Messaging Intervention to Increase Medicare Annual Wellness Visits -- The NUDGE AWV Clinical Trial

NCT06640426 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RAS20240013
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 29,842
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) are critical for addressing preventive care needs among older adults, yet the most recent estimates from the Center for Medicare Services suggest less than 50% of eligible patients take advantage of this free healthcare benefit. Behavioral science-informed messaging interventions offer a promising strategy to increase AWV participation by guiding patient behavior. In this study, investigators will evaluate a health system initiative that utilizes personalized email and text messages to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to schedule and attend their AWVs. This approach aims to boost patient engagement in preventive health services, ultimately improving care outcomes for older adult populations

Conditions

Annual Wellness Visit; Breast Cancer Screening; Colon Cancer Screening

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Annual Wellness Visit scheduling

  Percentage of patients who schedule an AWV

  14 days

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Completed Annual Wellness Visit

  90 Days

• Days to Annual Wellness Visit Completion

  90 days

Other Outcomes (4)

• Breast cancer screening

  180 days

• Colon Cancer Screening

  180 days

• Ordering of tests for breast cancer screening

  90 days

Study Arms (3)

Usual Care

NO INTERVENTION

This is a group will serve as usual care and have no intervention during the study period

Two Messages

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will receive two messages as part of the study -- one email and one text message.

Behavioral: Two Messaging Nudges

Up To Five Messages

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will receive up to five messages as part o the study -- two emails and three text messages.

Behavioral: Five messaging nudges

Interventions

Two Messaging Nudges BEHAVIORAL

This intervention involves receiving one personalized email and one personalized text message, which include the provider's name, the patient's name, and a phone number to schedule an Annual Wellness Visit

Two Messages

Five messaging nudges BEHAVIORAL

This intervention involves patients receiving up to five personalized email and text messages, which include the provider's name, the patient's name, and a phone number to schedule an Annual Wellness Visit

Up To Five Messages

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 65 or older
• Have either a mobile phone number or an email address on file with the health system
• Included in and non-compliant on the Ascension AWV Clinical Priority Goal measure
• Have consented to receive electronic communications from the health system

You may not qualify if:

• Patients whose primary care providers are exempted from the campaign by the health system
• Completed MAWV appointment in previous 30 days
• Has an upcoming AWV appointment scheduled
• Have received a nudge campaign from the Clinical Transformation team in the past 90 days
• Patients who have previously opted out of receiving electronic communications from the health system in our message delivery platform (Salesforce)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Emily Rosenzweig: lead

Study Sites (1)

Ascension Health

St Louis, Missouri, 63134, United States

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: INDUSTRY
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director of Behavioral Science

Model Details: This study will use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate a health system initiative to improve Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) completion. Investigators will randomly assign Ascension Health patients who are eligible for an AWV to one of three conditions. Patients in Treatment Condition #1 will receive a set of up to five email and text messages over the course of eight days, while also receiving usual care which could include messaging from their practice or the electronic health record. Patients in Treatment Condition #2 will receive a set of two email and text messages on a single day. Patients in the Control Condition will receive no messages as part of this campaign, but will be receiving usual care, which could include messages related to AWV's from their primary care practice or from the electronic health record.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2024
• First Posted: October 15, 2024
• Study Start: October 22, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 12, 2024
• Study Completion: April 27, 2025
• Last Updated: August 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)