An Electronic Clinical Decision Support Tool to Reduce Low-value Antipsychotic Prescriptions

NCT ID: NCT04851691

Last Updated: 2024-09-19

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

158 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-08-03

Study Completion Date

2023-08-14

Brief Summary

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The goal of this study will be to design, implement and test the impact of a quality improvement (QI) intervention that uses an EHR CDS tool among physicians newly ordering an antipsychotic medication for older adults with ADRD. The study team hypothesizes that the intervention will reduce each participating clinician's pill days per patient prescribed.

Detailed Description

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Importance: Among patients with Alzheimer's disease and its related dementias (ADRD) with behavioral disturbances, antipsychotic prescriptions have limited efficacy and substantially increase risk of death. Despite an FDA 2005 "black box" warning and multiple professional physician society guidelines discouraging their use, physicians continue to frequently prescribe antipsychotic medications as first-line therapy for behavioral disturbances among patients with ADRD.

Objective: This study will measure the impact of a multi-pronged electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support (CDS) tool intervention to reduce physician prescriptions of new antipsychotic medications among older adults with ADRD.

Design, Setting, and Participants: Utilizing a pragmatic parallel cluster-randomized trial design, the study will randomize eligible physicians from a large urban academic medical center to either receive an EHR CDS tool (intervention) or not (control) when they prescribe a new antipsychotic medication during a visit with a patient with ADRD. The intervention will include three components: (1) alerts the prescriber that antipsychotic prescriptions increase mortality; (2) offers non-pharmacological behavioral resources for caregivers; and if the prescriber does not cancel the order (3) auto-defaults the prescription to contain the lowest dose and number of pills (n=30) without refills. In addition, the PI will email all providers randomized to the intervention arm in order to make them aware of the components of this intervention and its motivation. Acknowledging the clinical complexity of this vulnerable patient population, the multidisciplinary study team attempted to design the intervention to maximize impact while minimizing clinician burden. Over a one-year timeframe, the study team will compare the cumulative total of new antipsychotic pill-days prescribed (primary outcome) by physicians in the intervention group versus in the control group.

Hypothesis: This pragmatic trial will advance understanding of how a multi-pronged EHR CDS tool can potentially reduce harmful, low-value care among older adults with ADRD.

Conditions

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Alzheimer Disease Dementia Alzheimers Dementia of Alzheimer Type

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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EHR CDS tool

Patients with an encounter in which the physician attempts to place an order for a new antipsychotic prescription. Physician has been assigned to the EHR CDS tool.

Multi-pronged electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support (CDS) tool intervention to reduce physician prescriptions of new antipsychotic medications among older adults with ADRD

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

EHR CDS

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

When a clinician initiates a new antipsychotic prescription for a patient with dementia, a three-pronged electronic health record clinical decision support tool "pops up": (1) Alerting clinicians that antipsychotic prescriptions increase patient mortality; (2) Offering non-pharmacological behavioral resources for caregivers via a link to the IDEA! strategy resources on how caregivers can best manage a patient's behavioral disturbance non-pharmacologically, which will be available in the EHR to include in the patient's after visit summary; and (3) Defaulting prescriptions to a low supply of pills in to order to minimize harm. In addition, the PI will email all providers randomized to the intervention arm in order to make them aware of the components of this intervention and its motivation.

Control

Patients with an encounter in which the physician attempts to place an order for a new antipsychotic prescription. Physician has been assigned to the control.

Physicians will not receive intervention and perform duties as usual.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Usual Care

Intervention Type OTHER

Patients will receive usual care from their physicians.

Interventions

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EHR CDS

When a clinician initiates a new antipsychotic prescription for a patient with dementia, a three-pronged electronic health record clinical decision support tool "pops up": (1) Alerting clinicians that antipsychotic prescriptions increase patient mortality; (2) Offering non-pharmacological behavioral resources for caregivers via a link to the IDEA! strategy resources on how caregivers can best manage a patient's behavioral disturbance non-pharmacologically, which will be available in the EHR to include in the patient's after visit summary; and (3) Defaulting prescriptions to a low supply of pills in to order to minimize harm. In addition, the PI will email all providers randomized to the intervention arm in order to make them aware of the components of this intervention and its motivation.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Usual Care

Patients will receive usual care from their physicians.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Physicians who will be eligible to receive the EHR CDS tool intervention include those who provide ambulatory care in the UCLA health system and have newly prescribed antipsychotics (e.g., Quetiepine, Olanzapine, Risperidone, Aripiprazole, Haloperidol, Clozapine) for eligible patients (described below) at the medical center in the last 24 months.

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients who have diagnosis codes for schizophrenic disorders, delusion disorders, bipolar disorders, or other non-organic psychoses on their problem list.
* Patients with Parkinson's disease on their problem list
* Patients who have been prescribed antipsychotics in the prior 12 months
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Aging (NIA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of California, Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Catherine A. Sarkisian

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Catherine A Sarkisian, MD, MSPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of California, Los Angeles

Locations

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UCLA Health

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

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Other Identifiers

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1R01AG059815-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

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R01AG059815-01S1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

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R01AG059815-01S1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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