Digital letters could speed up lifesaving heart failure treatment
NCT ID NCT05890131
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether sending digital letters to heart failure patients could help them start taking SGLT-2 inhibitors, a newer heart failure medication, more quickly. Over 5,900 patients in Denmark were invited via digital letter to see a specialist and check if they were eligible. The goal was to see if this simple digital strategy could speed up treatment and improve outcomes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- digital letter
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this digital strategy could help more heart failure patients start effective medication faster, potentially improving survival and reducing hospital stays.
- What could go wrong
- This is a completed implementation study, not a drug trial. The approach may not work in other regions or healthcare systems, and the digital letters alone cannot guarantee better outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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5,996 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2023
- Finished
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Apr 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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20 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Registered diagnosis of heart failure within the last 10 years 2. Living in the Capital Region of Denmark or Roskilde 3. Age ≥20 years Exclusion Criteria: 1. Redeemed prescription of a SGLT-2 inhibitor after 2015 2. Type 1 diabetes 3. History of diabetic ketoacidosis 4. Chronic kidney disease in long term dialysis 5. Living in a nursing home 6. Dementia 7. Cancer diagnosis within the last year (except prostate cancer and non-melanoma skin cancer) 8. Exemption from the public digital mailbox system
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Amager-Hvidovre-Glostrup Hospital
Hvidovre, 2650, Denmark
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Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital
Copenhagen, 2400, Denmark
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Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital
Hellerup, 2900, Denmark
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Nordsjællands Hospital
Hillerød, 3400, Denmark
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Sjællands Universitetshospital - Roskilde
Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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