received) evidence-based diabetes monitoring and preventative services after a corresponding patient initiated order.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Registry information

Official study title

A Patient Portal Intervention to Address Diabetes Care Gaps: A Usability Study

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jan 28, 2021
Registry last updated
Aug 1, 2023

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.

Related clinical trials

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