Health Care Utilization
Conditions
Keywords
Pharmacy, Postal Service, Electronic Mail, Communication, Economics, Behavioral, Psychology, Loss Frames, Fear Appeals
Brief summary
In this evaluation, four versions of emails will be sent to eligible health plan members who are not currently enrolled in the health system's mail-order pharmacy. A control group will not receive any communication. The researchers hypothesize that the use of content informed by behavioral nudge theory in the emails should lead to increased enrollment in the health system's mail-order pharmacy.
Detailed description
The utilization of a mail-order pharmacy can increase adherence to medications. The health system's mail-order pharmacy (from here, simply referred to as mail-order pharmacy) can also provide reduced costs for medications. Ongoing outreach efforts involve sending emails and other communications encouraging enrollment in Geisinger's mail-order pharmacy to eligible members of the system's health plan (i.e., those who take maintenance medications). The study will compare a standard promotional email from these outreach efforts, as well as three new emails with content informed by behavioral science research, against a no-contact control arm and each other.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFear Appeals
BEHAVIORALMessage about Future Healthcare Costs
BEHAVIORALEndorsement from a Doctor
BEHAVIORALComparison Table
BEHAVIORALHighlighting Cost Savings and Convenience
Sponsors
Geisinger Clinic
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Caregiver)
Masking description
Participants and providers are not aware that different mailer versions exist, and they do not know what elements in the letter are being tested.
Intervention model description
1 x 5 design
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* An active member of the health plan (Medicare, Commercial, or Exchange) * Currently prescribed maintenance medications * Not currently subscribed to the health system's mail-order pharmacy * Has an email on record
Exclusion criteria
* Explicitly opted out of receiving emails from the health system * Only has eligible current prescriptions for fewer than 28 days * Only has prescriptions that cannot be sent via mail-order pharmacy (e.g., antidepressants, specialty-tier drugs) * Is a Medicare member in the coverage gap * Shares an email address with another selected participant (who was randomly chosen for inclusion among all those sharing the same email address)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mail-order Pharmacy Enrollment | 1 week from the intervention | Binary variable indicating if there was an enrollment in the health system's mail order pharmacy |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Email Opens | 1 week from the intervention | Binary variable indicating if the email was opened |
| Email Link Click | 1 week from the intervention | Binary variable indicating if the link to the mail-order pharmacy website was clicked |
| Email Unsubscribes | 1 week from the intervention | Binary variable indicating if the recipient requested to unsubscribe from receiving emails from the health system |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed