TabCAT Brain Health Assessment in Primary Care

October 29, 2025 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

A Pragmatic Trial of the TabCAT Brain Health Assessment for the Detection of Cognitive Impairment in Primary Care

Efficient and user-friendly paradigms to detect cognitive impairment, including dementia are needed in primary care. The TabCAT Brain Health Assessment accurately detects cognitive impairment via an appealing tablet interface with automated scoring and EMR integration. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the paradigm on detection rates and other brain health outcomes via a pragmatic cluster randomized trial in 26 Kaiser Southern California primary care clinics.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Twenty-six Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) primary care clinics will be randomized in two waves to receive either the TabCAT-BHA paradigm or usual care. Clinics have been matched in pairs by number of providers, median panel size, the racial/ethnic makeup of the patient panel, baseline rates of cognitive impairment diagnosis, rates of telehealth encounters, and percentage of members who are 65+ in the practice. The trial will be conducted over two 18-month waves, with six intervention practices in the first wave and seven intervention practices starting in the second wave. All patients seen at least once across these 26 practices will be included in the trial and the primary analyses will use data extracted from the EMR. Patients in the intervention practices will receive care in accordance with the TabCAT-BHA paradigm whereas patients in the control practices will continue with usual care workflows. The intervention will include a 6-month startup period during which the research team will partner with the physician leads to adapt the paradigm workflows to each practice and onboard the PCPs, and then a 12-month steady state period when effectiveness on the primary and secondary outcomes will be measured. During the TabCAT-BHA paradigm intervention, pragmatically, primary care providers concerned that their patients are exhibiting signs of cognitive decline will refer them to clinical research associates located in the primary care clinics who will then perform the TabCAT-BHA tablet-based test either on the spot or as a scheduled procedure visit. The tablet-based test provides an automated scoring report that includes guidance for providers to identify reversible causes of cognitive impairment, involving a care partner, diagnostic disclosure, community and educational resources, and specialty referral including the option to refer the patient for a "Brain Health Consultation" telephone call with a study nurse or social worker.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
180000

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Pasadena, California, United States, 91101
        • Recruiting
        • Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient with at least one encounter at an intervention clinic during the intervention period
  • Age 18+ (limited to 65+ for primary analyses)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients under the age of 18.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: TabCAT-Brain Health Assessment Clinical Pathway
Primary care providers concerned that their patients are exhibiting signs of cognitive decline based on patient, informant (family), or provider concerns will refer them for a TabCAT-BHA assessment and follow-up care.
Other: TabCAT Brain Health Assessment Clinical Pathway
Primary care providers concerned that their patients are exhibiting signs of cognitive decline will refer them to clinical associates who will then perform the TabCAT-BHA tablet-based test. The TabCAT-BHA paradigm comprises 7-10 minutes of tablet-based testing and an optional 3-minute self-administered informant survey captures behavioral symptoms and change from baseline. The results are available to the PCP in the EMR along with turnkey guidance to evaluate for reversible causes, identify and involve a care partner, make and disclose diagnosis, provide community and educational resources, and make medical referrals as appropriate. Nursing support is available to support the PCP in making the diagnosis and to consult to the family via telephone post-diagnosis to address immediate care needs.
No Intervention: Usual Care Clinical Pathway
Patients in the control practices will continue with usual care workflows.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The rate of patients with at least one cognitive impairment diagnosis documented in the medical record by any primary care provider during the 12-month steady state period at the clinic.
Time Frame: During the 12-month steady state period
Rate is out of all patients with an encounter during the steady state period at the clinic. The primary analyses for all outcomes are limited to ages 65+.
During the 12-month steady state period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The rate of patients who have a referral to Geriatrics, Neurology or Psychiatry.
Time Frame: During the 12-month steady state period
Rate is out of all patients with an incident diagnosis, as defined in Outcome 2. The referral must occur within the 12-month steady state period + 4 months after, and within +/- 4 months of the incident diagnosis.
During the 12-month steady state period
The rate of patients who have a documented standardized cognitive assessment performed in the primary care clinic within 4 months of an incident cognitive impairment diagnosis.
Time Frame: During the 12-month steady state period
Rate is out of all patients with an encounter at the clinic during the 12-month steady state period and an incident cognitive impairment diagnosis. The window for incident cognitive impairment diagnoses will be the steady state period + 4 months after. The standardized cognitive assessment must occur during the steady state period and +/- 4 months of the incident diagnosis. All standardized cognitive assessments will be counted. Incident diagnoses are the first time that any of these diagnoses are documented in the medical record by any outpatient provider, using a 2 year look back window. In addition, incident diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment and dementia will be counted even if an "other cognitive impairment diagnosis" was previously made.
During the 12-month steady state period

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, San Francisco

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Kaiser Permanente

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Katherine Possin, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 27, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 13, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 13, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 19, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 31, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 29, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • U01NS128913 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared outside of Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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