A Multi-modal, Physician-centered Intervention to Improve Guideline-concordant Prostate Cancer Imaging

NCT ID: NCT03445559

Last Updated: 2025-07-28

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

58 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-04-09

Study Completion Date

2026-02-28

Brief Summary

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The primary aim of this study is to determine whether a multi-modal, physician-focused behavioral intervention can improve facility-level guideline-concordant utilization of prostate cancer staging imaging. Other aims of this study include to use mixed methods to explore physician influence on guideline-concordant imaging and to determine the cost and cost impact of a physician-focused behavioral intervention to improve guideline-concordant prostate cancer imaging.

Detailed Description

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Almost half of Veterans with localized prostate cancer (the most common non-cutaneous malignancy among US men) receive inappropriate, wasteful imaging. The VHA Blueprint for Excellence prioritizes increasing operational effectiveness. Prior studies seeking to limit inappropriate imaging did not assess barriers and achieved mixed results. The investigators' team has explored the causes of guideline-discordant prostate cancer imaging and found that 1) patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer have little concern for radiographic staging but rather focus on treatment, 2) physician trust imaging guidelines but are apt to follow their own intuition, fear medico-legal consequences, and succumb to influence from colleagues who image frequently. In spite of such discrepant views, most VHA physicians suggested or supported a large-scale effort to improve imaging use across VHA.

The investigators propose a multi-site, stepped wedge, cluster-randomized trial to determine the effect of a physician-focused behavioral intervention on VHA prostate cancer imaging use. The multi-level intervention, developed according to the Theoretical Determinants Framework, combines traditional physician behavior change methods with novel methods of communication and data collection. The intervention consists of three components: 1) a system of audit and feedback to clinicians informing individual clinicians and their sites about how their behavior compares to their peers' and to published guidelines 2) a program of academic detailing with the goal to educate providers about prostate cancer imaging, and 3) a CPRS Clinical Order Check for potentially inappropriate imaging. The intervention will be introduced to 10 participating geographically-distributed study sites.

The investigators will assess imaging rates 6 months prior to the intervention and 3 months following the intervention. The study's specific aims seek to understand the effects of the intervention on 1) facility-level prostate cancer imaging rates, 2) physician experience with and perceptions of the intervention and its implementation, and 3) the costs of both implementing the intervention and affecting change in imaging use. These aims will support a subsequent intervention to improve guideline-concordant imaging across VHA. Experience gained through this project will be leveraged to improve guideline-concordant care and increase operational effectiveness in other domains.

Conditions

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Prostate Cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

The proposed behavioral intervention will be implemented according to a stepped wedge cluster-randomized design. This is a single direction cross-over randomized trial where every site serves, at some point, as both a control and an intervention site. The first time point will be a baseline measurement, where none of the study sites have yet received the intervention. At subsequent time points, study sites initiate the intervention. The time at which each site initiates implementation of the intervention is randomized.
Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Control

No intervention

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Intervention

The intervention is comprised of three components: 1) Clinical Order Check, 2) Academic Detailing, and 3) Audit and Feedback.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Clinical Order Check

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A Clinical Order Check is an evidence-based, systems-level method to affect significant behavior change. It addresses the intervention functions of education, enablement and incentivization which are effective methods to change behaviors driven by beliefs about capabilities, knowledge, social influences, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources. All VA facilities currently use locally adapted clinical reminders. This strategy is technologically simple, straightforward, and is considered to be a best practice within the VA IT community. The reminder will be self-explanatory and non-intrusive to workflow.

Academic Detailing

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Academic detailing is an individual and facility-level intervention consistently shown to improve provider behavior. This strategy addresses the intervention functions of persuasion, coercion, modeling, and education which are effective methods for affecting behaviors driven by beliefs about capabilities, knowledge, social influences, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources. During the meeting, the detailer will follow a script explaining that the visit is part of an experimental program to provide physicians with up-to-date, unbiased information about imaging to stage prostate cancer.

Audit and Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Audit and feedback is an effective, individual-level intervention for changing healthcare provider behavior, resulting in small but potentially clinically important benefits. Audit and feedback addresses the intervention functions of education, persuasion and incentivization, all of which are important for addressing beliefs about capabilities and consequences, knowledge, and social influence.

Interventions

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Clinical Order Check

A Clinical Order Check is an evidence-based, systems-level method to affect significant behavior change. It addresses the intervention functions of education, enablement and incentivization which are effective methods to change behaviors driven by beliefs about capabilities, knowledge, social influences, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources. All VA facilities currently use locally adapted clinical reminders. This strategy is technologically simple, straightforward, and is considered to be a best practice within the VA IT community. The reminder will be self-explanatory and non-intrusive to workflow.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Academic Detailing

Academic detailing is an individual and facility-level intervention consistently shown to improve provider behavior. This strategy addresses the intervention functions of persuasion, coercion, modeling, and education which are effective methods for affecting behaviors driven by beliefs about capabilities, knowledge, social influences, beliefs about consequences, and environmental context and resources. During the meeting, the detailer will follow a script explaining that the visit is part of an experimental program to provide physicians with up-to-date, unbiased information about imaging to stage prostate cancer.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Audit and Feedback

Audit and feedback is an effective, individual-level intervention for changing healthcare provider behavior, resulting in small but potentially clinically important benefits. Audit and feedback addresses the intervention functions of education, persuasion and incentivization, all of which are important for addressing beliefs about capabilities and consequences, knowledge, and social influence.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Provider Criteria:

* Urology Chiefs and attending urologists employed through the VA (full time, part time) at one of the 10 participating sites
* Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners employed through the VA at one of the 10 participating sites that work in the respective urology clinics
* Providers may be any gender or race/ethnicity

Qualitative portion only:

* Urology Chiefs and/or frontline staff physicians
* participating PAs \& NPs having cared for at least 5 men with incident prostate cancer within the previous 6 months
* Patients will not be directly recruited into the study.
* The investigators have obtained a waiver of HIPAA authorization and informed consent to analyze electronic health records of patients that are diagnosed with ICD-9 code 185 or ICD-10 code C61 during the study period at the 10 participating sites.

Exclusion Criteria

Provider Criteria:

* Urology Residents will be excluded.

Patients

* Patients will be excluded if they have a history of prior malignancy
* Are over the age of 85
* Diagnosed at autopsy or by death certificate
* Died within 3 months of diagnosis
* Not having data on at least one of the following:

* PSA
* clinical stage
* Gleason score
Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Danil V Makarov, MD MHS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY

Locations

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VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA

Palo Alto, California, United States

Site Status

VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA

West Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status

VA Connecticut Healthcare System West Haven Campus, West Haven, CT

West Haven, Connecticut, United States

Site Status

Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Site Status

VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY

Syracuse, New York, United States

Site Status

VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon, United States

Site Status

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Site Status

VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division, Seattle, WA

Seattle, Washington, United States

Site Status

William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Makarov DV, Holmes-Rovner M, Rovner DR, Averch T, Barry MJ, Chrouser K, Gee WF, Goodrich K, Haynes M, Krahn M, Saigal C, Sox HC, Stacey D, Tessier C, Waterhouse RL, Fagerlin A. Quality Improvement Summit 2016: Shared Decision Making and Prostate Cancer Screening. Urol Pract. 2018 Nov;5(6):444-451. doi: 10.1016/j.urpr.2017.11.005. Epub 2017 Dec 4.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Miccio JA, Talcott WJ, Jairam V, Park HS, Yu JB, Leapman MS, Johnson SB, King MT, Nguyen PL, Kann BH. Quantifying treatment selection bias effect on survival in comparative effectiveness research: findings from low-risk prostate cancer patients. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2021 Jun;24(2):414-422. doi: 10.1038/s41391-020-00291-3. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32989262 (View on PubMed)

Becker DJ, Rude T, Walter D, Wang C, Loeb S, Li H, Ciprut S, Kelly M, Zeliadt SB, Fagerlin A, Lepor H, Sherman S, Ravenell JE, Makarov DV. The Association of Veterans' PSA Screening Rates With Changes in USPSTF Recommendations. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2021 May 4;113(5):626-631. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaa120.

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Kirk PS, Borza T, Caram MEV, Shumway DA, Makarov DV, Burns JA, Shelton JB, Leppert JT, Chapman C, Chang M, Hollenbeck BK, Skolarus TA. Characterising potential bone scan overuse amongst men treated with radical prostatectomy. BJU Int. 2019 Jul;124(1):55-61. doi: 10.1111/bju.14551. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Reference Type RESULT
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Ciprut SE, Kelly MD, Walter D, Hoffman R, Becker DJ, Loeb S, Sedlander E, Tenner CT, Sherman SE, Zeliadt SB, Makarov DV. A Clinical Reminder Order Check Intervention to Improve Guideline-concordant Imaging Practices for Men With Prostate Cancer: A Pilot Study. Urology. 2020 Nov;145:113-119. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2020.05.101. Epub 2020 Jul 25.

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Makarov DV, Ciprut S, Kelly M, Walter D, Shedlin MG, Braithwaite RS, Tenner CT, Gold HT, Zeliadt S, Sherman SE. Protocol: A multi-modal, physician-centered intervention to improve guideline-concordant prostate cancer imaging. Trials. 2021 Oct 18;22(1):711. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05645-3.

Reference Type RESULT
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Makarov DV, Thomas JK, Ciprut S, Rivera AJ, Sherman SE, Braithwaite RS, Best SL, Blakely S, D'Agostino LA, Dahm P, Dash A, Leapman MS, Leppert JT, Sanchez A, Shelton JB, Tessier CD, Tenner CT, Gold HT, Shedlin MG, Zeliadt SB. Prostate Cancer Imaging Stewardship: a multi-modal, physician-centered intervention for guideline-concordant imaging. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Aug 11:djaf210. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaf210. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40796156 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

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HX002038

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

IIR 15-356

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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