Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care TeamFace2NameNCT01658644
Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction, Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care
A study testing Provision of Clinical Care Handout in people with Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team and Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication, run by University Health Network, Toronto at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
Communication is critical within healthcare, and is the root cause of most errors. With increased adoption and use of new information technologies and mediated communication systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), that support visual content, hospitals can begin to look at the potential of photographic aids… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Overall Patient Satisfaction
- What is being tested?
- Provision of Clinical Care Handout
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 256 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- Aug 2012to May 2013
- 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
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Must be admitted as an in-patient in the GIM ward at Toronto General Hospital.
- The ability of the patient to provide informed consent.
Who cannot join
- Patients with significant confusion, delirium or dementia will be screen by asking orientation to place and time.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction,Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care
Communication is critical within healthcare, and is the root cause of most errors. With increased adoption and use of new information technologies and mediated communication systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), that support visual content, hospitals can begin to look at the potential of photographic aids to improve patient satisfaction, clinician communication, and ultimately quality of care. Having pictures of clinicians and patients may improve communication by improving knowledge of who is part of the care team and may reduce electronic ordering or documentation on the wrong patient.
Despite the importance of communication between clinicians and the many advances within information and communication technologies, there is a lack of literature documenting systems that are effective at improving communication. Our research study will provide an overview on the communication models and technologies used in Canadian hospitals and add insights to the impacts of these technological adoption.
Read more
Research Question: How does the use of photographic influence patients' hospital experience?
Specifically, do photographic aids (photographs of clinicians' faces) influence:
- Patient's ability to identify their clinical care team members
- Patient's ability to identify their care team members and know their individual roles
- Patient's satisfaction with their hospital experience
Read the detailed description
The investigators will conduct interviews of a cross-sectional sample of patients for up to one year. There will be 2 visits during the study. The first visit should last for 15 minutes (to get consent), the second visit should last somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. The research team created a structured survey tool designed to characterize patients' knowledge of the names and roles of their health care professionals and understanding of their plan of care, which includes some semi-structured questions to assess patient satisfaction with their hospital experience. This survey tool will be administered to participating patients each weekday during the study period, prior to their discharge from the hospital.
At the first visit, depending on whether the participant was previously assigned to group A, B or C, participants will be provided with a piece of paper listing the names of the members of their clinical care team (group B), or a piece of paper with a list of names and photographs of the members of their clinical care team (group C), or no paper at all (group A) which is currently the typical communication experience at the hospital.
There is no compensation for participation in the study.
- Conditions
- Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Overall Patient Satisfaction
- Being tested
- Provision of Clinical Care Handout
- Keywords
- Patient satisfaction, Memory recall, Patient-clinician communication, health communication, clinical care team recall, hospital quality of care
- Medical subject headings
- Patient Satisfaction
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Provision of Clinical Care HandoutOther
Patients assigned to groups B or C will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying either a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff (group B), or a list of names and roles accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician (group C). This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | No intervention | Patients participating in group A, will not be exposed to any interventions, they will partake in the typical hospital and communication experience. |
| Group B (text handout) | Experimental | Patients assigned to group B will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff; each name will NOT be accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician. This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital. Receives: Other: Provision of Clinical Care Handout |
| Group C (text & image handout) | Experimental | Patients assigned to group C will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff; each name will also be accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician. This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital. Receives: Other: Provision of Clinical Care Handout |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Patient's memory recall of their clinical care team
Measure if there are changes in the amount of clinicians patients recognize. Measure if they are changes in the amount of clinicians' names patients can remember.
Measured: up to 1 year
Secondary outcomes (1)
Patients' satisfaction with clinician communication
Measured: up to one year
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Aug 2012 (estimated)
- Study startAug 2012
- Primary completionMay 2013
- Study completionMay 2013
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care TeamStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University Health Network, TorontoThe 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
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 256 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University Health Network, Toronto
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01658644
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 12-0392-BE
- Acronym
- Face2Name
- Status last verified
- Aug 2012
- First submitted
- 1 Aug 2012
- Last updated
- 7 Apr 2014
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Appel L, Abrams H, Morra D, Wu RC. Put a face to a name: a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of providing clinician photographs on inpatients' recall. Am J Med. 2015 Jan;128(1):82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.08.035. Epub 2014 Sep 28.
PubMed 25261009
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 7 Apr 2014. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction,Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01658644
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Face2Name / 12-0392-BE
- Conditions
- Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication, Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Overall Patient Satisfaction
- Keywords
- Patient satisfaction, Memory recall, Patient-clinician communication, health communication, clinical care team recall, hospital quality of care
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 256 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University Health Network, TorontoUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Aug 2012
- Primary completion
- May 2013 (actual)
- Study completion
- May 2013 (actual)
- First posted
- 7 Aug 2012 (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.
Communication is critical within healthcare, and is the root cause of most errors. With increased adoption and use of new information technologies and mediated communication systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), that support visual content, hospitals can begin to look at the potential of photographic aids to improve patient satisfaction, clinician communication, and ultimately quality of care. Having pictures of clinicians and patients may improve communication by improving knowledge of who is part of the care team and may reduce electronic ordering or documentation on the wrong patient.
Despite the importance of communication between clinicians and the many advances within information and communication technologies, there is a lack of literature documenting systems that are effective at improving communication. Our research study will provide an overview on the communication models and technologies used in Canadian hospitals and add insights to the impacts of these technological adoption.
Research Question: How does the use of photographic influence patients' hospital experience?
Specifically, do photographic aids (photographs of clinicians' faces) influence:
- Patient's ability to identify their clinical care team members
- Patient's ability to identify their care team members and know their individual roles
- Patient's satisfaction with their hospital experience
Detailed description
The investigators will conduct interviews of a cross-sectional sample of patients for up to one year. There will be 2 visits during the study. The first visit should last for 15 minutes (to get consent), the second visit should last somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. The research team created a structured survey tool designed to characterize patients' knowledge of the names and roles of their health care professionals and understanding of their plan of care, which includes some semi-structured questions to assess patient satisfaction with their hospital experience. This survey tool will be administered to participating patients each weekday during the study period, prior to their discharge from the hospital.
At the first visit, depending on whether the participant was previously assigned to group A, B or C, participants will be provided with a piece of paper listing the names of the members of their clinical care team (group B), or a piece of paper with a list of names and photographs of the members of their clinical care team (group C), or no paper at all (group A) which is currently the typical communication experience at the hospital.
There is no compensation for participation in the study.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | No intervention | –Patients participating in group A, will not be exposed to any interventions, they will partake in the typical hospital and communication experience. |
| Group B (text handout) | Experimental | Other: Provision of Clinical Care HandoutPatients assigned to group B will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff; each name will NOT be accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician. This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital. |
| Group C (text & image handout) | Experimental | Other: Provision of Clinical Care HandoutPatients assigned to group C will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff; each name will also be accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician. This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Must be admitted as an in-patient in the GIM ward at Toronto General Hospital.
- The ability of the patient to provide informed consent.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patients with significant confusion, delirium or dementia will be screen by asking orientation to place and time.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Provision of Clinical Care HandoutPatients assigned to groups B or C will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying either a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff (group B), or a list of names and roles accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician (group C). This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital. | Other | Group B (text handout), Group C (text & image handout) |
Primary outcome
Patient's memory recall of their clinical care team
Time frame: up to 1 year
Measure if there are changes in the amount of clinicians patients recognize. Measure if they are changes in the amount of clinicians' names patients can remember.
1 secondary outcome
Patients' satisfaction with clinician communication
Time frame: up to one year
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 7 Apr 2014.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 25261009Appel L, Abrams H, Morra D, Wu RC. Put a face to a name: a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of providing clinician photographs on inpatients' recall. Am J Med. 2015 Jan;128(1):82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.08.035. Epub 2014 Sep 28.
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.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Provision of Clinical Care Handout in people with Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team and Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication, run by University Health Network, Toronto at 1 site in Canada.
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 7 Apr 2014. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
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?
Patient's memory recall of their clinical care team (time frame: up to 1 year). 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 NCT01658644, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 7 Apr 2014.