Oncology Acute Care Follow-up Intervention Study

NCT07550192 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: STU20251326
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This pragmatic randomized controlled study evaluates an education intervention designed to increase patient engagement with Oncology Acute Care (OAC) services among patients being treated for cancer at Parkland Health. Eligible patients will be randomized to either a control (usual care) arm or an intervention arm. If a patient in the control group has experiences a subsequent cancer treatment related ED visit without documented OAC engagement, they will be moved to the intervention arm. Patients in the intervention arm will receive an automated MyChart message and text message within 24 hours of hospital discharge reinforcing oncology acute care (OAC) resources, including contact information for the triage line and guidance for when to seek urgent versus emergency care. Messages will be resent at 48 and 72 hours if unviewed. Once the message is viewed, the patient will enter an outcome tracking period to monitor time to subsequent ED visit or OAC contact. Follow-up will occur in 3-month intervals until an outcome is documented or the study ends. After randomization, patients will be monitored on an observation list for outcomes including OAC contact and cancer treatment-related Emergency Department (ED) visits. Patients who contact OAC clinic will be removed from observation list and complete the study. We will repeat the observation period and document outcomes if the patient has a subsequent cancer treatment-related ED visits without documented OAC engagement.

Conditions

Cancer

Keywords

Oncology Acute Care; Emergency Department Use; Messaging

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Time to the next cancer treatment related ED visit.

  Evaluate whether structured MyChart + text messaging after hospital/ED discharge decreases time to the next cancer treatment-related ED visit compared with usual care.

  2 years maximum

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Patient Engagement with OAC

  2 years maximum

• Message Engagement

  2 years maximum

• Evaluate Feasibility

  2 years maximum

• Identify Patient Subgroups

  2 years maximum

Study Arms (2)

Control Arm (Usual Care)

NO INTERVENTION

Patients receive standard hospital discharge instructions without additional messaging Patients in the control arm who experience a subsequent cancer treatment-related ED visit without documented OAC engagement will be crossed over to the intervention arm.

Intervention Arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients receive structured follow-up messages using existing education materials via MyChart and automated text messaging within 24, 48, and 72 hours post-discharge.

Other: Follow-up messaging

Interventions

Follow-up messaging OTHER

Patients randomized to the intervention arm will receive structured follow-up messages aimed at increasing awareness and utilization of Oncology Acute Care (OAC) services. Messaging will be delivered via both MyChart and automated text messages, tailored to the patient's preferred language (English or Spanish).

Intervention Arm

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Age ≥ 18 years.
• Active cancer diagnosis
• Actively receiving chemotherapy treatment
• ED Arrival within 30 days of chemotherapy treatment
• Discharged home following ED visit, observation, or inpatient stay
• Enrolled in MyChart with valid mobile number and language preference recorded (English or Spanish)

You may not qualify if:

• Not enrolled in MyChart or lacking a valid mobile phone number.
• Language preference not recorded or not English/Spanish (if messaging is only available in these languages).
• Receiving hospice or palliative care services, where acute symptom management goals may differ.
• Patients admitted directly to inpatient care without ED visit

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: lead

Study Sites (1)

Parkland Health

Dallas, Texas, 75235, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Study Officials

• Arthur Hong, MD, MPH

  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Arthur Hong, MD, MPH

CONTACT

214-648-3240; Arthur.Hong@utsouthwestern.edu

Kathryn Anderson, MA

CONTACT

214-648-6357; Kathryn.Anderson@UTSouthwestern.edu

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 17, 2026
• First Posted: April 24, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): May 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 15, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2028
• Last Updated: April 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)