VA tests 'Nudge' to boost lifesaving heart failure prescriptions
NCT ID NCT05986695
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether simple nudges—like an alert in a doctor's daily task list or an email comparing their prescribing habits to peers—could increase the use of two types of heart failure medications (SGLT2 inhibitors and MRAs) that are proven to save lives but are often underused. Researchers enrolled 81 primary care and cardiology clinicians at a single VA hospital. The goal was to see if these gentle reminders could help more eligible veterans get the right prescriptions.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- behavioral intervention (informational alert and peer comparison report)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could increase use of proven heart failure medications, potentially reducing hospitalizations and saving lives among veterans.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early implementation study with only 81 clinicians at one VA site, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention is a nudge, not a new drug, so its impact may be modest.
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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81 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2023
- Finished
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Oct 2024
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
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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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Primary care and cardiology clinicians at Southern AZ VA Health Care System working in outpatient clinic setting Exclusion Criteria: * Clinicians who are in training status (resident, fellow) will be excluded.
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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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Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ
Tucson, Arizona, 85723-0001, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Which SGLT2 inhibitor wins? trial pits empagliflozin against dapagliflozin
- Can daily mindful breathing ease heart failure symptoms?
- Can a smartphone app keep heart failure patients out of the hospital?
- Can better training get doctors to talk about what matters most to dying veterans?