Quasi-Randomized Evaluation of the UCLA Next Day Clinic (NDC) (NCT06526884) | Clinical Trial Compass
CompletedNot Applicable
Quasi-Randomized Evaluation of the UCLA Next Day Clinic (NDC)
United States570 participantsStarted 2024-07-22
Plain-language summary
The Next Day Clinic (NDC) is a quality improvement initiative that will be launched and operated by UCLA Health starting July 22, 2024. Its goals are to improve patient care and safety and to maximize cost effectiveness. The way it does this is by identifying patients in the ED who would normally be admitted for low-acuity conditions, and diverting them to a high-acuity clinic the following day called the NDC. This will help decompress the ED and the hospital, and allow for overall higher quality care. The Health System has partnered with UCLA's Healthcare Value Analytics and Solutions \[UVAS\] group which specializes in these types of program evaluations. The analysis conducted by the study team will be used to directly inform NDC operations, scaling, and future plans.
Who can participate
Age range
18 Years
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Inclusion Criteria:
* 18 years of age or older
* About to be admitted through the ED for one of the NDC diagnoses or a synonym (per Study Protocol document), defined by the presence of a Plan to Admit order or Bed Request order, OR recently admitted under observation or inpatient status for one of the NDC diagnoses.
* Identified as at-risk for an avoidable hospitalization in the ED based on a pre-determined set of lab and vital parameters.
* Insurance that authorizes the patient to follow-up at UCLA Health, or self-pay
* Admitted or being admitted to an internal medicine service
Exclusion Criteria:
* Heart or lung transplant recipient with concern for graft dysfunction
* Pregnant
* Enrolled in hospice
* Admitted to a critical care service
* ED deems discharge unsafe due to complex social or medical factors
* Active malignant cancer (per Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists value set)
* Pulmonary arterial hypertension (per Joint Commission value set)
* Undergoing workup for solid organ transplant
* Interstitial lung disease (including pulmonary fibrosis) (per Higher Level 7 value set)
* Requiring inpatient procedure or surgery defined by the presence of an anesthesia event or operating room encounter.
* The ED deems discharge unsafe due to complex social or medical factors.
* Transferred to an ineligible hospital
Note:
The Health System plans to limit the volume of referrals to the NDC by only referring patients who have an even birth date (this is more equita…
Questions worth asking your doctor
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
1Since this trial has already been completed, has the UCLA Next Day Clinic model been evaluated for conditions like mine — whether that's pneumonia, heart failure, or one of the other conditions studied — and what did the results show about how many days patients were able to stay out of the hospital?
2The trial measured 'days alive and out of hospital' as its main outcome — what does that mean practically for someone in my situation, and does the data suggest this kind of next-day follow-up clinic actually helped patients with my specific condition avoid readmissions?
3This was a quasi-randomized study rather than a traditional randomized controlled trial — how does that affect how confident you are in the findings, and should I weigh the results differently when thinking about my care options?
4Is a next-day clinic approach like the one studied here available to me at this facility or nearby, and would you recommend it over a standard hospital admission or usual outpatient follow-up given my specific diagnosis?
5Are there patients with my condition for whom this kind of early-discharge-plus-next-day-clinic model might not be appropriate, and how would you decide whether I'm a good candidate for that approach versus staying in the hospital longer?
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
Questions for the trial coordinator
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
1What does taking part actually involve week to week — how many visits, where, and how long does each one take?
2What costs are covered by the study, and what might I have to pay for myself, including travel, parking, or time off work?
3What happens during screening, and what happens if the study team confirms I don't meet the criteria after those tests?
4Who pays for the scans, blood work, and other tests the trial requires — the study, my insurance, or me?
5How will being in the trial affect my regular care, and will my own doctor stay informed and involved?
6Can I leave the trial at any point if I change my mind, and what would happen to my care if I do?
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.