Using mHealth to Optimize Pharmacotherapy Regimens

This project will use a smartphone technology to improve medication prescribing for individuals with FEP. We will collect real-time symptom and functioning data via smartphones to provide prescribers and other clinical team members with clinically relevant and time-sensitive information that will inform and promote shared decision making (SDM) and personalized interventions. The result will be a time-sensitive, data-driven, collaborative process to optimize medication regimens in order to maximize benefits, minimize harms, and promote adherence.

Data collection for NCT04248517 (Using mHealth to Optimize Pharmacotherapy Regimens) was completed in December 2023. Data analysis was underway when human subjects research at NYSPI was suspended on June 23, 2023 and thus study results are not available to be posted. The team will post results as soon as possible.

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Key information

Conditions

Schizophrenia First-Episode Psychosis Mental Disorders Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

Age range

16 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Bestself Behavioral Health, Inc., Buffalo, New York, United States

About this study

Comprehensive early treatment of individuals experiencing schizophrenia has the potential to alter the course of illness and improve long-term outcomes. Psychotropic medications are a critical component of early treatment strategies. First-episode psychosis (FEP) is a critical time to optimize prescribing but evidence suggests that prescribing for this population is suboptimal.

A contributing factor to these difficulties is thought to be the lack of accurate information about the effects of medications on symptoms, their side effects, as well as their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional correlates. At medication management appointments, prescribers typically rely on patients' recollection of how they were doing over periods of weeks. Such retrospective assessments are problematic as they are vulnerable to the influence of memory difficulties, cognitive biases including recency effects and frequency illusions, and reframing. Recent advances in smartphone technologies (mobile Health; mHealth) may help to overcome many of the limitations of retrospective assessments.

This pilot study will be a collaboration with OnTrackNY, an innovative coordinated specialty care (CSC) program for individuals aged 16-30 who are experiencing FEP. OnTrackNY originated as part of the NIMH Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) Implementation and Evaluatoin Study. The initial phase of this project will use input from stakeholders including patients, front-line providers, clinical leaders, and members of the research team to adapt and refine the mHealth intervention to improve feasibility and clinical utility. A pilot study at 3 OnTrackNY sites will then examine its feasibility and effectiveness by comparing the management and outcomes of 60 patients randomly assigned to the mHealth application or usual care.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

Male or female OnTrackNY participants, ages 16 to 30, of any race/ethnicity
Able and willing to give informed consent and participate in the intervention
Participating in OnTrackNY for less than 1 year because this group may be more in need of medication adjustments and will be less likely to graduate from the program before 6 months of participation.

Exclusion criteria

Suicidal at baseline with C-SSRS score 4 or 5.
PANSS baseline score of 5 (moderately severe) or greater on the Conceptual Disorganization item (P2)

Treatment and study plan

mHealth intervention

Other

Participants will download the app onto their smartphone and complete ecological momentary assessements

Primary outcomes

change of Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TQSM) from baseline to 6 months

Time frame: baseline to 6 months

The TSQM assesses client satisfaction with medication. It comprises 14 items across four domains focusing on effectiveness (3 items), side effects (5 items), convenience (3 items), and global satisfaction (3 items) of the medication over the previous 2-3 weeks, or since the patient's last use. With the exception of item 4 (presence of side effects; yes or no), all items have five or seven responses, scored from one (least satisfied) to five or seven (most satisfied).The 7-item scales had a non-neutral midpoint, such that there were more positive response options than negative response options, to allow for precise information to be obtained at the upper end of the score distribution. Item scores are summed to give four domain scores, which are in turn transformed to a scale of 0-100. Item 4 was not included for scoring. If an item score is missing and half of the items in the domain are complete, domain scores may be imputed from the person-specific mean score of completed items.
change of Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) from baseline to 6 months

Time frame: baseline to 6 months

8-item easily scored and administered measurement that is designed to measure client satisfaction with services. The overall score is produced by summing all item responses. Scores range from 8 to 32, with higher values indicating higher satisfaction.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Other

Collaborators

BestSelf Behavioral Health
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
New York State Psychiatric Institute, Washington Heights Community Service
Northwell Health, Early Treatment Program at Lenox Hill
The Institute for Family Health Center for Counseling at Walton

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2020
Primary completion: 2022
Study completion: 2022
First posted: Jan 30, 2020
Registry last updated: Jul 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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