Primary Care PatientsNCT07766694
Evaluating the Preferences and Tradeoffs of AI-based Electronic Consultations for Older Adults in Primary Care
A study testing Discrete Choice Experiment Survey in people with Primary Care Patients and Primary Care Provider, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Electronic consultations, or e-consults, let a primary care doctor request medical advice from a specialist without requiring the patient to attend a separate visit. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems may be able to provide this type of advice, potentially making e-consults faster and less costly. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Primary Care Patients, Primary Care Provider
- What is being tested?
- Discrete Choice Experiment Survey
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 220 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 3 Sep 2026to Dec 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 65 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Adult, 65 years of age or older
- Had at least two office visits at Penn Medicine in the past 12 months
- Has an upcoming appointment in a Penn Medicine primary care setting, including family medicine, internal medicine, and geriatric medicine
- Adult, 18 years of age or older
- Works at Penn Medicine as one of the following: physician, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant
- Works in a primary care Penn Medicine setting including: family medicine, internal medicine, geriatrics medicine
Who cannot join
- Documented Alzheimer's, dementia, or related condition
- CLINICIANS:
- Actively in medical school, internship, or residency
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, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
Nicholas Bishop, 215-573-0779, nicholas.bishop@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
About this study
Official title: Evaluating the Safety and Appropriateness of AI-based E-Consults for Older Adults in Primary Care
Electronic consultations, or e-consults, let a primary care doctor request medical advice from a specialist without requiring the patient to attend a separate visit. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems may be able to provide this type of advice, potentially making e-consults faster and less costly. However, whether AI-based e-consults are acceptable may depend on how patients and clinicians weigh factors such as who provides the advice, how quickly it is received, its cost, and its quality.
The purpose of this study is to examine how older adult patients and primary care clinicians weigh these factors when comparing e-consults produced by a human specialist with those produced by an AI system. In the study, participants will complete a one-time survey in which they compare sets of two hypothetical e-consults. Each e-consult will include a different combination of features, such as whether the advice comes from a human or AI, the expected wait time, the cost, and the quality of the advice. This study will estimate how much patients and clinicians value each feature in an e-consult. The findings will inform the potential future AI e-consults, so they better reflect patient and clinician preferences.
- Conditions
- Primary Care Patients, Primary Care Provider
- Being tested
- Discrete Choice Experiment Survey
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Discrete Choice Experiment SurveyOther
Participants will review these e-consults systems via a one-time survey lasting about 15 minutes.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Consultation Systems | Experimental | Participants will review 2 different e-consult systems, which will differ in terms of quality, cost, wait time, and source of the e-consult. Participants will then indicate a preference for 1 e-consult system in each set. Receives: Other: Discrete Choice Experiment Survey |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Preferences and Tradeoffs of Attributes of Electronic Consults
Participants will review 12 sets comparing 2 hypothetical e-consults. Each e-consult is defined by five attributes: the source (i.e., AI vs. human), wait time, cost, and quality of the e-consult, as well as, whether follow-up questions can be asked. For each set, the outcome is the participant's selection of one e-consult over the other. We will analyze the results of the discrete choice experiment using mixed-effects logistic regression adjusted for each attribute value with crossed random effects (intercepts) for participant and task.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of the survey, approximately 15 minutes
Secondary outcomes (1)
Health Numeracy Measured by the Short Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument
Health numeracy will be measured using the 8-item Short Numeracy Understanding in Medicine instrument (S-NUMi). Each correct response contributes one point to the total score. Total scores range from 0 to 8, with higher scores indicating greater health numeracy.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of the survey, approximately 15 minutes
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Aug 2026
- Study start3 Sep 2026
- Primary completionDec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Primary Care PatientsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe 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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 220 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Gary Weissman, University of Pennsylvania
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07766694
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 26-5862
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 9 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 9 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the Safety and Appropriateness of AI-based E-Consults for Older Adults in Primary Care
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07766694
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 26-5862
- Conditions
- Primary Care Patients, Primary Care Provider
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 220 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 3 Sep 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 14 Aug 2026 (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.
Electronic consultations, or e-consults, let a primary care doctor request medical advice from a specialist without requiring the patient to attend a separate visit. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems may be able to provide this type of advice, potentially making e-consults faster and less costly. However, whether AI-based e-consults are acceptable may depend on how patients and clinicians weigh factors such as who provides the advice, how quickly it is received, its cost, and its quality.
The purpose of this study is to examine how older adult patients and primary care clinicians weigh these factors when comparing e-consults produced by a human specialist with those produced by an AI system. In the study, participants will complete a one-time survey in which they compare sets of two hypothetical e-consults. Each e-consult will include a different combination of features, such as whether the advice comes from a human or AI, the expected wait time, the cost, and the quality of the advice. This study will estimate how much patients and clinicians value each feature in an e-consult. The findings will inform the potential future AI e-consults, so they better reflect patient and clinician preferences.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Consultation Systems | Experimental | Other: Discrete Choice Experiment SurveyParticipants will review 2 different e-consult systems, which will differ in terms of quality, cost, wait time, and source of the e-consult. Participants will then indicate a preference for 1 e-consult system in each set. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Adult, 65 years of age or older
- Had at least two office visits at Penn Medicine in the past 12 months
- Has an upcoming appointment in a Penn Medicine primary care setting, including family medicine, internal medicine, and geriatric medicine
- Adult, 18 years of age or older
- Works at Penn Medicine as one of the following: physician, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Documented Alzheimer's, dementia, or related condition
- Actively in medical school, internship, or residency
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Discrete Choice Experiment SurveyParticipants will review these e-consults systems via a one-time survey lasting about 15 minutes. | Other | Electronic Consultation Systems |
Primary outcome
Preferences and Tradeoffs of Attributes of Electronic Consults
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the survey, approximately 15 minutes
Participants will review 12 sets comparing 2 hypothetical e-consults. Each e-consult is defined by five attributes: the source (i.e., AI vs. human), wait time, cost, and quality of the e-consult, as well as, whether follow-up questions can be asked. For each set, the outcome is the participant's selection of one e-consult over the other. We will analyze the results of the discrete choice experiment using mixed-effects logistic regression adjusted for each attribute value with crossed random effects (intercepts) for participant and task.
1 secondary outcome
Health Numeracy Measured by the Short Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of the survey, approximately 15 minutes
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Sep 2026.
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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.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Discrete Choice Experiment Survey in people with Primary Care Patients and Primary Care Provider, run by University of Pennsylvania 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 6 inclusion and 3 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: looking for participants now, 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?
Contact Nicholas Bishop (215-573-0779, nicholas.bishop@pennmedicine.upenn.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Preferences and Tradeoffs of Attributes of Electronic Consults (time frame: From enrollment to the end of the survey, approximately 15 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.