Study of the Effect on Clinical Outcomes Using Secure Text Messaging

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In this study, the investigators will conduct a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of offering mobile secure text messaging on clinical outcomes.

Detailed Description
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Inpatient health care providers such as physicians and nurses spend up to one-third of their time communicating with other health care providers. Many of these communications have shifted mediums from handwritten notes and face-to-face conversations to phone calls and paging systems. More recently the rapid adoption of smartphones has led to the use of mobile-enabled technologies using smartphones such as text messaging and email. While these technologies may offer ease and fit better within the clinical workflow, they often send patient information through unsecure cellular or internet connections. Mobile secure text messaging may address these issues by encrypting data and allowing for asynchronous or synchronous communication between individual providers or groups of providers. In this study, the investigators will conduct a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of offering mobile secure text messaging on clinical outcomes.

Official Title
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Study of the Effect on Clinical Outcomes Using Secure Text Messaging

Conditions
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Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetes, Renal Failure, Copd

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Secure text messaging


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Admission to one of the hospital floors or services in the study at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Exclusion Criteria: Discharges against medical advice Discharges to hospice

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Usual care<br>Patients admitted to hospital floors without any other intervention. | |
| Experimental: Secure text messaging<br>Patients admitted to hospital floors on which physicians and other staff are able to communicate with each other (not to the patient) using mobile secure text messaging. | Device: Secure text messaging<br>* A smartphone and web application that allows physicians and other health care professionals to communicate to each other by secure text message<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in length of stay | Change in inpatient length of stay from baseline to 6 months | 6 months | 
| Change in 30 day hospital readmissions | Change in 30 day hospital readmissions from baseline to 6 months | 6 months | 
| Change in inpatient mortality | Change in inpatient mortality from baseline to 6 months | 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAPs) scores | Change in HCAP scores from baseline to 6 months | 6 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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mhealth, text messaging, secure text messaging, communication