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Heart FailureTEAM-HFNCT02378571

Medication Adherence Telemonitoring to Reduce Heart Failure Readmissions

A study testing Medication adherence telemonitoring in people with Heart Failure, run by Columbia University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The overall purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility of conducting a large scale randomized clinical trial that compares remote monitoring of adherence to loop diuretics using a wireless electronic pillcap with usual care among recently hospitalized heart failure patients. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Heart Failure
What is being tested?
Medication adherence telemonitoring
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
40 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Dec 2014to Nov 2015
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 21 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Hospitalized for heart failure
  • Prescribed loop diuretic medication at discharge

Who cannot join

  • Age less than 21 years
  • New York Heart Association Class IV heart failure
  • Terminal illness (<6 mo prognosis)
  • Unable to self-administer medications due to mental illness or cognitive impairment
  • Non-English/Spanish speaking
  • Discharged to an institutional setting (e.g., nursing home)
Show all 10Show fewer
  • Cardiologist or primary care provider refusal
  • Unavailable for follow-up
  • No access to telephone
  • Enrolled in another cardiac trial

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Columbia University Medical Center

    New York, New York, 10032

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Telemonitoring Adherence to Medications to Reduce Heart Failure Readmissions: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

The overall purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility of conducting a large scale randomized clinical trial that compares remote monitoring of adherence to loop diuretics using a wireless electronic pillcap with usual care among recently hospitalized heart failure patients. The long-term goal of this program of research is to determine the effect of the adherence telemonitoring intervention on medication adherence and hospital readmissions among recently hospitalized heart failure patients.

Read the detailed description

Approximately one in four patients hospitalized with heart failure is readmitted within 30 days of discharge and more than 50% are readmitted within 6 months of discharge. Heart failure admissions are a major contributor to the enormous health care costs associated with heart failure. Thus far, the identification of effective interventions that prevent unnecessary readmissions has remained elusive. As a result, there is a pressing need to identify novel, cost-effective approaches to reducing heart failure readmissions. A growing body of research suggests that poor adherence to heart failure medications is a major reason for preventable heart failure readmissions. In particular, loop diuretic medications are essential to preventing the cardiopulmonary system from becoming overloaded. Patients who have been recently hospitalized may be especially vulnerable to adherence problems as a result of the stress of the recent hospitalization which commonly induces sleep deprivation, nutritional deficiency, physical deconditioning, cognitive impairment, and even delirium. Recent advances in wireless health now enable us to remotely, unobtrusively, and objectively monitor adherence to heart failure medications in the post-discharge period. Early identification of non-adherence to loop diuretic medications has the prevention to prevent a volume overloaded state that leads to a heart failure readmission. As patients who are non-adherent to their loop diuretics may also be non-adherent to other recommended self-management behaviors, early identification of medication nonadherence may provide the context to identify other gaps in self-management. To test our hypothesis that it is feasible to conduct a randomized trial of wireless, medication adherence monitoring with feedback to patients and clinicians, the investigators will enroll 40 patients who are hospitalized for heart failure and discharged on a diuretic medication. Patients will be randomized to 1) usual heart failure care + telemonitoring adherence to diuretic medications (INT); N=20 or 2) usual heart failure care (CTR); N=20. All patients will be asked to take their diuretic medication from a standard pill bottle covered by an electronic pill cap (GlowCap), but only patients assigned to the intervention arm will have their adherence telemonitored by a study clinician in real-time. Patients will have their adherence to medications measured in this fashion for 30 days after discharge. Patients will be contacted at 30 days to determine if they have been hospitalized and to collect other self-reported outcomes data.

Conditions
Heart Failure
Being tested
Medication adherence telemonitoring
Keywords
Medication adherence, Hospital readmissions
Medical subject headings
Heart Failure, Medication Adherence

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Medication adherence telemonitoringBehavioural

    The member of the study team will respond to adherence data using clinical judgment as they would if the information was obtained during clinical care. Specifically, when contacting nonadherent participants, the member of the study team will provide participants with feedback on their electronic adherence; will inquire about potential consequences of missed doses; and will assess and respond to reasons for missed doses.

Study groups in NCT02378571
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Usual careNo interventionParticipants assigned to usual care will also be provided with a GlowCap prior to discharge and will be instructed to take their loop diuretic from this bottle and to notify the study team about prescribed dose changes. This information, however, will solely be used to measure medication adherence and will not be provided to a member of the study team nor to any of the participants' health care providers until the completion of the study period, at least 1 month later. Participants will not be provided with any advice on heart failure adherence.
Medication adherence telemonitoringExperimentalAt discharge, participants in the intervention group will be instructed to take their loop diuretic exclusively from the GlowCap in the manner prescribed by their physician. A study team member will review the adherence data on a daily basis (except holidays and weekends) during the first 7 days after discharge, and then on, at minimum, a weekly basis. The study team member will respond to adherence data using clinical judgment as they would if the information was obtained during clinical care. Specifically, when contacting nonadherent participants, the member of the study team will provide participants with feedback on their electronic adherence; will inquire about potential consequences of missed doses; and will assess and respond to reasons for missed doses.
Receives: Behavioral: Medication adherence telemonitoring

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Percentage of days participants take the correct number of doses of their diuretic

    Loop diuretic adherence: Adherence to the diuretic medication will be electronically measured using GlowCaps (Vitality Inc.) in the 30 days after hospitalization. Medication adherence will be calculated as the percent of days participants take the correct number of doses of their diuretic. Days when participants are incapable of taking their medication from the GlowCap bottle (e.g., while hospitalized) will be censored from calculations.

    Measured: 30 days post-discharge

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. Score on the Self Care Heart Failure Index

    Heart Failure Symptoms, Self-Efficacy for self-managing heart failure, and Self-Management Behaviors will be measured using Self Care Heart Failure Index

    Measured: 30 days post-discharge

  2. Proportion very or extremely satisfied with heart failure care

    Satisfaction with Heart Failure Care will be assessed by asking participants "Overall, how satisfied are you with the care you have been receiving for your heart problems over the last 30 days?" Response options will include: "not at all satisfied", "a little satisfied", "very satisfied," and "extremely satisfied."

    Measured: 30 days post-discharge

  3. Number of readmissions and emergency room visits

    Readmissions and emergency room visits will be assessed by contacting participants or their close contacts at 30 days. Hospital records will be reviewed to confirm readmissions, to determine the reason for readmission or emergency room visit (heart failure versus other), and to determine whether it was related to medication nonadherence.

    Measured: 30 days post-discharge

  4. Proportion attending at least 1 scheduled outpatient clinic visit within 30 days of discharge

    Attendance at scheduled outpatient clinic visits will be assessed by contacting participants or their close contacts at 30 days. Hospital records will be reviewed, when available, to determine whether and how medication adherence was addressed during the visit.

    Measured: 30 days post-discharge

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Mar 2015 (estimated)
  2. Study startDec 2014
  3. Primary completionOct 2015
  4. Study completionNov 2015

Resources

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
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
40 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02378571
Sponsor's protocol ID
AAAO3305
Acronym
TEAM-HF
Status last verified
Jan 2018
First submitted
27 Feb 2015
Last updated
23 Jan 2018
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Gallagher BD, Moise N, Haerizadeh M, Ye S, Medina V, Kronish IM. Telemonitoring Adherence to Medications in Heart Failure Patients (TEAM-HF): A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial. J Card Fail. 2017 Apr;23(4):345-349. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2016.11.001. Epub 2016 Nov 3.

    PubMed 27818309

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Medication adherence telemonitoring in people with Heart Failure, run by Columbia University at 1 site in United States.

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 10 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 23 Jan 2018. 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 United States. 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?

Percentage of days participants take the correct number of doses of their diuretic (time frame: 30 days post-discharge). 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 NCT02378571, 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 23 Jan 2018.

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