The Feasibility of Using Best Practice Alerts in Pediatric Primary Care for Obesity Research

Recruiting participants in pediatric obesity research is challenging due to logistical and systemic barriers. This study evaluated the use of a best practice alert (BPA) within the electronic health record (EHR) to aid in recruitment for a randomized controlled trial testing a pediatric obesity treatment intervention.

The BPA was designed to identify eligible patients aged 5 to 17 years with a body mass index ≥95th percentile during their annual well-child visits. Between January 2018 and March 2020, the BPA was utilized in 4 primary care clinics. Patients were identified in the EHR and pre-screened by the study team.

The BPA was deployed to 2121 individual patients, and providers responded to 85% of alerts. Over half (52%) of patients indicated interest in further contact by the study team. The BPA facilitated recruitment 68% (177/261) of participants or 16% of those who agreed to be contacted.

Overall, the BPA was responsible for the majority of total enrollment in the trial. This study demonstrates the potential of BPAs to facilitate recruitment into pediatric obesity treatment studies.