NCT03746392

Project to Improve Communication About Serious Illness - Pilot Study

Using the Electronic Health Record to Identify and Promote Goals-of-Care Communication

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 150 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Washington · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This two-year pilot study will test whether a one-page "Jumpstart Form" will affect goals-of-care discussions in the hospital. This form will be provided to clinicians and will include patient-specific information about preferences for goals-of-care communication and for care, as well as tips to improve this communication. Jumpstart forms will also be provided to patients or, if they are unable to communicate, their surrogates/family members. The information on the form will be obtained from questionnaires. The form is tailored to help patients and surrogates talk with clinicians about goals of care. This study is based on a successful application of Jumpstart Form in the outpatient clinic setting.

Conditions

• Malignant Neoplasm
• Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell
• Lung Disease Chronic
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Liver Failures, Chronic
• Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
• Dementia
• Diabetes Complications
• Peripheral Vascular Disease
• Frail Elderly

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Jumpstart Intervention	The intervention has 4 steps: use electronic medical record (EHR) to identify seriously ill, hospitalized patients with no documentation of a goals-of-care (GOC) discussion during their current admission; the enrolled patient or his/her surrogate completes a survey assessing preferences for discussions about GOC, barriers to having such discussions, and current GOC which is used to create a "Jumpstart" form designed to prompt and guide a GOC discussion between the patient or surrogate and the clinicians caring for the patient; use natural language processing/machine learning (NLP/ML) approach to identify GOC discussions or advance directives in the EHR that occurred prior to admission and include this information on the Jumpstart form; and, deliver the Jumpstart form to the primary clinician team. The patient or surrogate is also provided with a version of the form.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-07-01
• Primary completion: 2020-06-30
• Completion: 2020-06-30
• First posted: 2018-11-19
• Last updated: 2025-08-22
• Results posted: 2025-08-22

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States