Improving Bone Health Among Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Patients on Chronic Glucocorticoids

The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 4

Conditions: Osteoporosis; Adverse Effect of Glucocorticoids and Synthetic Analogues; Rheumatoid Arthritis

Treatments: Other: Storytelling online video

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01378689

X080529001

Details and patient eligibility

About

This quality improvement project is aimed at improving health care by identifying low cost strategies to get Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients to more effectively communicate with their physicians about osteoporosis prevention and treatment (improving doctor-patient communication). The investigators will implement a direct to patient intervention to the population of interest (patients on chronic glucocorticoids) via story-telling, using an Internet based video. The target audience is people on chronic glucocorticoids not already receiving bones-specific osteoporosis medications to determine differences in post-intervention rates of osteoporosis care, and the rates of prescription anti-osteoporosis therapies.

Enrollment: 4,659 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 19+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Greater than or equal to 5 milligrams of prednisone or glucocorticoid dose equivalent for greater than or equal to 90 days within the previous 12 months
• Medco member for entire study period
• Refill steroid prescription online

Exclusion criteria

• anti-osteoporosis medication in previous 12 months

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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4,659 participants in 2 patient groups

Online video

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm are shown a brief video (\~5 minutes) after ordering a refill for their glucocorticoid use. The video includes real patients telling their own story about the possible side effects of prolonged use of glucocorticoids.

Treatment:

Other: Storytelling online video

No video

No Intervention group