Impact of the CommunityRx Program on Health, Service Utilization and Costs

NCT02411409 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB13-0771
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 113,295
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The CommunityRx system generates patient-centered e-prescriptions for community services (HealtheRx) via an interface between the electronic health records (EHR) and a comprehensive community resource database. Based on a patient's diagnoses, a HealtheRx will be printed automatically at the end of the ambulatory care visit and will provide patients with a customized map and/or list of places in their community that provide health and social services as well as contact information for a local community health worker who can provide limited case management support. The CommunityRx program aims to promote: 1) better healthcare, 2) better health, and 3) lower cost. The purpose of this research is to systematically evaluate the impact of CommunityRx on health outcomes as well as health care service utilization and total cost of care for Medicaid, Medicare and other beneficiaries. The investigators hypothesize that beneficiaries who participate in the CommunityRx intervention will experience better healthcare, better health and lower total cost of care.

Conditions

Connecting Patients to Self-care Resources

Keywords

Health Information Technology (HIT); self-care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in cost per beneficiary per year

  Cost per beneficiary per year

  Annual, up to 6 years

Secondary Outcomes (15)

• Change in emergency department visit rate

  Every 3 months, up to 72 months

• Change in HbA1c control

  Every 3 months, up to 72 months

• Change in controlling high blood pressure

  Every 3 months, up to 72 months

• Change in body mass index

  Every 3 months, up to 72 months

• Change in inpatient admission rate

  Every 3 months, up to 72 months

Other Outcomes (7)

• Change in technical problems with the CommunityRx system (e.g., number of times system does not work properly)

  Every 3 months, up to 60 months

• Change in % of eligible patients receiving a HealtheRx

  Every 3 months, up to 60 months

• Change in number of places mapped (community organizations, identified in the geographic region)

  Every year, up to 6 years

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

This group of patients receives the HealtheRx.

Behavioral: HealtheRx

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

This group of patients does not receive the HealtheRx

Interventions

HealtheRx BEHAVIORAL

The HealtheRx is a prescription for community self-care resources. It includes a printed list of self-care resources provided to the patient at an ambulatory visit and tailored based on data from the electronic medical record.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Intervention group eligibility: Patients receiving ambulatory care at a clinical site connected to CommunityRx who live in the CommunityRx geography. Control group eligibility: Patients receiving care at a clinical site connected to CommunityRx who live outside the CommunityRx geography.

You may not qualify if:

• Patients receiving care at a clinical site not connected to CommunityRx.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Chicago: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Stacy Lindau, MD, MAPP

  University of Chicago

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 25, 2014
• First Posted: April 8, 2015
• Study Start: March 1, 2013
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2016
• Study Completion: December 1, 2023
• Last Updated: May 9, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Locations

US (1)