E-mails to Nudge Safer and Better-Informed Prescribing of Risky Drugs

NCT06443385 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: AAAV1928AEARCTR-0013549
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 7,872
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will test e-mails to encourage engagement with the Minnesota prescription monitoring program (PMP/PDMP) and will evaluate the effect of these e-mails on PMP/PDMP use and controlled substance prescribing.

Conditions

Opioid Prescribing; Prescription Drug Misuse

Keywords

opioids; prescribing; overprescribing; prescription drug monitoring programs; controlled substances

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Rate of PDMP Engagement

  An indicator for increased PDMP engagement during the 2-month period after the first e-mails were sent. It will indicate whether the level of engagement rose from the baseline level that resulted in the clinician's enrollment into the study. For clinicians who lacked an account, the outcome will indicate whether they created one; for clinicians with an inactive account, the outcome will indicate whether they reactivated it. For those who never searched, it will indicate any search, and for those who rarely searched, it will indicate whether their search rate rose.

  2 months

• Volume of Potentially Guideline-discordant Opioid Prescribing

  A composite of several measures of potentially guideline-discordant opioid prescribing. These will include: 1. Opioid co-prescriptions with other opioids 2. Opioid co-prescriptions with benzodiazepines 3. Opioid co-prescriptions with gabapentinoids 4. High daily opioid doses 5. Long-duration opioid prescriptions to opioid-naïve individuals

  2 months

Study Arms (3)

Legal Mandate Messaging

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: PDMP Legal Mandate E-mail

Clinical Benefit Messaging

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: PDMP Clinical Benefit E-mail

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

PDMP Legal Mandate E-mail BEHAVIORAL

E-mails highlighting the state's legal requirements to use the PDMP. There will be one initial email and one follow-up email one month later.

Legal Mandate Messaging

PDMP Clinical Benefit E-mail BEHAVIORAL

E-mails highlighting the clinical benefits of having access to the PDMP and checking the PDMP before prescribing opioids. There will be one initial email and one follow-up email one month later.

Clinical Benefit Messaging

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Minnesota physician or physician assistant
• Controlled substance prescriber not following state requirements to maintain an active PDMP account, or opioid prescriber not searching the PDMP or infrequently searching the PDMP

You may not qualify if:

• No e-mail address available

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Columbia University: lead
• University of Southern California: collaborator
• Bowdoin College: collaborator
• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab: collaborator
• Minnesota Management and Budget: collaborator
• Minnesota Board of Pharmacy: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

New York, New York, 10032, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Sacarny A, Avilova T, Williamson I, Merrick W, Jacobson M. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Reminder Emails, Program Use, and Prescribing: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Health Forum. 2025 Dec 5;6(12):e255623. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.5623.

  PMID: 41632198 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Prescription Drug Misuse

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Drug Misuse; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Adam Sacarny, PhD

  Columbia University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Mireille Jacobson, PhD

  University of Southern California

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Tatyana Avilova, PhD

  Bowdoin College

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management

Model Details: Clinicians will be assigned at random to one of three arms: PDMP legal mandate e-mails, PDMP clinical benefit emails, or a control group.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2024
• First Posted: June 5, 2024
• Study Start: July 17, 2024
• Primary Completion: September 14, 2024
• Study Completion: September 24, 2025
• Last Updated: February 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)