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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT06535347

Nudging High-acuity Emergency Department Patients to Schedule a Follow-up Visit

The goal of this campaign is to reduce unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits by encouraging patients with high acuity visits to follow up with an appropriate primary care provider (PCP) or specialist and therefore obtain appropriate care outside of the ED. In this campaign, patients will be assigned to receive or not receive outreach following ED discharge that is aligned with the goal. Outreach will occur via a text message and information added to the patient's after visit summary, and will include a contact number to schedule and hyperlink to allow self-scheduling. The study will assess whether ED use differs across patients in different outreach conditions. It will also examine whether patients followed through on the calls to action in the messages differently across conditions.

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Key information

Conditions

Emergency Service, Hospital Disease Attributes Emergencies Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Geisinger Health System

Danville, Pennsylvania, 17822, United States

About this study

Enrollment will conclude when either 7500 participants have been enrolled or after 120 days, whichever occurs first.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • >= 18 years of age
  • ED visit rated as high acuity (level L2 or L3)
  • Discharged from ED in past 24 hours
  • Attributed to a Geisinger PCP in Community Medicine Service Line

Exclusion criteria

  • Have an appointment scheduled within 7 days following discharge with a primary care provider or specialist
  • Institutionalized
  • Cannot be contacted via the communication modality being used in the study (i.e., SMS), due to insufficient/missing contact information in the electronic health record or because the patient opted out
  • Admitted to hospital
  • Eloped from ED
  • Left ED without being seen
  • Deceased prior to messaging

Treatment and study plan

Information about scheduling a follow-up appointment

Behavioral

Text message(s) will be sent following discharge from the emergency department, along with an after visit summary.

Other names: Text messages, Information

Primary outcomes

  1. Return to ED

    Time frame: within 120 days following day of discharge

    ED visit (yes/no)

Other outcomes

  1. PCP/specialist appointment made

    Time frame: within 7 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment made

  2. PCP/specialist appointment made

    Time frame: within 14 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment made

  3. PCP/specialist appointment made

    Time frame: within 30 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment made

  4. PCP/specialist appointment made

    Time frame: within 60 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment made

  5. PCP/specialist appointment attended

    Time frame: within 7 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment attended

  6. PCP/specialist appointment attended

    Time frame: within 14 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment attended

  7. PCP/specialist appointment attended

    Time frame: within 30 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment attended

  8. PCP/specialist appointment attended

    Time frame: within 60 days following day of discharge

    PCP or specialist appointment attended

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Geisinger Clinic

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Nudging High-acuity Emergency Department Patients to Schedule a Follow-up Visit With a Primary Care Provider or Specialist Following Discharge to Decrease Emergency Department Utilization

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Aug 2, 2024
Registry last updated
Jun 5, 2025

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.

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