Computer-Assisted Access to Specialist Expertise
1 other identifier
interventional
10,000
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this research was to determine if providing specialist input to primary care providers (PCPs) by means of informal consultation could improve the process and outcomes of care for diabetes. Several studies support the role for specialists and their specific knowledge and expertise in a variety of disorders including diabetes. A variety of methods have been designed to optimize the use of specialty expertise including practice guidelines and disease management approaches as well as the consultation/referral process. The referral-consultation process is an important mechanism for obtaining clinically useful information. At one end of the spectrum of this process, informal consultation involves discussion about a patient with a colleague without the consultant seeing the patient; at the other end of the spectrum, care of the patient is transferred to another physician and the process is formalized. Because much specialist expertise resides in the specialists themselves, the expansion of primary care sites to include community-based outpatient clinics has implications for access to the specialists located elsewhere. This study was designed to evaluate a computer-assisted voice mail system which is relatively inexpensive and more convenient than video-telemedicine systems, making it more practical and more easily exportable. Diabetes care delivery was chosen as the model in which to assess informal consultation based on its frequency among veterans, management challenges, and the emphasis on improvement in diabetes care in VA. A secondary goal of the project was to better characterize the consultation process.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable diabetes-mellitus
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 14, 2001
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 16, 2001
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 1, 2002
CompletedApril 7, 2015
November 1, 2007
March 14, 2001
April 6, 2015
Conditions
Study Arms (1)
Arm 1
OTHERInterventions
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Primary Care Providers in VA community-based outpatient clinics; patients receiving primary care in VA community-based outpatient clinics.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
David C Aron, MD MS
Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Intervention Model
- SINGLE GROUP
- Sponsor Type
- FED
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 14, 2001
First Posted
March 16, 2001
Study Completion
December 1, 2002
Last Updated
April 7, 2015
Record last verified: 2007-11