High Tech and High Touch (HT2): Transforming Patient Engagement Through Portal Technology at the Bedside

Physician-Patient Relations Clinical Trial

Official title:

High Tech and High Touch (HT2): Transforming Patient Engagement Through Portal Technology at the Bedside

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02943109
• Other study ID #: R01HS024091
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: December 2016
• Est. completion date: April 2020

Study information

• Verified date: May 2020
• Source: Ohio State University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

A large-scale randomized control trial (RCT) of the impact and use of an inpatient tablet-based patient portal embedded in a larger mixed methods study to examine changes in patient experiences and outcomes, and subsequent ambulatory patient portal usage.

Description:

The appropriate use of technology to actively engage with patients who suffer from multiple chronic conditions, called multimorbidity, is one of the frontiers of both research and practice. For multimorbid patients, engagement in disease management activities is particularly critical, and evidence shows that enhanced patient self-management can lead to better control of chronic illness. One tool finding increasing use is the patient portal, and its pervasiveness is supported by virtue of its role as a component of the Meaningful Use criteria. A patient portal is a tethered personal health record (tPHR) that links to the patient's electronic health record, facilitating communication and engagement activities with healthcare providers. While most tPHRs have been focused on outpatient activities, a new class of tools focused on the inpatient experience has begun deployment in 2014.

In response, this study supports the conduct of the first, large-scale randomized control trial (RCT) of the impact and use of an inpatient tablet-based patient portal embedded in a larger mixed methods study to examine changes in patient experiences and outcomes, and subsequent ambulatory patient portal usage. The investigators aim to study how access to a patient portal tailored to the inpatient stay can improve patient experience and increase patient engagement by improving patients' perception of the process of care while in the hospital (patient experience), increasing patients' self-efficacy for managing their chronic conditions (patient engagement), and facilitating use of a patient portal for care management activities after discharge (patient engagement).

The study site is a world-class healthcare facility with the ability to provide access to a patient portal designed specifically for the inpatient experience, bridging to outside the hospital after discharge.

Currently, this inpatient technology exists in only one other hospital in the US, but the investigators expect that as inpatient PHRs become more readily available, the need for clarity on this issue will only increase. The investigator's evaluation is a mixed-methods design consisting of primary data collection through surveys and interviews throughout the study period, and secondary data collection from the electronic health record and health system metadata. This study will offer insight into a potentially important mechanism to facilitate patient self-management.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 3782
• Est. completion date: April 2020
• Est. primary completion date: February 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

• patient accepted MyChart Bedside tablet

• patient available in their room

• capable of providing informed consent

Exclusion criteria:

• Patient in a pilot unit where Full Tech was available prior to study start

• Patient was less than 18 years of age

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Electronic Health Records
• Inpatient Facility Diagnoses
• Outpatient
• Physician-Patient Relations

Intervention

Other:
• High Touch
Participants receives an in person visit from an "technology navigator" who helps to explain the technology to the patient.
• Low Touch
Participants receives a visit from a "patient navigator" who helps to explain how to navigate the hospital system (active control).
• High Tech
Patient receives full-suite access to an inpatient patient portal with bi-directional communication enabled.
• Low Tech
Patient receives a limited access version of the inpatient patient portal with bi-directional communication disabled.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Ohio State University	Columbus	Ohio

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ohio State University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (1)

McAlearney AS, Sieck CJ, Hefner JL, Aldrich AM, Walker DM, Rizer MK, Moffatt-Bruce SD, Huerta TR. High Touch and High Tech (HT2) Proposal: Transforming Patient Engagement Throughout the Continuum of Care by Engaging Patients with Portal Technology at the Bedside. JMIR Res Protoc. 2016 Nov 29;5(4):e221. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	MyChart Bedside Use	Frequency of inpatient portal use (based on log file analysis)	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Primary	Patient Satisfaction and Involvement with Care	Survey responses on admission and post-discharge surveys; higher scores are better outcomes	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Secondary	MyChart adoption and use	Use of outpatient portal (based on log file analysis)	Up to 3 months post-discharge
Secondary	Self-Efficacy	Survey responses on admission and post-discharge surveys; higher scores are better outcomes	through study completion, an average of 1 year