Blood Glucose Monitoring in Electronic Health Records

Summary

This multi-site randomized tral aims to test methods of increasing adoption and integration of blood glucose monitoring into electronic medical records, and to measure the impact of wide-scale adoption on health status of patients with diabetes. To investigate determinants of adoption, the research will combine and test doctor and patient focused approaches to encouraging patient use of blood glucose flow sheets through the online patient portal, MyChart. Adoption will be measured on both the extensive and intensive margin: the number of patients who enter data into the flowsheets at all during the study period, and the mean number of entries per patient during the study period. Conditional on statistically significant increases in adoption, the study will examine corresponding intent-to-treat effects on patient A1c, and consider other indicators of possible mechanisms through which A1c improves or does not improve.

Conditions

• Diabetes Mellitus

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Practice Orientation

Practices will be encouraged to batch order blood glucose flowsheets for all patients with diabetes with active MyChart accounts. This will allow diabetic patients at these practices to enter any self-monitored glucose measurements. The research team will contact physicians and practice managers with an explanation of the initiative and instructions for completing batch orders and viewing entries through the system. Additionally, providers will be given a template for a secure smart-text message to send to all patients receiving the flowsheets, instructing them to enter data for the study period. The secure message will also provide them with information on how to enter data, and on the benefits of tracking blood glucose.

BEHAVIORAL

Standard Reminder

Patients receive generic biweekly reminders, addressed from Inova Medical Group, to enter glucose measurements in the electronic flowsheets

BEHAVIORAL

Gift Card Reminder

Patients receive generic biweekly reminders, addressed from Inova Medical Group, to enter glucose measurements in the electronic flowsheets. In these reminders, they will also be notified that that they will be entered to win a $50 gift card for each day entering data.

BEHAVIORAL

Physician Reminders

Patients receive biweekly reminders, addressed from their physician, encouraging them to enter glucose measurements in the electronic flowsheets (Note that though messages will be addressed from physician, they will be sent by Inova IT)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Berkeley

  collaborator OTHER

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

  collaborator OTHER

• General Services Administration (GSA)

  collaborator FED

• Department of Health and Human Services

  collaborator FED

• Inova Health Care Services

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Allyson B Root, MS · General Services Administration, UC Berkeley

• Season Majors, MSN,RN · Inova Health Care Services

• Mary Ann Friesen, PhD · Inova Health Care Services

• Christopher P Connolly, MD · Inova Health Care Services

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-05-01

Primary Completion

2018-10-31

Completion

2018-10-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations