Arrival Time Implementation
ConditionPrimary Care
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorUniversity of California, Los Angeles
About this trial
This is a prospective clinical trial evaluating how behaviorally informed message framing can improve patient on-time arrival for outpatient visits. This trial is being implemented in conjunction with UCLA Health's broader operational quality improvement (QI) efforts to enhance clinic flow and patient experience.
The main question it aims to answer is how displaying an explicit arrival time (set to 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment) affects when patients arrive for their appointments, compared to a control condition where only the appointment time is displayed and patients are encouraged to arrive 15 min before the appointment (without an explicit arrival time).
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
In-person outpatient appointments with clinicians at UCLA Health that fall into the study period
Appointments scheduled for the department specialties of Primary Care, Pediatrics, or Internal Medicine, Med Peds
Has an active MyChart status
Opted in to receive SMS communications from UCLA Health
Disqualifiers
Appointments at clinics that are not scheduled through the Patient Access Organization
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Behaviorally informed appointment communications
BehavioralIn the MyChart patient portal homepage, the appointment widget will show "Arrive by \[Arrival Time\]," replacing the standard "Starts at \[Appointment Time\]" display. The appointment details page will show appointment time, along with a reminder to "Arrive by \[Arrival Time\]." The Hello World text notifications will tell patients: "Your visit is scheduled for \[Date\]. Arrive by \[Arrival Time\]."
Control appointment communications
BehavioralIn the MyChart patient portal homepage, the appointment widget will show "Starts at \[Appointment Time\]." The appointment details page will display appointment time, along with the instructions to arrive 15 minutes before the appointment. The Hello World text notifications will tell patients : "Your visit is scheduled for \[Date\] at \[Appointment Time\]. Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time."
Treatment groups
300,000 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Arm 1: Appointment timeActive comparator 1 intervention
Group B: Arm 2: Arrival timeExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Difference between patient's arrival time and scheduled appointment time
The number of minutes between the patient's check-in time and the scheduled appointment time. A positive (negative) value indicates that the patient arrived before (after) the scheduled appointment time.Winsorization at the 0.5th and 99.5th percentiles will be applied.
Time frame
1 day, day of appointmentSecondary outcomes
1
On-time arrival
Indicator for whether the patient checks in before/at the scheduled appointment time (as opposed to arriving later than the appointment time)
Time frame
1 day, day of appointment2
Early arrival
Indicator for whether the patient checks in at least 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment time
Time frame
1 day, day of appointmentSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Source ClinicalTrials.gov