Hybrid III Trial of Automated Referral to Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for Frail Older Surgical Patients

September 24, 2026 updated by: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Leveraging the Learning Health System to Enhance Age-Friendly Surgical Care: A Hybrid Type III Randomized Trial to Optimize Preoperative Readiness

The goal of this observational study is to learn about automated referrals to Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH). The main question it aims to answer is:

  • Do automated referrals to POSH increase the number of people who attend the clinic?

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

Preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessment (pCGA) is an existing clinical intervention (herein referred to by the clinic that delivers the intervention, as Perioperative Optimization for Senior Health, POSH) to address frailty among older adults before elective surgery; however, this highly effective intervention is resource-intensive and variably delivered to a limited number of eligible patients. The researchers will conduct a 12-month trial embedded in the electronic health record that will test the effect of automated referrals to the POSH clinic on implementation outcomes (reach and adoption) of POSH and secondarily on the delivery of age-friendly process measures for surgical care (effectiveness). The primary hypothesis is that randomizing frail older adults (age 80 years and older) who are planning major surgery to an automated referral will increase the reach of POSH, and the adoption among surgeons while simultaneously improving processes associated with age-friendly care (decreasing potentially inappropriate medication use as measured by anticholinergic burden (ACB) score, increasing documentation of baseline cognitive status, increasing use of physical therapy (PT) referrals, and improving the percentage of patients with advanced care planning paperwork on file before surgery).

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.
90

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53792
        • University of Wisconsin

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

80 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 80 or older
  • Scheduled for an elective surgery with a planned overnight stay
  • Scores indicate frailty

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Scheduled for transplant or cardiothoracic surgery
  • Undergoing emergency or urgent surgery
  • POSH clinic evaluation within the past 6 months

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: Automated referrals

Participants will receive an automated referral to POSH when screened by the electronic frailty index (a clinical decision support device built into the EHR)
Device: Automated referral

Participants who screen for frailty (using the frailty score calculator device embedded in the EHR) will receive an automated referral to POSH clinic through their electronic health record.
Active Comparator: Usual care

Participants will receive usual care in which surgeons can choose to directly refer patients to POSH.
Other: Usual Care Group

Surgeons will be notified of frailty score (as calculated using the frailty score calculator device embedded in the EHR). Surgeons can choose to refer patients directly to POSH.

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
Number of participants who attend POSH
Time Frame: 90 days

The number of eligible participants who attend POSH will be compared across arms.
90 days
Number of surgeons who refer to POSH
Time Frame: 90 days

The number of surgeons who refer patients to POSH will be compared to those in the same clinical departments for both arms.
90 days

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
Anticholinergic Burden Score
Time Frame: 90 days

Anticholinergic Burden (ACB) score measures the degree to which the patient's prescribed medications block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Median scores will be compared for the intervention and control groups. Higher scores in older adults correlate with increased risks of confusion, functional impairment, falls, and mortality.
90 days
Documentation of preoperative cognitive status
Time Frame: 90 days

Number of eligible participants will be compared with number who have documented cognitive status according to a validated cognitive screening instrument.
90 days
Physical therapy (PT) referrals
Time Frame: 90 days

The number of eligible participants compared to participants who receive a PT referral.
90 days
Advanced care planning (ACP) on file
Time Frame: 90 days

Number of participants with ACP on file before surgery will be compared to number of eligible participants.
90 days

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 Wisconsin, Madison

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: Julia Berian, University of Wisconsin, Madison

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 (Estimated)

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.
November 1, 2026

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.
October 1, 2027

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.
October 1, 2027

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).
September 17, 2026

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.
September 17, 2026

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.
September 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
September 29, 2026

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.
September 24, 2026

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.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 2026-0832
  • UWMSN | SMPH | Surgery - Colon (Other Identifier: UW Madison)
  • Protocol Version 5/29/26 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The researchers will share a deidentified participant-level dataset containing the information collected in this study and outcome measures, except for protected health information (PHI).

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Scientific data will be available once the primary results are published. Data will be available indefinitely.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data are available on request from the principal investigator with a DUA. Supporting materials will be available on a public website that will be created for this purpose.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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