Fabiana Castiglione1, Nicola Imperatore1, Anna Testa2, Matilde Rea1, Olga Maria Nardone1, Paola Gervetti1, Maria Laura Taranto1, Gaetano D'Onofrio3, Nicola Caporaso1, Antonio Rispo4. 1. Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy. 2. Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy; Dean of Medicine of A.O.U. "Federico II" of Naples, Italy. 3. Dean of Medicine of A.O.U. "Federico II" of Naples, Italy. 4. Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: antoniorispo@email.it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Telephone helplines are a useful vehicle for the management of chronic diseases even though data on how these can ease management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still scarce. AIM: to analyze our two-years' experience with the first telephone helpline dedicated to IBD in Italy. METHODS: The main outcomes of using a contact center (CC) at our Unit were analyzed; all data was prospectively collected. Patients' requests were classified into medical or non-medical. The percentage of hospitalized patients in the pre-CC period was compared to that after CC activation, to assess the potential clinical gain of using CC. The calls were divided into 5 categories to evaluate a potential correlation between patients' number of calls and risk of hospitalization. RESULTS: The CC received 11,080 calls and handled 11,972 requests. In particular, 63% of patients phoned monthly for a medical consultation, and 37% called for non-medical reasons. In 2012, the followed-up patients were 1658 with 230 IBD-caused hospitalizations (14%); in 2014, the followed-up patients were 1962 with 182 hospitalizations (9%) (p<0.01). The risk of hospitalization exponentially increased with the number of calls: from 3% for 0-5 calls to 41% with >30 calls (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: A dedicated CC could provide additional clinical gain, care, and support for IBD patients.
BACKGROUND: Telephone helplines are a useful vehicle for the management of chronic diseases even though data on how these can ease management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still scarce. AIM: to analyze our two-years' experience with the first telephone helpline dedicated to IBD in Italy. METHODS: The main outcomes of using a contact center (CC) at our Unit were analyzed; all data was prospectively collected. Patients' requests were classified into medical or non-medical. The percentage of hospitalized patients in the pre-CC period was compared to that after CC activation, to assess the potential clinical gain of using CC. The calls were divided into 5 categories to evaluate a potential correlation between patients' number of calls and risk of hospitalization. RESULTS: The CC received 11,080 calls and handled 11,972 requests. In particular, 63% of patients phoned monthly for a medical consultation, and 37% called for non-medical reasons. In 2012, the followed-up patients were 1658 with 230 IBD-caused hospitalizations (14%); in 2014, the followed-up patients were 1962 with 182 hospitalizations (9%) (p<0.01). The risk of hospitalization exponentially increased with the number of calls: from 3% for 0-5 calls to 41% with >30 calls (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: A dedicated CC could provide additional clinical gain, care, and support for IBD patients.
Authors: Olga Maria Nardone; Antonio Rispo; Anna Testa; Nicola Imperatore; Lucienne Pellegrini; Alessia Dalila Guarino; Simona Ricciolino; Marta Patturelli; Giovanni De Palma; Fabiana Castiglione Journal: Therap Adv Gastroenterol Date: 2020-09-23 Impact factor: 4.409