UCLA Health Patient Cardiology Care Gaps

NCT06277323 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: Cardio
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 46
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is a prospective randomized clinical trial evaluating how two behaviorally-informed interventions (i.e., monthly report card and storyboard interventions) impact physician behavior, with the goal of closing care gaps in preventive care and disease management. In particular, the monthly report card intervention seeks to elevate physicians' intentions to close their patients' care gaps, while the storyboard intervention seeks to prompt action by making patients' care gaps salient. The trial investigates the separate and joint impacts of the proposed behaviorally-informed interventions on encouraging physicians to close their patients' care gaps.

Conditions

Health Maintenance; Cardiology

Keywords

Cardiology

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Care gap closure (patients seen)

  Whether a patient completed any of the following seven care gaps will be tracked for each patient who visits a physician during the first 12 months of the intervention period: (1) statin or PCSK9 inhibitor use, (2) aspirin use, (3) beta blocker use, (4) angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, or angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor use, (5) mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist use, (6) SGLT2i use, and (7) blood pressure control.

  6 months after each patient's first encounter with the physician during the first 12 months of the intervention period

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Care gap closure (all patients in panel)

  12 months after the intervention starts (for existing patients) or 12 months since patients join the panel (for patients who join during the first six months of the experiment)

• Number of care gaps closed (patients seen)

  6 months after each patient's first encounter with the physician during the first 12 months of the intervention period

• Number of care gaps closed (all patients in panel)

  12 months after the intervention starts (for existing patients) or 12 months since patients join the panel (for patients who join during the first six months of the experiment)

• HCC/RAF care gap closure (all patients in panel)

  12 months after the intervention starts (for existing patients) or 12 months since patients join the panel (for patients who join during the first six months of the experiment)

Study Arms (4)

Arm 1: Quarterly performance email (current state, control condition)

NO INTERVENTION

Eligible, randomly assigned physicians will receive status quo quarterly emails with their performance report card.

Arm 2: Monthly report card only

EXPERIMENTAL

Eligible, randomly assigned physicians will receive behaviorally-informed monthly emails (monthly performance report card) intended to elevate their intentions to improve their performance (i.e., getting more of their patients to close care gaps).

Behavioral: Monthly report card intervention

Arm 3: Storyboard only

EXPERIMENTAL

Eligible, randomly assigned physicians will receive status quo quarterly emails and get a more visible care gap banner in the electronic health record (EHR), intended to promptly remind them of each patient's care gaps at the start of a patient-physician encounter.

Behavioral: Storyboard intervention

Arm 4: Monthly report card AND Storyboard

EXPERIMENTAL

Eligible, randomly assigned physicians will receive behaviorally-informed monthly emails and get a more visible care gap banner in the electronic health record (EHR) upon patient encounter.

Behavioral: Monthly report card intervention; Behavioral: Storyboard intervention

Interventions

Storyboard intervention BEHAVIORAL

The visibility of the care gap banner in the electronic health record (EHR) upon patient encounter will be enhanced.

Arm 3: Storyboard only; Arm 4: Monthly report card AND Storyboard

Monthly report card intervention BEHAVIORAL

The investigators will increase the frequency (monthly instead of quarterly) and enhance the content of the performance feedback emails sent to cardiologists (i.e., behaviorally-informed).

Arm 2: Monthly report card only; Arm 4: Monthly report card AND Storyboard

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Cardiologists who practice at one or more UCLA Health sites in the outpatient setting
• Enrolled in the pre-existing cardiology financial incentive program at UCLA Health
• With patient panel size above 50

You may not qualify if:

• \- Cardiologists who were involved in the design of the trial

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCLA Health Department of Medicine, Quality Office

Los Angeles, California, 90095, United States

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Clinical Instructor

Model Details: Parallel randomized trial at the physician level.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 1, 2024
• First Posted: February 26, 2024
• Study Start: January 30, 2024
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2025
• Study Completion: July 30, 2025
• Last Updated: February 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)