9/23/25 Katherine Schafer: A Hybrid Type I Implementation Trial of a Patient Portal Message to Reduce Suicidal Ideation
Clinical brown bag
Katherine Schafer, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Biomedical Informatics and Psychiatry, VUMC
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Time: 12:00- 1:00pm
Location: 316 Wilson Hall
A Hybrid Type I Implementation Trial of a Patient Portal Message to Reduce Suicidal Ideation
Suicide prevention efforts increasingly rely on predictive algorithms to identify individuals at high risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. While models such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s VSAIL demonstrate strong predictive validity and clinical acceptability, their utility hinges on effectively connecting identified patients to timely, evidence-based care. The proposed study evaluates a scalable, low-cost intervention designed to bridge that gap using electronic health record (EHR) infrastructure. Building on mixed-methods research showing that most patients admitted to Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital with suicidal ideation lacked adequate outpatient care—and that 87% were receptive to receiving patient portal messages—we developed a novel intervention. It delivers Caring Contacts and an embedded scheduling tool for outpatient mental telehealth appointments via My Health at Vanderbilt (MHAV), the institution’s EHR-based patient portal. Caring Contacts, validated in other formats (e.g., texts, postcards), have not yet been tested through patient portals or paired with scheduling invitations. I will discuss the methods of a proposed Type I hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized clinical trial with 225 high-risk patients.