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Electronic Health RecordsNCT07206550

The Role of Framing and Choice Architecture in Patients' Reactions and EHR Error Discovery and Reporting

A study testing Framing in people with Electronic Health Records, run by The University of Texas at Dallas at 1 site in United States.

Enrolling by invitation

Enrolling by invitation. The study team selects and invites participants, usually from an existing group of patients.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The first goal of our research is to understand the effects of different wordings of certain messages on patients' engagement in reviewing their electronic health records (EHRs). These messages will be about EHR errors and their potential consequences, as well as the benefits that might accrue from reviewing EHRs. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 99 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Electronic Health Records
What is being tested?
Framing
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
3,000 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
26 Nov 2025to 30 Sep 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 to 99 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Subjects should have access to their patient portal
  • Subjects should have checked their EHR in the past 12 months

Who cannot join

  • Not having access to their patient portal
  • Not having checked their EHR in the past 12 months

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

United States1 site
  • Naveen Jindal School of Management, The University of Texas at Dallas

    Richardson, Texas, 75080

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: The Role of Framing and Choice Architecture in Patients' Reactions and Electronic Health Records' Error Discovery and Reporting

The first goal of our research is to understand the effects of different wordings of certain messages on patients' engagement in reviewing their electronic health records (EHRs). These messages will be about EHR errors and their potential consequences, as well as the benefits that might accrue from reviewing EHRs. The second goal is to understand the effects of different wordings of certain messages on patients' discovery and reporting of potential errors in their electronic health records (EHRs).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Read more
  1. Does focusing on the negative OR positive consequences of EHR errors in the investigator's messages to people, increase their likelihood of reviewing their EHRs?
  2. Does focusing on the negative OR positive consequences of EHR errors in the investigators' messages to people, increase their likelihood of discovery and reporting of potential errors in their EHRs?

First, participants will take an initial short online survey (for about 5 minutes).

Next, participants will be asked to log into their patient portal and review their EHRs, a process that should take around 10 minutes.

Finally, they will proceed with the same survey for an additional 5 minutes, providing responses about their healthcare provider, patient portals, EHR errors, and some basic demographic details.

Read the detailed description

This study involves an online experiment aimed at assessing patient engagement in discovering and reporting errors in Electronic Health Records (EHRs). It is being conducted by Dr. Ryan Raimi from the Information Systems Area at The University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with Dr. Idris Adjerid from the Business Information Technology Department at Virginia Tech, along with Dr. Anish K. Agarwal and Dr. Raina M. Merchant from the Emergency Medicine Department at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. The research involves no deception and presents no more than minimal risk to participants, similar to the risks encountered in everyday life.

Participation typically takes no more than 20 minutes and is completely confidential. To begin, participants will voluntarily consent to take part in the study. If participants agree to participate, the study process will involve the following steps:

Survey Participation: Initially, participants will complete a short survey lasting about 5 minutes, where participants will answer questions about trust, distrust, and privacy concerns.

EHR Review: Next, participants will be instructed to access their patient portal and review their EHRs, which will take approximately 10 minutes.

Final Survey: Afterward, participants will continue the same survey for another 5 minutes, answering questions about their healthcare provider, patient portals, EHR errors, and some basic demographic information.

All responses are kept confidential, and no individual participant data will be identified. The data will be aggregated and published in a summary form only. Although the study is hosted on a secure https server, there is a minimal risk of unauthorized access (e.g., by hackers). Participants' Prolific IDs will not be linked to participants' survey responses, and the investigators will not access any personally identifying information on participants' Prolific Academic profiles.

Participation is voluntary, and choosing not to participate will not affect participants' rights or benefits. Participants may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits.

Being tested
Framing
Keywords
Electronic Health Records, EHR error, error discovery, error reporting, patient portal

What participants receive

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

  • FramingBehavioural

    The participants will receive different messages using different terms and behavioral framings, encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors. These wording variations are expected to induce variance in subjects' behaviors with regard to the likelihood of reviewing EHRs, as well as discovering and reporting potential errors in them.

Study groups in NCT07206550
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Control groupNo interventionThe participants in this arm will not receive any message, encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors.
Gain Framing x Egocentric x "Errors"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "errors", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an error in your EHR. This is a great opportunity to act as your own best advocate, check your EHRs to identify any potential errors, and improve your health outcomes."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Egocentric x "Errors"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "errors", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an error in your EHR. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save yourself from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential error in your EHR."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Gain Framing x Allocentric x "Errors"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "errors", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an error in your EHR. Such errors can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. This is a great opportunity to act in the interest of your loved ones by improving your health outcomes via checking your EHRs to identify any potential errors. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Allocentric x "Errors"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "errors", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an error in your EHR. Such errors can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save your loved ones from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential error in your EHR. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Gain Framing x Egocentric x "Unintended Mistakes"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "unintended mistakes", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an unintended mistake in your EHR. This is a great opportunity to act as your own best advocate, check your EHRs to identify any potential unintended mistakes, and improve your health outcomes."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Egocentric x "Unintended Mistakes"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "unintended mistakes", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an unintended mistake in your EHR. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save yourself from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential unintended mistake in your EHR."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Gain Framing x Allocentric x "Unintended Mistakes"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "unintended mistakes", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an unintended mistake in your EHR. Such unintended mistakes can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. This is a great opportunity to act in the interest of your loved ones by improving your health outcomes via checking your EHRs to identify any potential unintended mistakes. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Allocentric x "Unintended Mistakes"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "unintended mistakes", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an unintended mistake in your EHR. Such unintended mistakes can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save your loved ones from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential unintended mistake in your EHR. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Gain Framing x Egocentric x "Inaccuracies"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "inaccuracies", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an inaccuracy in your EHR. This is a great opportunity to act as your own best advocate, check your EHRs to identify any potential inaccuracies, and improve your health outcomes."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Egocentric x "Inaccuracies"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "inaccuracies", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an e inaccuracy in your EHR. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save yourself from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential inaccuracy in your EHR."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Gain Framing x Allocentric x "Inaccuracies"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "inaccuracies", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an inaccuracy in your EHR. Such inaccuracies can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. This is a great opportunity to act in the interest of your loved ones by improving your health outcomes via checking your EHRs to identify any potential inaccuracies. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing
Loss Framing x Allocentric x "Inaccuracies"Active comparatorThe participants in this arm will receive the following message using the term "inaccuracies", encouraging them to review their EHRs and report any potential errors: "If you review your medical record, there is a 20% risk of having an inaccuracy in your EHR. Such inaccuracies can also affect those close to us not just ourselves. Taking no action could lead to severe health-related consequences and occasionally be deadly. Act now and save your loved ones from experiencing the preventable negative consequences of having a potential inaccuracy in your EHR. Your loved ones will thank you for prioritizing your safety."
Receives: Behavioral: Framing

What is being measured

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

  1. Reviewing EHRs

    Whether or not a subject reviews their EHR

    Measured: From starting the initial survey through study completion, an average of 20 minutes

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. EHR error discovery

    Whether or not the subject has discovered an error in their EHR

    Measured: From starting the initial survey through study completion, an average of 20 minutes

  2. EHR error reporting

    Whether or not the subject has reported an error in their EHR

    Measured: From starting the initial survey through study completion, an average of 20 minutes

Timeline

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

  1. First posted3 Oct 2025
  2. Study start26 Nov 2025
  3. Primary completion30 Sep 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Sep 2026 (estimated)

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
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Factorial
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider
Enrolment
3,000 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07206550
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB-26-19
Status last verified
Jun 2026
First submitted
18 Sep 2025
Last updated
9 Sep 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: Individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in this study-after de-identification-will be made available to qualified researchers upon reasonable request. This includes participant survey responses and relevant metadata (e.g., time stamps, completion status), but will exclude any personally identifying information. Data will be available beginning 6 months after publication of the primary results and for a period of 2 years. Requests must include a methodologically sound proposal and will be reviewed by the study investigators. Approved requests will require a data use agreement to ensure responsible use and protection of participant privacy. Data will be shared via a secure data repository or encrypted file transfer, depending on the nature of the request.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Framing in people with Electronic Health Records, run by The University of Texas at Dallas 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 2 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: enrolling by invitation, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Sep 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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?

Reviewing EHRs (time frame: From starting the initial survey through study completion, an average of 20 minutes). 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 9 Sep 2026.

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