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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT06818825

Nudging High Emergency Department Utilizers to Consider Non-emergent Healthcare Resources

The goal of this campaign is to reduce unnecessary ED visits by providing patients who are high ED utilizers (with a visit of any acuity) with alternative resources to manage their health outside of the ED. In this campaign, patients will be randomized to receive one of two types of outreach following discharge aligned with the goal. Outreach may occur via (1) a phone call from a Geisinger Community Health Worker (CHW) or Community Medical Assistant (CMA); current standard practice or (2) an interactive chatbot message providing similar information and questions to those provided by the CHW/CMA. The study team will measure whether ED use differs across patients in different outreach conditions. The study team will also examine whether patients followed through on the message-specific 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

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Geisinger Health Plan insurance or KACO membership
  • Any PCP or no PCP
  • Visit of any acuity
  • 4 or more ED visits in the past 6 months

Exclusion criteria

  • 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
  • Qualifies for more intensive care management due to higher-level category of complexity

Treatment and study plan

Automated interactive messages

Behavioral

High ED utilizers will be sent SMS text messages guiding them through ED-alternative resources, with different guidance (including a follow-up phone call from a healthcare worker) depending on patient responses.

Other names: Text

Live outreach

Behavioral

High ED utilizers will be called (and possibly visited) by a CHW/CMA guiding them through ED-alternative resources.

Other names: Call

Primary outcomes

  1. Return to ED (Y/N)

    Time frame: Within 120 calendar days following day of discharge

    Patient had a new Geisinger ED encounter after being discharged

Other outcomes

  1. Successful Patient Contact (Y/N) - 3 days

    Time frame: Within 3 business days following day of discharge

    At least one successful contact between patient and a CMA, a CHW, or a representative at the monitoring center (Y/N)

  2. Successful Patient Contact (Y/N) - 5 days

    Time frame: Within 5 business days following day of discharge

    At least one successful contact between patient and a CMA, a CHW, or a representative at the monitoring center (Y/N)

  3. Time to Contact

    Time frame: Within 30 calendar days following day of discharge

    Time to successful patient contact by monitoring center, CMA, or CHW

  4. Patient replied via SMS text (Y/N) to Artera chatbot

    Time frame: Within 7 calendar days following first Artera outreach

    Patient responded to the Artera chatbot at least once (Y/N)

  5. ED Use (Y/N)

    Time frame: Within 30 calendar days following day of discharge

    Patient had a new Geisinger ED encounter after being discharged

  6. ED Use After Outreach (Y/N)

    Time frame: Within 30 calendar days following day of outreach by Artera, CMA, or CHW

    Patient had a new Geisinger ED encounter after receiving outreach

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Geisinger Clinic

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Point of ED Discharge Interactive Outreach: High ED Utilizers

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Feb 11, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 13, 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.

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