Emergency Service, HospitalNCT06818825
Nudging High Emergency Department Utilizers to Consider Non-emergent Healthcare Resources
A study testing Automated interactive messages and Live outreach in people with Emergency Service, Hospital, run by Geisinger Clinic at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this campaign is to reduce unnecessary ED visits by providing patients who are high ED utilizers (with a visit of any acuity) with alternative resources to manage their health outside of the ED. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Emergency Service, Hospital
- What is being tested?
- Automated interactive messages and Live outreach
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,126 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 3 Feb 2025to 20 Sep 2025
- 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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Geisinger Health Plan insurance or KACO membership
- Any PCP or no PCP
- Visit of any acuity
- 4 or more ED visits in the past 6 months
Who cannot join
- Institutionalized
- Cannot be contacted via the communication modality being used in the study (i.e., SMS), due to insufficient/missing contact information in the electronic health record or because the patient opted out
- Admitted to hospital
- Eloped from ED
- Left ED without being seen
- Deceased prior to messaging
- Qualifies for more intensive care management due to higher-level category of complexity
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Geisinger Health System
Danville, Pennsylvania, 17822
About this study
Official title: Point of ED Discharge Interactive Outreach: High ED Utilizers
The goal of this campaign is to reduce unnecessary ED visits by providing patients who are high ED utilizers (with a visit of any acuity) with alternative resources to manage their health outside of the ED. In this campaign, patients will be randomized to receive one of two types of outreach following discharge aligned with the goal. Outreach may occur via (1) a phone call from a Geisinger Community Health Worker (CHW) or Community Medical Assistant (CMA); current standard practice or (2) an interactive chatbot message providing similar information and questions to those provided by the CHW/CMA. The study team will measure whether ED use differs across patients in different outreach conditions. The study team will also examine whether patients followed through on the message-specific calls to action in the messages differently across conditions.
- Conditions
- Emergency Service, Hospital
- Being tested
- Automated interactive messages, Live outreach
- Medical subject headings
- Emergencies
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Automated interactive messagesBehavioural
Also called Text
High ED utilizers will be sent SMS text messages guiding them through ED-alternative resources, with different guidance (including a follow-up phone call from a healthcare worker) depending on patient responses.
Live outreachBehavioural
Also called Call
High ED utilizers will be called (and possibly visited) by a CHW/CMA guiding them through ED-alternative resources.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Community Health Worker/Community Medical Assistant Outreach | Active comparator | Patients will receive outreach from a community health worker or a community medical assistant, as is current standard practice, including guidance about ED-alternative resources to encourage care outside of the ED when appropriate. Receives: Behavioral: Live outreach |
| SMS Chatbot Messages | Experimental | Patients will be sent interactive SMS chatbot messages, including guidance about ED-alternative resources to encourage care outside of the ED when appropriate; patients will not receive outreach from a community health worker or community medical assistant. Receives: Behavioral: Automated interactive messages |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Return to ED (Y/N)
Patient had a new Geisinger ED encounter after being discharged
Measured: Within 120 calendar days following day of discharge
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Feb 2025
- Study start3 Feb 2025
- Primary completion20 Sep 2025
- Study completion20 Sep 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Emergency Service, HospitalStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- 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
- 1,126 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Geisinger Clinic
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Amir Goren, Geisinger Clinic
- Investigators
- Amir Goren, PhD, Principal investigator, Geisinger Clinic
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06818825
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2024-0686
- Status last verified
- Mar 2026
- First submitted
- 29 Jan 2025
- Last updated
- 13 Mar 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Mar 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Point of ED Discharge Interactive Outreach: High ED Utilizers
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06818825
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2024-0686
- Conditions
- Emergency Service, Hospital
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,126 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Geisinger ClinicUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 3 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 20 Sep 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 20 Sep 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 11 Feb 2025 (actual)
- 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.
The goal of this campaign is to reduce unnecessary ED visits by providing patients who are high ED utilizers (with a visit of any acuity) with alternative resources to manage their health outside of the ED. In this campaign, patients will be randomized to receive one of two types of outreach following discharge aligned with the goal. Outreach may occur via (1) a phone call from a Geisinger Community Health Worker (CHW) or Community Medical Assistant (CMA); current standard practice or (2) an interactive chatbot message providing similar information and questions to those provided by the CHW/CMA. The study team will measure whether ED use differs across patients in different outreach conditions. The study team will also examine whether patients followed through on the message-specific calls to action in the messages differently across conditions.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Community Health Worker/Community Medical Assistant Outreach | Active comparator | Behavioral: Live outreachPatients will receive outreach from a community health worker or a community medical assistant, as is current standard practice, including guidance about ED-alternative resources to encourage care outside of the ED when appropriate. |
| SMS Chatbot Messages | Experimental | Behavioral: Automated interactive messagesPatients will be sent interactive SMS chatbot messages, including guidance about ED-alternative resources to encourage care outside of the ED when appropriate; patients will not receive outreach from a community health worker or community medical assistant. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Geisinger Health Plan insurance or KACO membership
- Any PCP or no PCP
- Visit of any acuity
- 4 or more ED visits in the past 6 months
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- Institutionalized
- Cannot be contacted via the communication modality being used in the study (i.e., SMS), due to insufficient/missing contact information in the electronic health record or because the patient opted out
- Admitted to hospital
- Eloped from ED
- Left ED without being seen
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Automated interactive messagesAlso: TextHigh ED utilizers will be sent SMS text messages guiding them through ED-alternative resources, with different guidance (including a follow-up phone call from a healthcare worker) depending on patient responses. | Behavioural | SMS Chatbot Messages |
| Live outreachAlso: CallHigh ED utilizers will be called (and possibly visited) by a CHW/CMA guiding them through ED-alternative resources. | Behavioural | Community Health Worker/Community Medical Assistant Outreach |
Primary outcome
Return to ED (Y/N)
Time frame: Within 120 calendar days following day of discharge
Patient had a new Geisinger ED encounter after being discharged
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 13 Mar 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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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.
Amir Goren, PhD principal investigator
Geisinger Clinic
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Automated interactive messages and Live outreach in people with Emergency Service, Hospital, run by Geisinger Clinic 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 4 inclusion and 7 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 13 Mar 2026. 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?
Return to ED (Y/N) (time frame: Within 120 calendar days following day of discharge). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 13 Mar 2026.