Physician Survey Response RatesNCT00853918
Clinical Practice Intensity: Comparing Veterans Affairs (VA) to Private Sector Physicians
A study testing $20 cash, $50 cash and $50 check in people with Physician Survey Response Rates, run by VA Office of Research and Development.
Trial summary
This is a national physician mail survey examining primary care practice patterns. The experimental component of the study (the clinical trial) is a randomized trial of different monetary incentive forms and amounts for physicians invited to participate in the study. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Physician Survey Response Rates
- What is being tested?
- $20 cash, $50 cash and $50 check
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,000 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2009to 1 Dec 2010
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Primary care general internists in the United States, identified through the AMA Physician Masterfile, who practice at least 20 hours per week are eligible to participate.
- All physicians included in the sample to whom the survey packets are mailed will be included in the analysis of the incentive experiment, except those for whom a survey packet is returned as undeliverable and those non-respondents identified through follow-up procedures as non-locatable, deceased, or retired.
Who cannot join
- Physicians self-identified in the AMA Masterfile as medical subspecialists or hospitalists are excluded from the sample.
About this study
Official title: Clinical Practice Intensity: Comparing VA to Private Sector Providers
This is a national physician mail survey examining primary care practice patterns. The experimental component of the study (the clinical trial) is a randomized trial of different monetary incentive forms and amounts for physicians invited to participate in the study. Only non-VA physicians will be included in this part of the study. (VA physicians are not allowed to receive monetary incentives.) Physicians will be randomized to receive one of four incentives. The main outcome measure is the response rate.
Read the detailed description
This primary care physician survey is being conducted by Harris Interactive, an international survey research firm working collaboratively under contract to VA investigators heading the study. Surveys will be mailed to a random sample of 1000 non-VA primary care general internists practicing 20 or more clinical hours per week, identified via the Physician Masterfile of the American Medical Association.
The initial survey mailing, delivered via USPS Priority Mail, will include a cover letter inviting the physician to participate, a 12-page survey booklet (including a cover page, a 9-page survey, and 2 blank pages), a monetary incentive, and a prepaid addressed return envelope. The survey is estimated to take 20 minutes to complete. All survey recipients will also have the opportunity, as part of the survey, to request information about practice patterns in their community. Harris Interactive will randomly assign all invited (non-VA) physicians to receive one of four incentives, included in the initial survey mailing.
Non-responders will be contacted two additional times (at approximately 2 and 4 weeks following the initial mailing) by telephone and by mail. Subsequent mailings will include the survey, a cover letter, and a stamped addressed return envelope, but no monetary incentive.
Response rates will be compared between the four arms of the trial; between check v. cash; and between different denominations.
- Conditions
- Physician Survey Response Rates
- Being tested
- $20 cash, $50 cash, $50 check, $100 check
- Keywords
- Physician survey, Mail survey, Response rate
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
$20 cashOther
$20 cash incentive mailed with survey
$50 cashOther
$50 cash incentive mailed with survey
$50 checkOther
$50 check incentive mailed with survey
$100 checkOther
$100 check incentive mailed with survey
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| $20 Cash | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: $20 cash |
| $50 Cash | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: $50 cash |
| $50 Check | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: $50 check |
| $100 Check | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: $100 check |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Survey response rate
Measured: 2 weeks, 2 months (primary), and 6 months after initial mailing
Secondary outcomes (1)
Item non-response rates
Measured: 2 weeks, 2 months (primary), and 6 months after initial mailing
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Mar 2009 (estimated)
- Study start1 Jun 2009
- Primary completion1 Jun 2010
- Study completion1 Dec 2010
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Physician Survey Response RatesStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by VA Office of Research and DevelopmentThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,000 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Sponsor type
- US federal agency
- Collaborators
- White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Brenda E Sirovich, MD MS, Principal investigator, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00853918
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IIR 03-242
- Other IDs
- DMS-17632
- Status last verified
- Oct 2017
- First submitted
- 27 Feb 2009
- Last updated
- 6 Oct 2017
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Sirovich BE, Gottlieb DJ, Welch HG, Fisher ES. Regional variations in health care intensity and physician perceptions of quality of care. Ann Intern Med. 2006 May 2;144(9):641-9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-144-9-200605020-00007.
PubMed 16670133Robertson DJ, Sirovich BE. Colorectal cancer risk following a negative colonoscopy. JAMA. 2006 Nov 22;296(20):2437; author reply 2437-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.20.2437-a. No abstract available.
PubMed 17119136Sirovich BE, Woloshin S, Schwartz LM. Too Little? Too Much? Primary care physicians' views on US health care: a brief report. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Sep 26;171(17):1582-5. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.437.
PubMed 21949169
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Oct 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Clinical Practice Intensity: Comparing VA to Private Sector Providers
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00853918
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- IIR 03-242
- Conditions
- Physician Survey Response Rates
- Keywords
- Physician survey, Mail survey, Response rate
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,000 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- VA Office of Research and DevelopmentUS federal agency
- Collaborators
- White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2009 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jun 2010 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Dec 2010 (actual)
- First posted
- 2 Mar 2009 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is a national physician mail survey examining primary care practice patterns. The experimental component of the study (the clinical trial) is a randomized trial of different monetary incentive forms and amounts for physicians invited to participate in the study. Only non-VA physicians will be included in this part of the study. (VA physicians are not allowed to receive monetary incentives.) Physicians will be randomized to receive one of four incentives. The main outcome measure is the response rate.
Detailed description
This primary care physician survey is being conducted by Harris Interactive, an international survey research firm working collaboratively under contract to VA investigators heading the study. Surveys will be mailed to a random sample of 1000 non-VA primary care general internists practicing 20 or more clinical hours per week, identified via the Physician Masterfile of the American Medical Association.
The initial survey mailing, delivered via USPS Priority Mail, will include a cover letter inviting the physician to participate, a 12-page survey booklet (including a cover page, a 9-page survey, and 2 blank pages), a monetary incentive, and a prepaid addressed return envelope. The survey is estimated to take 20 minutes to complete. All survey recipients will also have the opportunity, as part of the survey, to request information about practice patterns in their community. Harris Interactive will randomly assign all invited (non-VA) physicians to receive one of four incentives, included in the initial survey mailing.
Non-responders will be contacted two additional times (at approximately 2 and 4 weeks following the initial mailing) by telephone and by mail. Subsequent mailings will include the survey, a cover letter, and a stamped addressed return envelope, but no monetary incentive.
Response rates will be compared between the four arms of the trial; between check v. cash; and between different denominations.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| $20 Cash | Experimental | Other: $20 cash |
| $50 Cash | Experimental | Other: $50 cash |
| $50 Check | Experimental | Other: $50 check |
| $100 Check | Experimental | Other: $100 check |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Primary care general internists in the United States, identified through the AMA Physician Masterfile, who practice at least 20 hours per week are eligible to participate.
- All physicians included in the sample to whom the survey packets are mailed will be included in the analysis of the incentive experiment, except those for whom a survey packet is returned as undeliverable and those non-respondents identified through follow-up procedures as non-locatable, deceased, or retired.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Physicians self-identified in the AMA Masterfile as medical subspecialists or hospitalists are excluded from the sample.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| $20 cash$20 cash incentive mailed with survey | Other | $20 Cash |
| $50 cash$50 cash incentive mailed with survey | Other | $50 Cash |
| $50 check$50 check incentive mailed with survey | Other | $50 Check |
| $100 check$100 check incentive mailed with survey | Other | $100 Check |
Primary outcome
Survey response rate
Time frame: 2 weeks, 2 months (primary), and 6 months after initial mailing
1 secondary outcome
Item non-response rates
Time frame: 2 weeks, 2 months (primary), and 6 months after initial mailing
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 6 Oct 2017.
- Results publication: PubMed 16670133Sirovich BE, Gottlieb DJ, Welch HG, Fisher ES. Regional variations in health care intensity and physician perceptions of quality of care. Ann Intern Med. 2006 May 2;144(9):641-9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-144-9-200605020-00007.
- Results publication: PubMed 17119136Robertson DJ, Sirovich BE. Colorectal cancer risk following a negative colonoscopy. JAMA. 2006 Nov 22;296(20):2437; author reply 2437-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.20.2437-a. No abstract available.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 21949169Sirovich BE, Woloshin S, Schwartz LM. Too Little? Too Much? Primary care physicians' views on US health care: a brief report. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Sep 26;171(17):1582-5. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.437.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Brenda E Sirovich, MD MS principal investigator
White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing $20 cash, $50 cash and $50 check in people with Physician Survey Response Rates, run by VA Office of Research and Development.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Oct 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Survey response rate (time frame: 2 weeks, 2 months (primary), and 6 months after initial mailing). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00853918, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Oct 2017.