NCT06443385

E-mails to Nudge Safer and Better-Informed Prescribing of Risky Drugs

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 7,872 (actual)
• Sponsor: Columbia University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will test e-mails to encourage engagement with the Minnesota prescription monitoring program (PMP/PDMP) and will evaluate the effect of these e-mails on PMP/PDMP use and controlled substance prescribing.

Detailed description

Drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed in recent years, and many overdoses continue to involve prescribed medications like opioids and stimulants. At the same time, state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), which help clinicians prescribe these medications safely, remain underused. In Minnesota, 32% of opioid prescriptions are written by clinicians who do not use the PDMP. In many states, including Minnesota, policymakers have limited tools to raise PDMP use even though it is often required under state law. To address this policy dilemma, this study will test e-mails designed to facilitate PDMP use and evaluate their effects on PDMP use and controlled substance prescribing. This study will include a projected 7,126 physician and physician assistant prescribers of opioids and other controlled substances who lack active PDMP accounts, never query the PDMP, or query the PDMP infrequently relative to their prescribing volume. To generate evidence on clinician motivation for responding to encouragement, the study will randomly vary messaging to focus on legal requirements to use the PDMP vs. clinical benefits of the PDMP.

Conditions

• Opioid Prescribing
• Prescription Drug Misuse

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	PDMP Legal Mandate E-mail	E-mails highlighting the state's legal requirements to use the PDMP. There will be one initial email and one follow-up email one month later.
BEHAVIORAL	PDMP Clinical Benefit E-mail	E-mails highlighting the clinical benefits of having access to the PDMP and checking the PDMP before prescribing opioids. There will be one initial email and one follow-up email one month later.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-07-17
• Primary completion: 2024-09-14
• Completion: 2025-09-24
• First posted: 2024-06-05
• Last updated: 2026-02-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States