Aipaca is a clinical decision-support AI assistant for lung cancer screening, developed and operated by the University of Oklahoma under an IRB-approved research protocol. This page describes how patients opt in to receive SMS text messages from Aipaca, what they should expect, and how to stop messages at any time.
Who Can Opt In
Only adult patients (aged 50–80) who are established with a University of Oklahoma primary care or pulmonology clinic, and who are participating in the IRB-approved lung cancer screening research study, can opt in to receive SMS from Aipaca. Third parties cannot opt anyone in on their behalf.
How a Patient Opts In
Opt-in occurs through one of two pathways during a clinical visit at the University of Oklahoma. Both pathways involve written informed consent under our IRB protocol — patients do not opt in via a public web form, online sign-up, or third-party broker.
Pathway 1 — During a primary care visit
- The patient's primary care clinician introduces the Aipaca SMS assistant during a screening-related visit.
- The patient reviews and signs the IRB-approved consent form, which includes specific opt-in language for SMS communications.
- The patient provides their mobile phone number on the consent form.
- The signed consent form is filed in the patient's research record.
Pathway 2 — At a screening intake appointment
- The patient is given the IRB-approved enrollment form at intake.
- The form contains a clearly-labeled "SMS Communication Consent" section the patient must initial.
- The patient writes in their mobile phone number.
- The signed form is filed in the patient's research record.
Opt-in records are maintained per IRB protocol requirements and are accessible to the IRB on request. No SMS is sent without a documented, signed consent on file.
What Messages Patients Will Receive
Once enrolled and opted in, patients may receive messages such as:
Example messages:
Hi from Aipaca, your University of Oklahoma lung cancer screening assistant. Thanks for opting in. Reply with any questions about your screening, smoking history, or low-dose CT. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply.
Aipaca: Based on what you shared, you may meet the USPSTF screening criteria. The next step is to discuss low-dose CT with your primary care clinician. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
Aipaca: Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to lower your lung cancer risk. Your primary care clinician can help with quit-smoking options. Want more info? Reply here. Reply STOP to opt out.
Message frequency: typically a few messages per consultation. Patients are not enrolled in any recurring marketing campaign.
How to Opt Out
| To do this… | Text this to the Aipaca number |
|---|---|
| Stop receiving all SMS | STOP (or END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL) |
| Get help / contact information | HELP (or INFO) |
| Resume after opting out | JOIN (or START, YES, SUBSCRIBE) |
Opting out of SMS does not affect a patient's clinical care or research participation. Opt-out is processed immediately and confirmed with a reply message.
Privacy & HIPAA
Aipaca operates under written Business Associate Agreements (BAA) with all third-party services that process protected health information (PHI), including AWS (cloud infrastructure) and OpenAI (the conversational AI engine). All audio recordings and transcripts are stored in encrypted, access-controlled storage and are accessible only to authorized University of Oklahoma research personnel.
Patients can request a copy of, correction to, or deletion of their data at any time by contacting the research team (see below).
Standard Messaging Disclosures
- Program name: Aipaca (a University of Oklahoma IRB-approved lung cancer screening research assistant).
- Message and data rates may apply. Message and data rates may apply, based on the patient's mobile carrier plan.
- Message frequency: Approximately 1 to 5 messages per patient per consultation. This is a conversational research service, not a recurring or scheduled campaign.
- Opt out: Reply STOP to opt out. Reply HELP for help, or call (405) 325-4757.
- Terms & Conditions: https://aipaca.app/terms
- Privacy Policy: https://aipaca.app/privacy
- Aipaca does not share, sell, or rent phone numbers to third parties. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties.
- Patient phone numbers are retained per IRB protocol and HIPAA record-retention requirements.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Sample Consent Language on the IRB Form
The IRB-approved paper consent form patients sign at their clinic visit includes an explicit SMS consent section. The exact wording is:
"I consent to receive SMS text messages from Aipaca (a University of Oklahoma lung cancer screening research assistant) at the mobile phone number I provide below. I understand that message frequency is approximately 1 to 5 messages per consultation. Message and data rates may apply. I can opt out at any time by texting STOP. Reply HELP for help. I understand that opting out will not affect my clinical care. Terms: https://aipaca.app/terms. Privacy: https://aipaca.app/privacy. My initials here indicate consent: ______"
A physical or digital copy of the signed consent is filed in each patient's research record before any SMS is sent.
Contact
For questions about this SMS program, the research study, or to request opt-in or opt-out by phone instead of SMS, contact:
Office of Research Services
University of Oklahoma
Email: ris@ou.edu
Phone: (405) 325-4757