An interventional study of Discovery Rounding and Standard Rounding in Physician Rounds and Communication, sponsored by Duke University. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-29.
Sponsored by Duke University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
This study will include patients admitted to the Antepartum service at Duke University Hospital, many of whom are managing high-risk pregnancies that require extended hospital stays and frequent physician interactions. Currently, two rounding methods are used interchangeably for patients who do not have pregnancy or delivery complications that would preclude participation in delayed daytime rounding. This randomized controlled trial will compare two rounding models: the standard model, in which patients receive two rounds (an early morning bedside encounter and a later team discussion), and the intervention model, which consolidates both rounds into a single, later-morning bedside encounter following the team's review of clinical data. The primary objective is to assess whether consolidating physician rounds into a single, later-morning encounter-referred to as discovery rounding-improves patient satisfaction with communication.
183 studies on the registry are indexed under Communication; 87 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 171 across 158 interventional studies indexed under Communication.
Browse Communication studies →Duke University is the lead sponsor of 2,025 studies on the registry; 275 are open to participants now.
Of its 194 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 159 (82%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
The current standard of rounding on the Antepartum service involves a preliminarily bedside encounter with patients between 5-7am by a resident +/- medical student before an attending physician-led Antepartum team discussion from 8-9am. The patient is then rounded on for a second time in the late morning by the entire Antepartum team where patient concerns are heard and care plans for the day are relayed/reiterated/cemented.
Behavioral: Standard Rounding
For certain patients with appropriate clinical risk factors, our service has adopted a policy of "discovery rounding". This method involves solely electronic health record chart review prior to the 8am attending-led Antepartum team discussion where the patient's overnight events are "discovered", clinical courses discussed, and daytime plans proposed. "Discovery rounding" consolidates bedside physician-patient encounters to one mid-morning interaction, forgoing early morning disturbances.
Behavioral: Discovery Rounding
For certain patients with appropriate clinical risk factors, our service has adopted a policy of "discovery rounding". This method involves solely electronic health record chart review prior to the 8am attending-led Antepartum team discussion where the patient's overnight events are "discovered", clinical courses discussed, and daytime plans proposed. "Discovery rounding" consolidates bedside physician-patient encounters to one mid-morning interaction, forgoing early morning disturbances.
The current standard of rounding on the Antepartum service involves a preliminarily bedside encounter with patients between 5-7am by a resident +/- medical student before an attending physician-led Antepartum team discussion from 8-9am. The patient is then rounded on for a second time in the late morning by the entire Antepartum team where patient concerns are heard and care plans for the day are relayed/reiterated/cemented.
Proportion of items rated as "Excellent" on the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT)
The CAT measures patients' perceptions of physician communication across 15 specific behaviors, such as listening carefully, showing respect, explaining information clearly, and spending sufficient time with the patient. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "Poor" to "Excellent." By focusing on the frequency of "Excellent" ratings, the CAT provides a robust, patient-centered measure of the effectiveness and impact of physician communication during hospitalization.
Time frame: One of the following timepoints (whichever comes first for that patient); Hospital day 6 or the immediate postpartum period: postpartum day 0 or 1, depending on the time of delivery
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)
A 10-item self-report questionnaire, validated for both postpartum and antepartum use, in which each item is scored 0-3 (total 0-30), with higher scores indicating greater depressive symptoms and a common cut-off of ≥13 suggesting possible clinical depression.
Time frame: At the 6 week postpartum visit
Plan to share: No
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