Summary

Location
at Los Angeles, California
Dates
study started
completion around
Principal Investigator
by Catherine A. Sarkisian
Headshot of Catherine A. Sarkisian
Catherine A. Sarkisian

Description

Summary

Our Practice Advisory (OPA) are essential tools in clinical decision-making. The alerts are designed to guide providers towards evidence-based practices and improve patient outcomes. The focus of this initiative is on Hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) testing, with the goal of addressing unnecessary repeat testing within a 30-day timeframe, which rarely yields significant new insights. Although randomization occurs at the patient level, the primary outcome of this study focuses on provider behavior and decision-making.

By focusing on this specific intervention, the study aims to optimize resource use, align test ordering with evidence-based guidelines, and support improved patient outcomes. The results of this evaluation will help refine OPAs and guide broader strategies for implementing clinical decision support tools across healthcare systems.

Official Title

Evaluation of Our Practice Advisory (OPA) Interventions on Hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Short Interval Ordering

Details

The purpose of this Quality Improvement (QI) initiative is to evaluate the impact of a randomized Our Practice Advisory (OPA) intervention on physician ordering behavior of Hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) tests within a 30-day interval from the prior test. The OPA will fire when an A1c or TSH are ordered within 30 days of a prior result (these short-interval tests are widely considered unnecessary) and will ask providers to reconsider the order. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention by randomizing patients 1:1 such that physicians caring for the patient will either (1) receive the OPA or (2) not receive the OPA if the providers order a short-interval test. This study is being conducted for a primary QI intent, as the results will (1) dictate if the short-interval OPA should be implemented across all patients, and (2) if this short-interval OPA should be applied to other labs aside from A1c and TSH. In these ways, the purpose of this study is to directly inform health system operations.

Keywords

Physician Workflow, Resource Utilization, Clinical Decision Support, Laboratory Test Optimization, Our Practice Advisory (OPA), OPA

Eligibility

You can join if…

  • 18 years or older
  • Inpatient or observation stays within UCLA Health System hospitals
  • Hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) ordered, AND this lab was ordered and resulted within the prior 30 days

You CAN'T join if...

  • Have an A1c or TSH ordered and do not have a result for one of these labs in the prior 30 days

Location

  • UCLA Health System accepting new patients
    Los Angeles California 90024 United States

Lead Scientist at UCLA

  • Catherine A. Sarkisian
    Dr. Catherine Sarkisian is a geriatrician and NIH-funded research scientist. Since early in her training she has committed her career to improving quality of life among vulnerable older adults. Most of her work has focused on implementing and evaluating academic-community partnered interventions and more recently, academic-health-system partnered pragmatic trials.

Details

Status
accepting new patients
Start Date
Completion Date
(estimated)
Sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles
ID
NCT06993805
Study Type
Interventional
Participants
Expecting 384 study participants
Last Updated