Behavioral Health Initial Intake Outreach

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Patient Messages Before Behavioral Health Intake Calls to Increase Group Psychotherapy Uptake

The goal of this study is to help patients get seen sooner for behavioral health appointments by informing them about group therapy options, which allow more patients to be seen at once, often more quickly than 1:1 therapy. We will test whether messages describing the benefits of group therapy might encourage more patients to sign up for group therapy, thereby shortening patients' time to beginning therapy.

Before beginning any therapy, patients must complete an intake appointment, involving initial assessments and a determination of whether 1:1 or group therapy is appropriate for the patient. However, many patients are unaware that a group therapy recommendation (vs. 1:1 therapy) is a potential outcome of the intake appointment, and/or are unaware of the benefits of group therapy.

We will test whether messages informing patients about the benefits of group therapy sent ahead of the routine intake calls can increase the uptake of group therapy, helping patients get care sooner. Patients will be randomized to the message group or the no-message control group (i.e., current standard of care).

Patients in the message group will be sent messages soon after their intake appointment is scheduled. The messages will describe the goal of the visit ("Your upcoming visit is a one-time appointment to plan what's next for your care.") and emphasize the benefits of group therapy (e.g., "Groups usually start sooner than individual sessions and offer plenty of days and times to fit your schedule."), with a link to a flyer with more group-therapy details. The same information will be added to the patient instructions for the visit for those in the message group.

Messages will be sent via the MyChart patient portal for those with an existing MyChart account. Those who do not have MyChart but can be sent a text message will get a text message with a link to activate their MyChart account to view the patient instructions.

Patients will be enrolled for one year, with about 6200 expected in this time frame.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient is age 18 years or older
• Patient is referred for outpatient behavioral health psychotherapy services at Geisinger
• Patient has a scheduled behavioral health intake appointment
• Patient is eligible to receive pre-appointment messages through MyChart and/or SMS