CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT02411409Updated May 9, 2024

Impact of the CommunityRx Program on Health, Service Utilization and Costs

An interventional study of HealtheRx in Connecting Patients to Self-care Resources, sponsored by University of Chicago. Completed at 1 site in United States. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-05-09.

Sponsored by University of Chicago · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Mar 2013, registered Jul 2014).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
113,295
Allocation
Non-randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The CommunityRx system generates patient-centered e-prescriptions for community services (HealtheRx) via an interface between the electronic health records (EHR) and a comprehensive community resource database. Based on a patient's diagnoses, a HealtheRx will be printed automatically at the end of the ambulatory care visit and will provide patients with a customized map and/or list of places in their community that provide health and social services as well as contact information for a local community health worker who can provide limited case management support. The CommunityRx program aims to promote: 1) better healthcare, 2) better health, and 3) lower cost. The purpose of this research is to systematically evaluate the impact of CommunityRx on health outcomes as well as health care service utilization and total cost of care for Medicaid, Medicare and other beneficiaries. The investigators hypothesize that beneficiaries who participate in the CommunityRx intervention will experience better healthcare, better health and lower total cost of care.

02

Conditions studied

  • Connecting Patients to Self-care Resources

Keywords

  • Health Information Technology (HIT)
  • self-care
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of Chicago is the lead sponsor of 907 studies on the registry; 182 are open to participants now.

Of its 99 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 68 (69%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Intervention group eligibility: Patients receiving ambulatory care at a clinical site connected to CommunityRx who live in the CommunityRx geography. Control group eligibility: Patients receiving care at a clinical site connected to CommunityRx who live outside the CommunityRx geography.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients receiving care at a clinical site not connected to CommunityRx.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
113,295 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention group

    This group of patients receives the HealtheRx.

    Behavioral: HealtheRx

  • No intervention
    Control group

    This group of patients does not receive the HealtheRx

Interventions

  • BehavioralHealtheRx

    The HealtheRx is a prescription for community self-care resources. It includes a printed list of self-care resources provided to the patient at an ambulatory visit and tailored based on data from the electronic medical record.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in cost per beneficiary per year

    Cost per beneficiary per year

    Time frame: Annual, up to 6 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in emergency department visit rate

    Hospital emergency department visit rate, overall and for patients diagnosed with a) diabetes, b) hypertension, and c) asthma

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 72 months

  2. Change in HbA1c control

    Percentage of patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes (type 1 or type 2) who had hemoglobin A1c \> 9.0 %.

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 72 months

  3. Change in controlling high blood pressure

    % of patients \>=18 years old with hypertension diagnosis and a most recent BP measure \<140/90mg

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 72 months

  4. Change in body mass index

    Percentage of patients overweight or obese (BMI \>=25.0 and \<30, BMI \>=30)

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 72 months

  5. Change in inpatient admission rate

    Average number of in patient admissions per person

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 72 months

  6. Change in participant satisfaction (percentage of participants reporting they are satisfied with the HealtheRx)

    Program participant satisfaction survey, percentage of participants reporting they are satisfied with the HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  7. Change in provider satisfaction ( percent of providers reporting they are satisfied with the HealtheRx system)

    Provider satisfaction survey, percent of providers reporting they are satisfied with the HealtheRx system

    Time frame: Every 6 months, up to 60 months

  8. Change in rate of participant use of community-based service providers listed on HealtheRx

    Program participant survey, percent of participants who report using at least 1 service listed on their HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  9. Change in HealtheRx reach (proportion of the population in the geography who receive at least 1 HealtheRx)

    The proportion of the population in the geography who receive at least 1 HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  10. Change in HealtheRx delivery (providers communicate to patients about the HealtheRx)

    providers communicate to patients about the HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  11. Change in HealtheRx usefulness (participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that their HealtheRx is useful)

    Program participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that their HealtheRx is useful

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  12. Change in HealtheRx Understandability (participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that their HealtheRx is easy to understand)

    Program participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that their HealtheRx is easy to understand

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  13. Change in information sharing (participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that they shared information about the HealtheRx with someone else)

    Program participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that they shared information about the HealtheRx with someone else

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  14. Change in knowledge about resources (participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that they did not know about some of the places listed on their HealtheRx)

    Program participant survey, the percent of program participants who report that they did not know about some of the places listed on their HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  15. Change in provider confidence in serving social needs (Provider satisfaction survey,)

    Provider satisfaction survey, the proportion of providers reporting they are confident in their ability to serve their patients social needs

    Time frame: Every 6 months, up to 60 months

Other outcomes

  1. Change in technical problems with the CommunityRx system (e.g., number of times system does not work properly)

    The number of technical problems experienced with the CommunityRx system (e.g., number of times system does not work properly)

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  2. Change in % of eligible patients receiving a HealtheRx

    CommunityRx database and electronic medical records, the proportion of eligible patients who receive a HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  3. Change in number of places mapped (community organizations, identified in the geographic region)

    Number of places, or community organizations, identified in the geographic region

    Time frame: Every year, up to 6 years

  4. Change in number of CommunityRx reports delivered (Number of CommunityRx reports created and given to community organizations)

    Number of CommunityRx reports created and given to community organizations

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  5. Change in number of times a community health information specialist is contacted (CHIS call tracker)

    CHIS call tracker, number of times a program participant contacted a CHIS

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  6. Change in referrals by service type (number of referrals, or number of times a service was listed on a HealtheRx)

    CommunityRx database, number of referrals, or number of times a service was listed on a HealtheRx

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

  7. Change in services identified (number of services identified as available at community organizations0

    Service level survey, count of number of services identified as available at community organizations

    Time frame: Every 3 months, up to 60 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Chicago
    Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 9, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02411409
Lead sponsor
University of Chicago
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 8, 2015
Start date
Mar 2013
Primary completion
Dec 2016
Completion
Dec 2023
Last update
May 9, 2024

Study contacts

Stacy Lindau, MD, MAPP
principal investigator · University of Chicago

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in May 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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