Official Title: “Effect of Reminder Prompts on Utilization of the PAML Builder Application Features”

This project will study whether reminder prompts increase PAML Builder application feature utilization.

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Other, Non-Randomized, Open Label, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study

Study Primary Completion Date: July 2008

This project will study whether reminder prompts increase Pre-Admission Medication List (PAML) Builder application feature utilization. PAML Builder is an application designed and maintained by Partners Information Systems that assists clinicians in medication reconciliation - a process important for patient safety and quality of care. We have determined that several potentially helpful features of the application are not being utilized as frequently as had been expected. These features include:

1. copying the pre-admission medication list (PAML) to the clipboard

2. viewing the detailed audit trail of all changes made to the PAML

3. sorting the list of medications obtained from other electronic sources by therapeutic class.

Reminder prompts (sometimes referred to as "Tip of the Day") have been employed to increase user awareness of underutilized application features. However, anecdotally some users find them unhelpful and potentially irritating. It is therefore important to determine whether reminder prompts accomplish the stated task of increasing application feature utilization.

This project will compare PAML Builder application feature utilization before and after a pilot rollout of reminder prompts to determine whether they should be implemented permanently.

Intervention(s) in this Clinical Trial

• Other: Reminders
  • Users of the PAML Builder application will receive reminders about three application features (copy/paste, audit trail, sort medications by class) at the startup of the application

Arms, Groups and Cohorts in this Clinical Trial

• Experimental: A
  • Receives the intervention (reminders displayed at the startup of the application) for both periods (period 1 and period 2) of the study.
• Active Comparator: B
  • Receives the intervention (reminders displayed at the application startup) only during the second period (period 2) of the study.

Primary Measures

• Difference in the change between combined frequency of utilization of all features promoted by the reminders per PAML built between the two arms from period 1 (intervention in one arm only) to period 2 (intervention in both arms).
  • Time Frame: The entire study period
    Safety Issue?: No

Secondary Measures

• Difference in the change between frequencies of utilization of the individual features promoted by the reminders per PAML built between the two arms from period 1 (intervention in one arm only) to period 2 (intervention in both arms).
  • Time Frame: The entire study period
    Safety Issue?: No
• Difference in the change between combined frequency of utilization of all features promoted by the reminders per PAML built between the two arms from period 1 to period 2 by the users who were displayed the corresponding reminder.
  • Time Frame: The entire study period
    Safety Issue?: No
• Difference in the change between frequencies of utilization of the individual features promoted by the reminders per PAML built between the two arms from period 1 to period 2 by the users who were displayed the corresponding reminders.
  • Time Frame: The entire study period.
    Safety Issue?: No

Inclusion Criteria:

• users of the PAML Builder application (physicians, nurses, pharmacists)

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

Gender Eligibility for this Clinical Trial: Both

Minimum Age for this Clinical Trial: N/A

Maximum Age for this Clinical Trial: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted for this Clinical Trial?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Lead Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital

Overall Clinical Trial Officials and Contacts

Alexander Turchin, MD, MS Principal Investigator Partners Healthcare  

Information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov on July 02, 2009

Link to the current ClinicalTrials.gov record. http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00657462

Study ID Number: PAMLTIPS

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00657462

Health Authority: United States: Institutional Review Board